Background: Implementing maker education in schools is on the rise, fuelled by its potential to move formal education towards a creative, technology-driven 21st century learning culture. In maker education, collaborative learning takes place through and around various digital and traditional technologies, which provide the means for students'…

The purpose of the present investigation was to analyze the pedagogical infrastructures in three cycles of seventh graders' co-invention projects that involved using traditional and digital fabrication technologies for inventing and creating complex artefacts. The aim of the projects was to create high-end multi-material makerspaces by expanding…

In an effort to carry out the work of Bismarck (ND) Public Schools, while implementing the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries," the district has started training school librarians to be the backbone of the project-based learning (PBL)…

The ability to work with people from different disciplinary is a skill for workplace and it is an important skill for teachers too. This study helps gain a better understanding of how engaging in interdisciplinary design teams impacts student teachers' self-efficacy through the use of collaborative concept maps. A statistically significant…

Niamh McQuillan, development and instructional coach at Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland, writes here that, as a teacher, she always liked new learning, but more often than not, it was like a barnacle on her practice. She attended professional development sessions and took the handout back to the to-do tray…

Currently, education places a focus on teamwork, with empathy playing an important role in the coherence of teammates embark on project based learning (PBL). It is often difficult to persuade students to reach an agreement when they are working in groups. Enhancing empathy may reduce arguments and conflict during teamwork Creating interactive…

We report on our experience with the implementation of project-based teamwork on nuclear energy with 14 ninth-grade students from a lower secondary model school and its assessment using two written questionnaires, which were answered by the students after the completion of the project. The first questionnaire elicited students' opinions about the…

This study was designed to understand how a school can transform its instructional practices and collaborative structures to bring about rigorous, relevant, and engaging learning for all students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine how a school can create a culture of innovation in teaching practices. This case study…

This article describes an efficient peer evaluation process that can be implemented at the middle and high school levels, and that holds students accountable for their individual contributions in a team-based project. Teachers faced with this challenge will welcome the web-based peer-evaluation interface that was capable of soliciting student…

Contribution: This paper shows that participating in a year-round program for African-American male middle school students (ages 10-14) can positively impact their attitudes toward STEM, their confidence in problem solving and team work, and their interest in STEM careers, but may not impact the interest in taking STEM classes to the same extent.…

We learn by doing. This simple philosophy is at the heart of project-based learning in the 21st-century classroom. It is grounded in the belief that the stand and lecture approach to teaching, worksheets and rote memorization are not enough to move students down a path to the deep learning necessary for success in college and careers. Essential…

The paper reports a study of the project practices of four Indian middle school teachers, elicited through semi-structured interviews of individual teachers. The teachers also responded to a proposal to modify four aspects of existing project practices, viz. subject integration, assessment, group work, and management of resources. The aspects were…

Educators at Thomas A. Edison Middle School have worked together to bring invention information and activities to life. One activity in particular, Ping-Pong Ball Invention Challenge, has proven a great success. The Ping-Pong Ball Invention Challenge was inspired by the basic rules for PBS's "Design Squad"'s "Pop Fly" activity. In this article,…

In this article, the authors share a project developed and implemented in an eighth-grade science classroom in which students apply what they have learned about biomes to create sustainable cities. This project promotes environmental literacy through helping students understand the interrelated elements of sustainable environmental systems and how…

This newsletter of best practices in implementing the High Schools That Work (HSTW), Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Technology Centers That Work (TCTW) school improvement models is based on presentations at the 27th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the summer of 2013. The newsletter is divided up into…