Inquiry is featured prominently in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a promising pedagogical approach. Building on current conceptions of inquiry, a mixed-methods research design was used to explore the effects of Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global on student science content knowledge, motivation, and perspectives related to inquiry in a cross-school collaboration. The data sources included pre-/post-tests on science content and student motivation (n = 75), transcripts from student focus groups (n = 26), and students’ multimodal learning products (n = 18 teams). The quantitative findings indicated School B students were more motivated by the project than School A students, which mirrored student performance. The student focus group findings generated three themes: constructing empathy, learning for impact, and navigating challenges. The discussion focuses on an integrated view of what students gained and did not gain from the PBI Global experience, including a nuanced explanation of how motivation and content knowledge may be influenced by student experiences and school contextual factors during PBI Global. Implications for instructional practice highlight how relationship building, mutual respect, and consensus making are essential components of constructing cross-school collaborations and the importance of integrating instructional frameworks with teachers and students. Future research will focus on investigating the effects of PBI Global on student learning in cross-school partnerships through experimental-designed studies, and the systemic and structural barriers to scaling cross-school inquiry-based learning.

Effective mathematics teaching involves eliciting and interpreting student thinking, and then using students' current understandings as a basis for instruction. Research indicates these skills are not innate but can be acquired through structured experiences. In this article, we describe the development and implementation of an interview module aimed at supporting secondary preservice teachers' ability to elicit and use evidence of student thinking. Analysis of preservice teachers' noticing of student thinking across components of the interview module demonstrated positive benefits of the assignment. We share our design considerations and results, and offer potential adaptations to the module for other mathematics methods instructors interested in using the module to develop secondary preservice teachers' ability to notice student thinking.

This Research Commentary addresses the need for an instrument abstract—termed an Interpretation and Use Statement (IUS)—to be included when mathematics educators present instruments for use by others in journal articles and other communication venues (e.g., websites and administration manuals). We begin with presenting the need for IUSs, including the importance of a focus on interpretation and use. We then propose a set of elements—identified by a group of mathematics education researchers, instrument developers, and psychometricians—to be included in the IUS. We describe the development process, the recommended elements for inclusion, and two example IUSs. Last, we present why IUSs have the potential to benefit end users and the field of mathematics education.