This article explores the usefulness of detective role-play as a research method to facilitate young children's critical thinking. The study examines four specifically designed detective play experiences, adopting an ethical rights-based approach to research with children. This qualitative multiple-case study is grounded in play-based pedagogy…

When exploring and introducing sound, students need to understand that there are multiple aspects that work together to create sound. In this single class lesson, students work through an inquiry-based challenge to discover how sound can be manipulated and altered through these elements. By investigating how to manipulate sound, students are able…

We present experimental evidence on the impact of a multi-faceted program that integrates technology-aided instruction, teacher training and coaching, community ownership, and free primary education. Our setting is three districts in rural Zambia, where we randomly assigned the program across 30 treatment and 33 control schools. The results show…

The problem in this study was that despite encouragement from administrators, kindergarten through Grade 8 teachers struggled to use project-based learning (PBL) in a local school in the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools (AIMS). Rooted in Kilpatrick's progressive philosophy of education and Piaget's theory of constructivism, this…

A key question concerning educational researchers is how to promote students' self-regulated learning (SRL) in regular classrooms. We address this question by examining the beliefs and practices of a primary school teacher who supported students' SRL by employing an experiential learning approach. We gathered data throughout an 11 weeks long…

IPAS ("Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam dan Sosial"/Natural and Social Sciences) constitutes essential subjects in the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in primary schools. The primary goal of integrating IPAS is to enable students to effectively manage their natural and social environment as a whole. In light of this objective, the…

Researchers have proposed integration as an approach to effectively teach social studies in primary grades. Many teachers integrate by teaching social studies content and skills during time allocated for other subjects, such as literacy, science, or math. Integration clearly uses time efficiently to allow for more social studies content. However,…

This research aims to analyse the process of grasping the Solar System by the students during their learning activities in which we used an animation film and other educational means (geographic globe, schematic drawings, 3D model, etc.), as well as the results obtained. In order to achieve this goal, we organized an action-research within…

Drawing on data from a multi-sited study examining making and makerspace technologies' impact on early social studies education, this article explores how two 1st-grade children mobilized digital media to write (right) a personal issue of geo-civic injustice. Using speculative civic literacies and sound studies as conceptual tools to interrogate…

Teacher knowledge of reading is an important aspect of teacher quality, though limited research has investigated its associations with how classroom teachers report using instructional strategies to engage students in reading. Factor analysis of 28 instructional strategy items led to five self-reported instructional foci among 66 kindergarten and…

What do paleontologists, dinosaur tracks, and the nature of science have in common? They're combined here in an inquiry activity where students use methods of observation and inference to devise evidence-based explanations for the data they collect about dinosaur tracks, much like the methods used by paleontologists. Students then debate the…

Preparing teachers to implement a new curriculum presents a significant but important challenge. While formal professional development programs can assist in this preparation, finding prescribed experiences that meet the needs of all teachers can be formidable and indeed may not always be the best option for promoting change in practice. Decisions…

The purpose this study was to explore how a veteran first-grade teacher collaboratively negotiated the implementation of a project with her students while, at the same time, addressed grade-level standards. Researchers investigated the teacher's strategies for integrating the district's standards into project topics, investigative activities, and…

There is a particular need for inquiry-based lessons in the early elementary grades, when students are starting to develop their analytical skills. In this article, the authors present a 2-tiered inquiry-based lesson plan for 1st and 2nd grades that has been successfully used by graduate teaching fellows involved in the National Science Foundation…

Research indicates that students of all ages and demographics benefit from active learning strategies. The challenge is translating what we know into what we do. Award-winning educators Linda Schwartz Green and Diane Casale-Giannola build that bridge with more than 40 easy-to-implement strategies for today's inclusive classroom. This practical…