Stem Student Research Handbook

A comprehensive resource for high school teachers and students, STEM Student Research Handbook outlines the various stages of large- scale research projects, enabling teachers to coach their students through the research process.

The Handbook of Research on STEM Education represents a groundbreaking and comprehensive synthesis of research and presentation of policy within the realm of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. What distinguishes this Handbook from others is the nature of integration of the disciplines that is the founding premise for the work – all chapters in this book speak directly to the integration of STEM, rather than discussion of research within the individual content areas. The Handbook of Research on STEM Education explores the most pressing areas of STEM within an international context. Divided into six sections, the authors cover topics including: the nature of STEM, STEM learning, STEM pedagogy, curriculum and assessment, critical issues in STEM, STEM teacher education, and STEM policy and reform. The Handbook utilizes the lens of equity and access by focusing on STEM literacy, early childhood STEM, learners with disabilities, informal STEM, socio-scientific issues, race-related factors, gender equity, cultural-relevancy, and parental involvement. Additionally, discussion of STEM education policy in a variety of countries is included, as well as a focus on engaging business/industry and teachers in advocacy for STEM education. The Handbook’s 37 chapters provide a deep and meaningful landscape of the implementation of STEM over the past two decades. As such, the findings that are presented within provide the reader with clear directions for future research into effective practice and supports for integrated STEM, which are grounded in the literature to date.

"A “Sci-Book” or “Science Notebook” serves as an essential companion to the science curriculum supplement, STEPS to STEM. As students learn key concepts in the seven “big ideas” in this program (Electricity & Magnetism; Air & Flight; Water & Weather; Plants & Animals; Earth & Space; Matter & Motion; Light & Sound), they record their ideas, plans, and evidence. There is ample space for students to keep track of their observations and findings, as well as a section to reflect upon the use of “Science and Engineering Practices” as set forth in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Using a science notebook is reflective of the behavior of scientists. One of the pillars of the Nature of Science is that scientists must document their work to publish their research results; it is a necessary part of the scientific enterprise. This is important because STEPS to STEM is a program for young scientists who learn within a community of scientists. Helping students to think and act like scientists is a critical feature of this program. Students learn that they need to keep a written record if they are to successfully share their discoveries and curiosities with their classmates and with the teacher. Teachers should also model writing in science to help instill a sense of purpose and pride in using and maintaining a Sci-Book. Lastly, students’ documentation can serve as a valuable form of authentic assessment; teachers can utilize Sci-Books to monitor the learning process and the development of science skills."

Educational strategies have evolved over the years, due to research breakthroughs and the application of technology. By using the latest learning innovations, curriculum and instructional design can be enhanced and strengthened. The Handbook of Research on Driving STEM Learning With Educational Technologies is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the implementation and use of different techniques of instruction in modern classroom settings. Featuring exhaustive coverage on a variety of topics including data literacy, student motivation, and computer-aided assessment, this resource is an essential reference publication ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and professionals seeking current research on emerging uses of technology for STEM education.

Bringing together cutting-edge research from over 50 leading international scholars, this forward-looking Research Handbook offers theoretical and empirical insights into the student experience in higher education.

Faculty in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines face intensifying pressures in the 21st century, including multiple roles as educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. In addition to continuously increasing teaching and service expectations, faculty are engaged in substantive research that requires securing external funding, mentoring other faculty and graduate students, and disseminating this work in a broad range of scholarly outlets. Societal needs of their expertise include discovery, innovation, and workforce development. It is critical to provide STEM faculty with the professional development to support their complex roles and to base this development on evidence derived from research. This edited handbook provides STEM stakeholders with an opportunity to share studies and/or experiences that explore STEM faculty development (FD) in higher education settings. More specifically, we include work that examines faculty development planning, techniques/models, experiences, and outcomes focused on supporting the teaching, research, service, and leadership responsibilities of STEM faculty. The Handbook is suited for researchers and practitioners in STEM, STEM Education, Mathematics, Science, Technology, and Engineering disciplines. It is also suited towards faculty developers, higher education administrators, funding agencies, industry leaders, and the STEM community at large. This handbook is organized around three constructs (INPUTS, MECHANISMS, and OUTPUTS). The STEM faculty development inputs construct focuses on topics related to the characteristics of faculty members and institutions that serve as barriers or supports to the adoption and implementation of holistic STEM faculty development programs. Questions addressed in the handbook around this topic include: What barriers/supports exist for STEM faculty? How are these barriers/supports being addressed through STEM FD? How do contexts (e.g., economic, political, historical) influence faculty/administrative needs related to STEM FD? How do demographics (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age, family background) influence faculty/administrative needs related to STEM FD? The STEM faculty development mechanisms construct focuses on topics related to the actual implementation of STEM faculty development and we consider the potential models or structures of STEM faculty development that are currently in place or conceptualized in theory. Questions addressed in the handbook around this topic include: What are the processes for developing models of STEM FD? What are effective models of STEM FD? How is effectiveness determined? What roles do stakeholders (e.g., faculty, administration, consultants) play within STEM FD mechanisms? The STEM faculty development outputs construct focuses on how to best understand the influence of STEM faculty development on outcomes such as productivity, teacher quality, and identity in relation to faculty development. Questions addressed in the handbook around this topic include: How has STEM FD influenced higher education practices and settings? What are appropriate output measures and how are they used in practice? What collaborations emerge from STEM FD? How does STEM FD affect other STEM stakeholders (e.g. students, administration, business, community)? The aim for this handbook was to examine the multifaceted demands of faculty roles, and together with members of the STEM education community, envision pathways through which universities and individuals may support STEM colleagues, regardless of their experience or rank, to enjoy long and satisfying careers. Our hope is for these chapters to aid readers in deep reflection on challenges faculty face, to contemplate adaptations of models presented, and to draw inspiration for creating or engaging in new professional development programs. Chapters across this handbook highlight a variety of institutional contexts from 2-year technical colleges, to teaching-focused institutions, in addition to research-centric settings. Some chapters focus primarily on teaching and learning practices and offer models for improving STEM instruction. Others focus on barriers that emerge for STEM faculty when trying to engage in development experiences. There are chapters that examine tenure structures in relation to faculty development and how STEM FD efforts could support research endeavors. Mentorship and leadership models are also addressed along with a focus on equity issues that permeate higher education and impact STEM FD. It is our sincere hope that this Handbook sparks increased discourse and continued explorations related to STEM FD, and in particular, the intentional focus of faculty development initiatives to extend to the many facets of academic life.

Informed by the most up-to-date research from around the world, as well as examples of good practice, this handbook analyzes values education in the context of a range of school-based measures associated with student wellbeing. These include social, emotional, moral and spiritual growth – elements that seem to be present where intellectual advancement and academic achievement are being maximized. This text comes as ‘values education’ widens in scope from being concerned with morality, ethics, civics and citizenship to a broader definition synonymous with a holistic approach to education in general. This expanded purview is frequently described as pedagogy relating to ‘values’ and ‘wellbeing’. This contemporary understanding of values education, or values and wellbeing pedagogy, fits well with recent neuroscience research. This has shown that notions of cognition, or intellect, are far more intertwined with social and emotional growth than earlier educational paradigms have allowed for. In other words, the best laid plans about the technical aspects of pedagogy are bound to fail unless the growth of the whole person – social, emotional, moral, spiritual and intellectual, is the pedagogical target. Teachers and educationalists will find that this handbook provides evidence, culled from both research and practice, of the beneficial effects of such a ‘values and wellbeing’ pedagogy.

This collection applies the principles underlying values education to addressing the many social and learning challenges that impinge on education today . Insights in the fields of social and emotional learning, student wellbeing, and, increasingly, educational neuroscience have demonstrated that values education represents an efficacious pedagogy with holistic effects on students across a range of measures, including social, emotional, and intellectual outcomes. With schools in the 21st century confronting issues such as gender identity, stemming radicalism, mental health, equity for disadvantaged groups, bullying, respect, and the meaning of consent, values education offers a way of teaching and learning that integrates and enhances student’s affective and cognitive functioning. The earlier edition of this book has become a standard reference for scholars and practitioners in the fields of values education, moral education, and character education. Its citation rates, reads and downloads have been consistently and enduringly high, as have those of its companion text, Values Pedagogy and Student Achievement. A decade on, the main purpose of the revised edition is to update and incorporate new research and practice relevant to values education. Recent insights in the fields of neuroscience and social and emotional learning and their implications for education and student wellbeing are more overt than they were when the first edition was being compiled. Additionally, advanced thinking in the field of epistemology, how humans come to know and therefore learn, has also sharpened, especially through the later writings of prominent scholars like Jurgen Habermas. The revised edition has preserved the essential spirit and thrust of the original edition while making space for some of these new insights about the potential of values education to establish optimal and harmonious learning and social environments for both students and teachers.