Drawing from different orientations, personalized, learner-centered environments and connected learning are two frameworks that work well together to renew classrooms and schools to focus on the needs and interests of the learner and make connections between experience, content standards, disciplines, and the community. This case study describes…

With the rise of polarization and extremism, the question of how best to transmit civic virtues across generations is more acute than ever. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that schools can be the place for this transmission by empowering students and gathering them around concrete and democratically chosen objectives. We draw on an RCT…

Project-based Learning (Project-BL) has become increasingly popular in mainstream education with various models dedicated to the approach, however, there is a need for a Project-BL framework specifically designed for the second language learning context. The model offered here, called the "10Cs of Project-based Learning TESOL…

This study presents the features and measured effects of an extra-curriculum program called "4thlabs: science magazine" which targets the promotion of important soft skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration in high school students. Program's main features include project-based learning and the…

Science is increasingly characterized by participation in knowledge communities. To meaningfully engage in science inquiry, students must be able to evaluate diverse sources of information, articulate informed ideas, and share ideas with peers. This study explores how technology can support idea exchanges in ways that value individuals' prior…

This study investigates the hands-joined learning framework as an approach to personalize and provide instructional scaffolding within project-based learning. The authors include a case description of hands-joined learning in a middle school social studies classroom and critically examine middle school student feedback in relation to two aims: (a)…

Purpose: The digital age has provided new possibilities for the connected learning. To better understand these opportunities in the school context, the purpose of this paper is to examine what kinds of learning communities emerge in international learning projects and how tools and technologies support students' inquiries and peer connections.…

Through a case study of a seventh-grade ELA teacher, this article examines New Literacies pedagogy and more specifically a digital video project amid high-stakes testing pressures that often place limitations on teaching and learning.

The fifth grade students in this project were part of a yearlong ethnographic study in an urban elementary school. They engaged in a student initiated inquiry project combining bakeries and mysteries, which culminated in the production of an original film. Situated in a socio-spatialized stance on literacy involving networks of participation and…

This research investigated how student social interactions within two approaches to an inquiry-based science curriculum could be related to student motivation and achievement outcomes. This qualitative case study consisted of two cases, Off-Campus and On-Campus, and used ethnographic techniques of participant observation. Research participants…

Few early intervention efforts have improved the representation of women in computer science and engineering (CSE) disciplines, but pair programming has shown promise for reducing gender differences among college students. The current study is the first to examine this promising practice in middle school. In an effort to better understand what…

In our rapidly changing global culture, students' social worlds are becoming increasingly multilingual and multimodal, yet school practices do not often reflect the complexities or diversity of students' literacy and language practices. Valuing students' experiences with language and culture is important in creating supportive learning…

What happens when children in creative, Reggio-like preschools go to a more traditional elementary school? In this book, William Corsaro and his Italian coauthor, Luisa Molinari, tell a complete and important story about the lives of children as they grow from young preschoolers to preadolescents in Modena, Italy. The authors both explore and…