Dr. John L Pecore

An examination of published reports on Free or Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL) regarding Per Pupil Spending, Technology Resources, Science Course Offerings, and Race and Ethnicity Distribution in FRPL Groups shows that science for all remains an elusive goal in the United States. Science for all requires long-term solutions, including adequate fiscal resources for high FRPL quartile schools and effective policies to ensure quality science learning experiences for low-income students. Teachers in high FRPL schools need access to high-quality instructional resources, technology tools, and effective strategies to engage students in science learning. Schools should invest in technology tools like virtual reality and simulations, and teachers should be prepared to apply inquiry-based pedagogies. Additionally, students in high FRPL schools deserve teachers with context knowledge to teach advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses afforded to students in low FRPL schools. Education stakeholders, including small- to large-scale enterprises and local, state, and federal governments, must collaborate with the scientific education community to eliminate inequalities in science education. Existing socioeconomic disparities in science education remain an impediment to science for all. By addressing the genesis and dynamics of disparities, every student in K-12 classrooms can benefit from a quality science education.

In the United States of America, democratic education has evolved philosophically over 200 years from Jeffersonian ideas of educated citizenry to Deweyan principles of democracy as a “mode of associated living.” In contemporary society, Dianna Hess has written about democratic education as a process of deliberative democracy. Yet the idea of democratic education remains challenging to implement in actual classrooms. In this article, we focus on one teacher’s practice of introducing the topic of Confederate monuments in a Georgia history classroom. Then, we explore how philosophical theories of democratic education help teachers guide students as they encounter controversial issues. Although democracy is viewed by contemporary philosophers of education as a social construct that must be cared for primarily by educators, placing the responsibility for democracy solely on teachers through democratic classroom practices is unrealistic. However, by implementing democratic pedagogies to foster active student decision-making and deliberative skills in a respectful environment that values diversity, students and teachers can embark on a mode of associated living that values democracy. We conclude with recommendations to assist teachers who want to practice democratic education.

Effective questioning and discussion are fundamental instructional skills for science teacher candidates to master. These skills are important for teacher competence that aids student achievement. Opportunities to practice these skills in traditional teacher preparation programs may be limited. This embedded single case study focused on an intervention consisting of an experiential deliberate practice approach which provides a virtual learning simulation experience and asynchronous skill development provided science teacher candidates with the opportunity to learn and practice questioning and discussion skills. Teacher candidates taught the same lesson three times to avatars over the course of three weeks to establish a baseline and post-intervention practices. Feedback was provided after each teaching experience and asynchronous skill development modules were presented between each teaching session. Data included scores of teacher practice using an evaluation rubric for questioning and facilitating discussions, self-reflective surveys after each teaching session, and culminating semi-structured interviews. Both participant self-reporting through surveys and interviews and scorer ratings of lessons supported the intervention having positive impacts on skill competencies of participants.

Invasive lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico are a problem needing a solution, but it is challenging to collect the data needed. DNA barcoding can help by identifying prey species from gut contents. Citizen science can also help by producing data while teaching core scientific concepts to student-scientists. Professor Jeff Eble at Florida Institute of Technology and Professor John Pecore, University of West Florida, combined DNA barcoding with citizen science to form a hands-on learning experience for schools in Florida. Over 1200 students have helped to identify 16 native fish species at threat from lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico.

Purpose
Simulation technology has been used as a viable alternative to provide a real life setting in teacher education. Applying mixed-reality classroom simulations to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher preparation, this qualitative case study aims to examine how pre-service teachers (PSTs) practice culturally and linguistically responsive teaching to work with an English learner (EL) avatar and other avatar students.

Design/methodology/approach
Using an embedded single case study, three PSTs' teaching simulations and interviews were collected and analyzed.

Findings
This study found PST participants made meaningful connections between theory and practices of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, particularly by connecting academic concepts to students' life experiences, promoting cultural diversity, using instructional scaffolding and creating a safe environment. Nevertheless, they needed further improvement in incorporating cultural diversity into content lessons, creating a challenging and supportive classroom and developing interactional scaffolding for ELs' language development. The findings also show that while PST participants perceived simulation technology as very beneficial, expanding the range of technological affordances could provide PSTs an opportunity to undertake a full range of critical teaching strategies for ELs.

Originality/value
This research contributes to broadening the realm of mixed-reality technology by applying it to ESOL teacher education and has implications for both ESOL teacher educators and simulation technology researchers.

Addams viewed education as the foundation for democracy and claimed that in a genuinely egalitarian society the poor required access to an environment that matched environments that enriched the lives of the upper classes. [...]Hull-House was an educational setting furnished as a middle-class home with fine art and trendy furniture. In "'I Still Don't See the Problem With Treating Each Student as an Individual': Science Preservice Teachers' Views on Diversity and Race in the Science Classroom," Seema Rivera and Preethi Titu explore preservice science teachers views on diversity and race. According to Addams, education is to provide knowledge to enhance the lives of all members of society, with a previous focus on the needs and desires of the children (Jane Adams 1860-1935, n.d.).

Alternative certification programs provide a potential solution for teacher shortages in high-needs settings and content areas. These programs often attract career changers, who bring a passion for their content area and a desire to make it relevant to students. Research suggests that support during the first year is critical, but little is known about why some career changers do not complete their program or complete but do not teach. In this study, we explored program and teacher attrition using a variety of factors collected from 58 participants across six cohorts of an alternative certification program focused on mathematics and science teaching in urban middle schools. In addition, we analyzed qualitative data from eight case studies. While race was related to program completion, personal factors drove participants' choices to enter and stay in teaching, such as marital status, number of children, advanced degree, and age. Implications for supporting career changers are discussed.

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the impact of stress, strategies for coping with stress, and professional identity development of pre-service teachers when teaching to avatars. Research participants consisted of 7 pre-service teachers enrolled in a college of education practicum course at a university in the southeastern United States. The data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, written reflections and observation protocol. The results provided innovative suggestions to teacher education community to provide comprehensive support to pre-service teachers in overcoming stress factors as they navigate their teaching capacity through the many responsibilities required of them.

Student participation in authentic research, as citizen scientists, can improve classroom engagement, achievement of learning objectives, and perceptions of science. We present DNA barcoding of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) prey as an example student citizen-science project, though the protocols, objectives, and outcomes can be generalized to any piscivorous fish. The objective of this five-lab conservation genetics unit is to enhance student understanding of fundamental molecular and ecological concepts through applied use of DNA sequencing technologies. Student assessments were equivocal, indicating modest gains in conceptual understanding and maintenance of an overall high perception of science. More notably, student findings have contributed to an improved understanding of the impacts of invasive lionfish, including providing the first evidence that lionfish prey on economically important red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus).

Curricular reforms in science education represent an opportunity for changes in instructional approaches with the intent of making learning and teaching more meaningful and effective. While beginning teachers may receive instruction on pedagogy aligned with adopted reforms, veteran teachers need support and development to implement instruction aligned with reforms. This qualitative case study focused on the transitions of a veteran, Grade 6 science teacher to implement instruction consistent with three-dimensional instruction outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Themes that emerged through analyses of data included the desire and methods for developing pedagogical knowledge, collaborative supports for changing pedagogy, and resulting changes in pedagogy. Suggestions for further study include exploration of types of professional development that support changing pedagogy and a long-term study of teacher efficacy in three-dimensional instructional approaches outlined in NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013).