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This paper reports findings from the efforts of a university-based research team as they worked with middle school educators within formal school structures to infuse computer science principles and computational thinking practices. Despite the need to integrate these skills within regular classroom practices to allow all students the opportunity to learn these essential 21st Century skills, prior practice has been to offer these learning experiences outside of mainstream curricula where only a subset of students has access. We have sought to leverage elements of the research-practice partnership framework to achieve our project objectives of integrating computer science and computational thinking within middle science classrooms. Utilizing a qualitative approach to inquiry, we present narratives from three case schools, report on themes across work sites, and share recommendations to guide other practitioners and researchers who are looking to engage in technology-related initiatives to impact the lives of middle grades students.
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Learning to think spatially through curricula that embed spatial training
Abstract Strong spatial skills are foundational in predicting students' performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Decades of research have considered the relationship between thinking spatially and how scientists reason and solve problems. However, few studies have examined the factors that influence improvement in students' spatial thinking during their school science curricula. The present study investigates theThinkSpacecurricula—two middle school astronomy units designed to support students' ability to apply the spatial skill of perspective‐taking (PT) while learning to explain lunar phases (3 days) and the seasons (8 days). U.S. students in 6th and 8th grades (N = 877) across four districts participated in the study, completing assessments before and after theThinkSpacecurricula, along with an additional group of students in 6th and 7th grades (N = 172) who participated as a spatial control group. Data collection included multiple‐choice content assessments, PT skill assessments, and interviews (from a sub‐sample of 96 students), before and after instruction. After participating inThinkSpacecurricula, students demonstrated improved spatial thinking within the domain of astronomy, as measured by improved written content assessments, increased application of PT during conceptual interviews, and a general measurement of PT skill. Higher initial PT skill and higher gain in PT skill predicted greater improvement in students' astronomy understanding, even when accounting for their initial content knowledge. AlthoughThinkSpacestudents in all demographic groups improved PT skill post‐instruction, 8th graders (who were in districts with lower SES), and females were predicted to have smaller gains in their PT skill than the 6th graders (who were in districts with higher SES) and male students. These findings suggest that middle school students' spatial thinking in science can be improved during their middle school science curricula, but questions remain concerning how to reduce spatial‐learning gaps that are associated with gender and possibly SES.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1908419
- PAR ID:
- 10445126
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching
- Volume:
- 59
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 0022-4308
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1134-1168
- Size(s):
- p. 1134-1168
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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