This project advanced scientific understanding about children’s gender stereotypes about STEM and verbal abilities by synthesizing more than four decades of studies. The compiled data represented more than 145,000 children across ages 4 to 17. Additionally, the synthesis was international in scope, including data from 33 nations.The results overturned some commonly accepted wisdom about these stereotypes. For instance, contrary to some prior conclusions, math stereotypes favoring male ability were minimal on average. The findings also indicated the need for future research on stereotypes that can negatively impact boys. For instance, girls were seen as far superior in verbal domains, such as reading and writing.These decades of data also emphasized the need for continued future research to better understand and address stereotypes that might prematurely turn girls away from certain STEM fields. By age 6, children already saw boys as better than girls in computing and engineering. As girls aged, their male-STEM bias increased, which could potentially limit their future aspirations for fast-growing tech fields, such as artificial intelligence.

We have developed models that can automatically classify activity structures and teaching activities in videos of elementary mathematics instruction. We drew on data that had been collected for a previous NSF study in Virginia, Michigan, and Connecticut.

Number sense is a key goal of mathematics education in the United States, but it is unclear if students' number sense is improving in 3rd-8th grade. A primary reason for this lack of progress is the absence of a rigorous, yet practical measure of students' number sense in these grades. This project developed a brief assessment of 3rd-8th grade students' number sense that is now an open-access, free-to-use resource for classroom teachers, educators, and researchers. 

Project Let’s Talk Code was a Research Practitioner Partnership (RPP) that investigated and supported teachers in introducing computer science to high school students in the Four Corners region of the U.S. Launched in the summer of 2021, Let's Talk Code conducted nine professional development sessions for 119 non-computer science teachers across 34 schools, impacting 214 Native American students. It also conducted a long-term professional development for 7 computing teachers and impacted 120 students.Let's Talk Code primarily focused on schools near the Four Corners region, with the majority of the students being Indigenous. The Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and Pueblo tribes were largely impacted by this project.

We're creating a smart study tool that helps K-12 students truly remember what they learn in science and math classes, not just for a test, but for the long haul. It's like having a personalized tutor that knows exactly when to remind students of what they've learned. What makes our tool special is that it smartly adjusts to any amount of time a student has for practice, unlike others that can overwhelm them. This means less stress for teachers and students, and ultimately, more kids feeling confident and excited about STEM careers, especially as we help them catch up after the pandemic.This project primarily impacted students in grades  6-12 across Texas, Minnesota, and New York and has the potential for broader application. While the direct implementation so far occurred in Houston ISD, Mansfield ISD, El Paso Leadership Academy, a Minneapolis independent school, and the Ascend and DREAM charter networks in New York City, the methods and findings are relevant and scalable to educators nationwide.