LBST 515 - Science Education Research: Methods and Insights

What factors influence educators’ practices and students’ learning in the natural sciences? What role do discipline-specific characteristics of the natural sciences play? These are some of the questions investigated through discipline-based education research (DBER), which integrates disciplinary STEM knowledge and skills (e.g., from chemistry, biology, etc.) with social science research methods to study teaching and learning in STEM fields. In this course, we will examine how science education knowledge is generated and discuss insights about science teaching and learning. In this course, students will develop their ability to assess the alignment between research questions, theoretical frameworks, methods of data collection, and the analysis and interpretation of data. Through this process, students will evaluate scholarly claims about science education by considering the strengths and limitations of the evidence and reasoning associated with the claim.

Unit(s): 0.5
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Notes: Graduate course. Offered fall 2025.
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Identify interactions and influences among various disciplines, fields, theories, analytical strategies, and source materials.
Deploy skills, methods, and knowledge developed in coursework.
Demonstrate close, analytical interpretations of source materials in one’s writing.
Conduct complex research, synthesize it, and argue persuasively in support of a claim based on evidence.
Analyze the value and significance of one’s own academic and creative work, and situate it within the context of similar works.
Express oneself articulately in oral discussion and in presentational modes when appropriate, and express oneself articulately in writing.