Tag Archives: UnICORN

UnICORN project publications

For the last four years, the UnICORN project has afforded an opportunity to enhance and engage in research on teaching and learning about inheritance in elementary science through curriculum development and professional development for teachers. Through the implementation of a model-based curriculum, early learners in Nebraska have been afforded opportunities to use corn as a model organism to develop understanding of basic concepts of heredity and genetics using corn as a model organism. Two papers were recently published based upon this work which describe students’ understanding of core, NGSS-aligned target concepts and the relative impact of the curriculum on target outcomes in consecutive project years.

Cisterna, D., Forbes, C.T., & Roy, R. (2019).  Model-based teaching and learning about inheritance in 3rd-grade science. In International Journal of Science Education, 41(15), 2177-2199.

Forbes, C.T., Cisterna, D., Bhattacharya, D., & Roy, R. (2019).  Modeling elementary students’ ideas about heredity: A comparison of a curricular intervention. In American Biology Teacher, 81(9), 626-635.

Forbes Group presentations @ AERA, NARST, and NSTA, 2018

The Forbes team attended the 2018 annual meetings of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), held March 10-13 in Atlanta, GA, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), held March 15-18 in Atlanta, GA, and the American Educational Research Association (AERA), held in New York City.  We had the opportunity to present  an array of findings from the WELL, MoHSES, UnICORN projects.

Bhattacharya, D., Forbes, C.T., Ingram, E., Hawley, L., Stevens, J. & Cisterna, D. (2018, March).  Developing 3rd-grade students’ understanding of inheritance using a model-based curriculum. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Atlanta, GA.

Bhattacharya, D., Forbes, C.T., Ingram, E., Hawley, L., Stevens, J. & Cisterna, D. (2018, March).  Supporting scientific modeling practices in elementary science instruction about inheritance. Poster presented at annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Atlanta, GA.

Bhattacharya, D., Ingram, E., Forbes, C., Cisterna, D. (2018, March). Using agriculture as a context for teaching genetics in elementary classrooms: Insights from UnICORN (Understanding Inheritance in CORN). Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association (NARST/NSTA sponsored session), Atlanta, GA.

Böschl, F., Vo, T., Forbes, C.T., Lange-Schubert, K., (2018, March). Development of an empirically grounded learning performance framework for elementary students’ modeling competency of water. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Atlanta, GA.

Cisterna, D., Bhattacharya, D., Vo, T., Zangori, L., & Forbes, C.T., (2018, March). Examining multiple programs to supporting K-12 teachers’ instruction about water using scientific models. Submitted to the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), 2018 Annual International Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Lally, D., Dauer, J.M., Forbes, C.T., (2018, March). Helping undergraduate students’ CREATE understanding of scientific and popular media articles about contemporary water issues. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Atlanta, GA.

Lally, D., Forbes, C.T., (2018, March). Water in society: Making water issues matter to undergraduate students. Session presented at the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Atlanta, GA.  

Petitt, D., Lally, D., Forbes, C.T., Brozovic, N., & Franz, T. (2018, March). Undergraduate students’ learning and reasoning about socio-hydrological issues. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Atlanta, GA.

Vo, T., Bhattacharya, D., Baumfalk, B., Zangori, L., Welch, G., Forbes, C., (2018, April). Examining the impact of a modeling enhanced water unit on 3rd grade students’ scientific explanations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), New York City, NY.

Vo, T., Forbes, C.T., (2018, March). A mixed methods comparison of elementary students’ model based explanations about water. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Atlanta, GA.


2017 UNL STEM Education Research Retreat

In October, the 2017 STEM Education Research Retreat was held on East Campus in Hardin Hall in partnership between the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education, IANR Science Literacy, and the Nebraska Collaborative for Food, Energy, & Water Education.  Over 75 UNL faculty, postdocs, and graduate students representing nearly all of UNL’s academic Colleges and Extension participated in this year’s event.  Over 30 posters were presented in two consecutive poster sessions, showcasing the high-quality and innovative STEM education research being conducted at the university and across the state.  Participants also participated in an interactive webinar with NSF Program Officers to learn more about the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) funding program.  It was a pleasure to co-plan and host this event in conjunction with colleagues from across campuses.  Kudos to Devarati Bhattacharya, Erin Ingram, Tina Vo, Diane Lally, Kari Nelson, Destini Petitt, and McKenzie Peterson for presenting their research, including work from the MoHSES, WELL, and UnICORN projects.    IMG_0799 IMG_0800 IMG_0807 IMG_0808IMG_08112016-10-18 13.03.51

Fall 2014 School of Natural Resources Seminar Series

On Wednesday, September 3rd, I presented some of our work as part of the Fall 2014 SNR Seminar Series.  In the talk, entitled, “Discipline-based Education Research on Teaching and Learning in Elementary Science Learning Environments”, I discussed the MoHSES, RAES, and UnICORN projects, all focused on elementary (K-6) science, from a disciplinary perspective.  The seminar was a fantastic opportunity to share more about our work with SNR colleagues and I appreciate the interest of all who attended.