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There is great gender gap in mathematics and science among countries around the world, but the gender gap is one of the largest in Japan. In order to address this issue, we evaluated an educational intervention to empower the next generation of female youths by employing design thinking to ignite their interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) fields. In this article, we explain the rationale for the intervention, describe the unique three-day curriculum employing design thinking, and share the results from the intervention. There are four key findings of our study. After participating in the workshop, the middle school female students showed greater interest in STEAM fields, demonstrated increased levels of creative confidence, cultivated a greater sense of empathy for others, and exhibited greater appreciation for collaboration. This study highlights the possibilities and opportunities for using design thinking to encourage female youths to become more interested in STEAM fields.

The pervasiveness of digital technology creates an imperative for mathematics teacher educators to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to select technology to support students' mathematical development. We report on research conducted on an assignment created for and implemented in secondary mathematics methods courses requiring PSTs to select and evaluate digital mathematics tools. We found that PSTs primarily focused on pedagogical fidelity (ease of use), did not consider mathematical fidelity (accuracy), and at times superficially attended to cognitive fidelity (how well the tool reflects students' mathematical thinking processes) operationalized as the CCSS for Mathematical Practice and Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency. We discuss implications for implementing the assignment and suggestions for addressing PSTs' challenges with identifying the mathematical practices and five strands.

A Number Talk is a brief activity (10-15 minutes in length) that is designed to support students' mathematical sense making and promote flexible thinking. During a Number Talk, students engage in mental computations. Number Talks help students do the following: (1) Develop number sense focused on making sense of quantity and mathematical relationships; (2) Understand that there can be many ways to solve a mathematics problem; and (3) Learn to trust their own reasoning, which helps build intellectual autonomy (Humphreys and Parker 2015). This article discusses the nuts and bolts of engaging students in Number Talks, the benefits of Number Talks for high school students, how to get started with Number Talks, and getting the most out of Number Talks. A bibliography is included.

The belief that mathematics ability is a fixed trait is particularly common and may be a key reason for many students' disinterest and underperformance in mathematics. This study investigates how mathematics teaching practices might contribute to students' beliefs about mathematics ability being a fixed or malleable trait (mindset). Through a synthesis of existing literature and an analysis of data from classroom observations, this article presents a framework of teaching practices and identifies how varying implementations of these practices can be classified along a continuum from conveying fixed-mindset messages to conveying growth-mindset messages related to mathematics ability.

Schools must rely on a sound theory to practice relationships in their design. This study documents one school's attempt to design a science school for African American boys. Through a mixed methods study of pre- and post-year interviews and surveys, this study documented how their views changed during year 1. The authors discovered three myths about teaching African American boys that changed: (a) that teachers of the same race as students will improve performance. (b) that curriculum-focused professional development produced higher academic performance, and (c) that parent involvement is critical to school success. These results document how a limited research to practice understanding hindered the school's ability to design a STEM school for African American boys.

The challenge of opening the doors to science has been a topic of debate for many years. This content analysis study documented an urban school's attempt to use representational practices to promote positive science identities for African American boys. Our analysis revealed how the school attempted to offer connections between ethnic identity and achievement ideology through representational practices. Whether it was posting the names of famous African American male scientists or promoting attendance to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the school used postings, displays, and interior pictures to communicate a positive science identity. The study highlights the need to promote non-stereotypical science identities for students.

The bicarbonate buffer capacity is usually considered in a phase-homogeneous system, at equilibrium, with no CO 2 transfer between the liquid buffer phase and another phase. However, typically, an in vitro bicarbonate buffer-based system is a phase-heterogeneous system, as it entails continuously sparging (bubbling) the dissolution medium with CO 2 in a gas mixture, at constant ratio, to maintain a constant partial pressure of CO 2 (g) and CO 2(aq) molarity at a prescribed value, with CO 2 diffusing freely between the gas and the aqueous phases. The human gastrointestinal tract is also a phase-heterogeneous system, with CO 2 diffusing across the mucosal membrane into the mesenteric arterial blood, which serves as a sink for CO 2 from the intestinal lumen. In this report, a mass transport analysis of the apparent buffer capacity of a phase-heterogeneous bicarbonate-CO 2 system is developed. It is shown that, most significantly, a phase-heterogeneous bicarbonate-CO 2 system can have a much higher buffer capacity than a phase-homogeneous system such that the buffer capacity is dependent on the bicarbonate concentration. It is double that of a phase-homogeneous system at the pH = p K a for a monoprotic buffer at the same concentration. This buffer capacity enhancement increases hyperbolically with pH above the p K a , thus providing a much stronger buffering to keep the pH in the physiologically neutral range. The buffer capacity will be dependent on the bicarbonate molarity (which in vivo will depend on the bicarbonate secretion rate) and not the pH of the luminal fluid. Further, there is no conjugate acid accumulation as a result of bicarbonate neutralization, since the resulting carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3 ) rapidly dehydrates producing CO 2 and H 2 O. The mass transport analysis developed in this report is further supported by in vitro experimental results. This enhanced bicarbonate buffer capacity in a phase-heterogeneous system is of physiological significance as well as significant for the dissolution and absorption of ionizable drugs.