Popular Projects from SERC
Lists popular projects from the science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Preparing University Faculty for Clinically-Oriented, Practice-Based Teacher Education
A presentation from the 73rd annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). We describe our synthesis of the clinical practice literature that led us to focus on core practices and practice-based teacher education pedagogies, and we discuss how we operationalized those ideas into professional development and related tools for university-based teams of education faculty.

The Unintended Effects of the Common Core State Standards on Non-Targeted Subjects
In this working paper researchers used student achievement data from the NAEP to show that the CCSS [Common Core State Standards] had a negative effect on student achievement in non-targeted subjects, and this negative effect was largest for underprivileged students. The authors propose additional research to explain the mechanism behind this effect.

Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as "given" in STEM education
This article calls for two shifts in mathematics education: (1) to reframe mathematics, and all of STEM as a sense-making activity rather than a body of content to be learned, or practices to engage in and (2) to simultaneously focus on how students experience the discipline. The TRU Framework (Schoenfeld, 2019) is presented as a tool to assess classroom instruction towards these means.

AMTE Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics
Current recommendations for mathematics teacher preparation from the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. Executive summary and additional resources publicly available.

Robotics K-3: Unplugged Coding
Tami Moffatt, Clover Park School District
A short presentation of resources and strategies for teaching robotics to K-3 students.

Ambitious Science Teaching
Tools that support ambitious science teaching at all K-12 levels. Includes a searchable interface to identify resources by discipline, grade level, and/or purpose. Includes strategies for novice teachers to use with students, instructional planning support, and suggestions for how teacher educators might use these resources in their own courses/programs.

Assessing teacher education and professional development needs for the implementation of integrated approaches to STEM education
Research study identifies challenges and supports to implementing integrated STEM education from the perspective of practicing K-12 teachers and administrators. Provides recommendations for redesigning teacher preparation courses.

Preservice teachers' experiences of STEM integration: Challenges and implications for integrated STEM teacher preparation
Research article describes students practices and experiences within an integrated STEM methods course for secondary preservice teachers. Describes challenges PSTs encountered as they developed and taught integrated STEM lessons.

What is Sustainability? Using Real-World Scenarios for Multidimensional Thinking and Personal Reflection (High School-College Undergraduates)
An introductory (100-level) environmental science lab was developed with an emphasis on reflection and application of sustainability concepts. Through a series of guided prompts, students were asked to use a multidisciplinary approach to examine the sustainability of the practices used in an applied agroecosystem scenario. Using their practiced skills in identifying and applying the three dimensions of sustainability, students were asked to reflect on one personal choice for each of eight aspects of daily consumption with the purpose of 1) devising a way to make each choice more sustainable, and 2) committing to one change utilizing SMART goal methodology.