The NARST International Committee awarded 12 scholarships to doctoral and early career researchers from Chile, Israel, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Congratulations to Cigdem Han Tosunoglu, Yeonjoo Ko, Hyunok Lee, Pey-Yan Liou, Dante Cisterna, Deniz Saribas, Zehavit Kohen,Nirit Lavie-Alon, Eunhang Lee, Gabriella Schwartz, Ferah Ozer, and Cigdem Han Tosunoglu. We encourage more international members who are doctoral and early career researchers to apply this scholarship.

We also want to congratulate to Shelley Rap, Andrew Wild, Domonique Bulls, and Allyson Rogan-Klyve who received NARST PhD School Scholarships, and will attend the SAARMSTE Research School in Johannesburg this June.

Professor Zoubedia R. Dagher was the recipient of the LSEP (Linking Science Educators Program) for her research project, Infusing Scientific Practices in Science Education, in Lebanon.

At the annual conference in Chicago this year, the International Committee organized a preconference workshop, Developing International Cross-Cultural Research Projects on Science Education, coordinated by Ling Liang and Sarah Barrett. We invited five projects from across the world to introduce various regional cross-cultural science education research projects and to help audience become more familiar with various issues (i.e. theoretical perspectives, methodological issue, finance, culture) germane to international science education research. The five presenters were:

•  Julia V. Clark, Program Director in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation (NSF),
• Saouma BouJaoude, Director of the Center of Teaching and Learning at the American University of Beirut,
• Hsiao-Lan Sharon Chen, Chair of the Department of Education at the National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan,
• Maurício Pietrocola, Professor of the Faculty of Education, at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and
• Peter A. Okebukola, Professor of Science and Computer Education at the Lagos State University, Nigeria.

The International Committee sponsored session titled, Promoting Cross-culture Science Education Research, included three invited research teams:

•  Sibel Erduran, University of Limerick, Ireland, and her team presented their Linking Science Educator Project in Rwanda, helping Rwandan science educators to develop a preservice teacher training program.
• Chao-Ti Hsiung, National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan and Hsiao-Lan Sharon Chen presented a five-year cross-cultural project, EQUALPRIME, which addressed understandings of teaching and learning in primary science classrooms in Taiwan, Germany, and Australia.
• Saouma BouJaoude, Science and Math Education Center American University of Beirut, presented on a collaborative project, Science Education for Diversity, between the UK, the Netherlands, Turkey, Lebanon, India and Malaysia. He reported on how the partner countries address the issue of diversity and improvements for students’ science attitude and learning in the partner Western and non-Western countries.

Additionally, the International Committee organized two invited symposiums, one from the European Science Education Association (ESERA) group and the other by the Australasian Science Education Association Research (ASERA) group. These international researchers helped to broaden our member’s view of science education research.

We would like to acknowledge the efforts and time of our committee members. The Committee would like to thank: Aybuke Pabuccu (Abant Izzet Baysal University),Christina Siry (University of Luxembourg), and Deb McGregor (University of Wolverhampton) for their contributions during their term as members. We also want to welcome new members: Bahadir Namdar (Recep Tayyip Erdogan University), (Witwatersrand University), Alandeon Oliveira (State University of New York), Ingrid Sanchez-Tapia (University of Illinois Chicago), and Binaben Vanmali (Arizona State University).