Volume 5, Issue 1

January 2026

Publications

As we look back on 2025, we want to thank you, our readers, for engaging with TERC’s research throughout the year. Publications are one of the key ways TERC creates impact by advancing the field through rigorous and widely shared research.

These five publications published in 2025 stood out for the attention they received and the conversations they sparked.

1.

Leveling the computational playing field: Inquiring about factors predicting computational thinking in constructionist game-based learning

A new study investigates which factors predict computational thinking in game-based learning.

Authors: Giovanni M. Troiano, Amir Abdollahi, Michael Cassidy, Gillian Puttick, Tiago Machado, Casper Harteveld

Find out what matters ➡️

2.

Balancing Design Goals for Supporting Students’ Work with Extant Data in Science

See why helping students make sense of real data in biology takes more than just following the standards.

Authors: William R. Penuel, Andee Rubin, Gillian Puttick, Kate Henson, Clarissa Deverel-Rico

See the findings ➡️

3.

Embodying physics assessment: Reimagining formative assessment as a creative, multimodal, and culturally sustaining dialogic practice

See how reimagining assessment to include dance and movement can make physics learning more engaging and reflective of students’ own ideas.

Authors: Dionne Champion, Folashadé Solomon, and Machienvee Lammey

Explore the paper ➡️

4.

Bridging Disciplines: Integrating Computer Science and Social Studies in Rural Middle Schools

Take a close look at real classroom lessons to see how integrating CS into middle school social studies can deepen learning in both subjects.

Authors: Debra Bernstein, Eric Hochberg, Santiago Gasca, Michael Berson, Kristen Franklin, and Perry Shank

Read the research ➡️

5.

How Does Modifying a Scratch Game Support Teacher Learning?

Explore how remixing a Scratch game helped middle school teachers deepen their own systems thinking and sharpen their instructional goals.

Authors: Gillian Puttick, Debra Bernstein, and Michael Cassidy

Discover Insights ➡️