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1. Spreading GIS-Infused Instruction: A Cross-Case Comparison of Two Instructional Approaches.

   James, K.; McGee, S.; Uttal, D.; Kolvoord, B. (January 2021, Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - ICLS 2021)

   de Vries, E.; Hod, Y.; Ahn, J. (Ed.)

   This work is part of an ongoing partnership that seeks to create a sustainable infrastructure to support GIS-infused instruction in a large urban school district. In this paper, we report an illustrative cross-case comparison of two teachers’ approaches to infusing GIS in their courses. The goal of this analysis is to examine how GIS-infused instruction is adapted in different contexts and to consider the affordances of divergent approaches. Findings illustrate the relationships among organizational context, individual and collective context, particularly teacher identity, and instructional practice in the work of spreading GIS-infused instruction. We also discuss key lessons learned in our partnership thus far and implications for district-level partnerships focused on spread and scale. 

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2. Design-based Research in GIS-infused Disciplinary Courses: Toward a Design Framework

   https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2020.1111  

   James, K.; McGee, S.; Uttal, D.; Kolvoord, B. (January 2020, The Interdisciplinarity of the Learning Sciences, 14th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2020)

   Gresalfi, M.; Horn, I. S. (Ed.)

   Geographic information systems (GIS) is valuable as a teaching and learning tool and will play a key role in the careers of current K-12 students (NRC, 2006). However, little work has been done to understand effective approaches to integrating GIS into content instruction. In this paper, we discuss the adaptation of the Learning for Use model, a framework for the design of technology-supported, content-driven inquiry tasks (Edelson, 2001), for the context of GIS-infused content courses. Using a design-based research approach, we developed a set of design principles that reflect key elements of effective GIS-driven content instruction, which guided the adaptation of the design framework. The goal of this work is to develop a set of supports to scaffold the co-design and implementation of GIS-infused content courses that will inform a general design model of infusing GIS into content courses. 

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3. Agents of change? How district leaders shape absorptive capacity within research–practice partnerships

   https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-08-2024-0275  

   De_Voto, Craig; Pitvorec, Kathleen; Cosner, Shelby; Siciliano, Michael D (June 2025, Journal of Educational Administration)

   PurposeThis study explores how district leaders shape the absorptive capacity of research–practice partnerships (RPPs) when addressing local problems of practice. Design/methodology/approachDrawing from Farrellet al.(2019), we focus on three core partnership domains shaping absorptive capacity: (a) prior knowledge, (b) communication pathways and (c) strategic knowledge leadership. We then employ a mixed-methods, multiple-case study design (Yin, 2013), highlighting two districts participating in a five-year National Science Foundation grant (2019–2024) to improve math instruction and learning. Data collected include semi-structured interviews (N = 180), the Visions of High-Quality Mathematics Instruction Rubric (VHQMI), social network surveys, meeting observations (N = 80) and the effective teams rubric (ETR). FindingsData suggest that district leaders variably shape an RPP’s absorptive capacity to engage in joint-partnership work. Notably, these differences are related to the degree to which district leaders promote or hinder the assimilation of new knowledge among other stakeholders within the RPP network. Originality/valueIndeed, we do not yet know how district leaders moderate stakeholder involvement within a given RPP network and how such involvement might influence the partnership’s absorptive capacity to address local problems of practice. 

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4. Co-Designing Elementary-Level Computer Science and Mathematics Lessons: An Expansive Framing Approach

   https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2023.482130  

   Shehzad, Umar; Clarke-Midura, Jody; Beck, Kimberly; Shumway, Jessica; Recker, Mimi (October 2023, International Society of the Learning Sciences)

   This study examines how a rural-serving school district aimed to provide elementary-level computer science (CS) by offering instruction during students’ computer lab time. As part of a research-practice partnership, cross-context mathematics and CS lessons were co-designed to expansively frame and highlight connections across – as opposed to integration within – the two subjects. Findings indicated that most students who engaged with the lessons across the lab and classroom contexts reported finding the lessons interesting, seeing connections to their mathematics classes, and understanding the programming. In contrast, a three-level logistic regression model showed that students who only learned about mathematics connections within the CS lessons (thus not in a cross-context way) reported statistically significant lower levels of interest, connections, and understanding. 

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5. Co-Designing Elementary-Level Computer Science and Mathematics Lessons: An Expansive Framing Approach

   Shehzad, U.; Clarke-Midura, J.; Beck, K.; Shumway; J. & Recker, M (June 2023, Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences)

   This study examines how a rural-serving school district aimed to provide elementary level computer science (CS) by offering instruction during students’ computer lab time. As part of a research-practice partnership, cross-context mathematics and CS lessons were co-designed to expansively frame and highlight connections across – as opposed to integration within – the two subjects. Findings indicated that most students who engaged with the lessons across the lab and classroom contexts reported finding the lessons interesting, seeing connections to their mathematics classes, and understanding the programming. In contrast, a three-level logistic regression model showed that students who only learned about mathematics connections within the CS lessons (thus not in a cross-context way) reported statistically significant lower levels of interest, connections, and understanding 

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