In U.S. music education, the elementary music program is the level most likely to include all students, before music becomes an elective choice in secondary schools. As students approach adolescence, however, their interest in general music may decline, particularly if they are not engaged in activities they find meaningful. Although past research…

In this teaching tip, I describe how students in my second grade classroom and I developed a curricular structure called Monday Music that involved reading, singing, the study of grammar conventions in the English language, and critical conversations about popular music. Drawing on Dyson's conceptualization of the permeable curriculum, I offer…

Researchers engaging in science communication tend to present information that they find most important. However, understanding the level of prior knowledge and interest of a target audience is key for effective communication of science, especially when dealing with complex and mediatic themes, such as climate change. This study relies on a…

Intellectually gifted students have the right to appropriately challenging learning experiences and the right to reach their potential. In Australia, most intellectually gifted students are in mixed-ability classes and teachers are expected to differentiate to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities; yet…

The first books in Polish about the Pascal programming language appeared in the late 1970s, and were soon followed by a Polish translation of Niklaus Wirth's book "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs." At that time, many efforts were made to prepare teachers to teach informatics in schools, and Pascal was one of the topics taught,…

The Native American Astronomy Outreach Program (NAAOP) at Lowell Observatory is an in-class STEM enrichment program that pairs astronomers with 4th-8th grade teachers at Native-serving schools in northern Arizona. The astronomer works with the teacher to present hands-on astronomy activities to their class with the goal of getting students excited…

This study examined student learning outcomes from a middle school computer science (CS) curriculum developed through a researcher and practitioner partnership (RPP) project. The curriculum is based on students creating mobile apps that serve community and social good. We collected two sets of data from 294 students in three urban districts: (1)…

The focus of this research project was to examine how problem- based learning (PBL) impacts students' interest and knowledge in computer science (CS) at the elementary level. By focusing on a problem that emphasizes social activism, we hypothesized that PBL CS could increase interest for students. We employed an iterative design-based research…

Comics have an important role in non-formal learning environments. However, how comics may be effective teaching/learning activitities in formal education is an ongoing debate in literature. The purpose of this study is to create and evaluate a series of instructional comics about heat related concepts to be used as teaching/learning activities in…

Comics have an important role in non-formal learning environments. However, how comics may be effective teaching/learning activitities in formal education is an ongoing debate in literature. The purpose of this study is to create and evaluate a series of instructional comics about heat related concepts to be used as teaching/learning activities in…

Decreasing interest in Science among students, confirmed by several investigations, calls for the need to revise the contents of the curricula for Science subjects, including Biology. Modern Biology curricula should not only contain key biological concepts but also provide a teacher with sufficient space to develop students' competencies of…

This paper reports an evaluation of a curriculum development project aimed at promoting interest and understanding among elementary school students in engineering and technology through activities integrated into their school's teaching and learning program. In collaboration with students, teachers and school administrators, we developed…

A successful middle school team of teachers employed effective middle level philosophy to structure a curriculum around themes that were relevant, challenging, integrative, and engaging for their particular students and community. Realizing that their young adolescents were involved in tough, delicate issues in their out-of-school lives, the…

The purpose of the study was to find out how teachers role modeled and taught empathetic and pro-social skills at the primary level. The study was qualitative in nature and followed a case study approach. Observations of regular English language classes were done from Grades 1-5 to see if class lessons incorporated the said themes and whether…

The goal of the ANCESTOR program is to use digital storytelling as a means of promoting an interest in technology careers for Aboriginal learners, as well as increasing cultural literacy. A curriculum was developed and first tested with Aboriginal students at the LÁU,WELNEW Tribal School near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Based on feedback…