The Japanese lesson study (JLS) model for curriculum development has seen limited application to middle school science classrooms. The JLS model was used to develop and refine three hands-on activities focused on four major eighth grade science topics from the California curriculum. Prior assessments of these topics showed limited understanding by…

A common theme has been consistently woven through the literature on teacher professional development: that practice-based designs and collaboration are two components of effective teacher learning models. In addition to collaboration and practice-based designs, inquiry cycles have been long recognized as catalysts for teacher professional…

SMK and PCK are crucial for effective science teaching, yet the amount of subject matter covered in elementary teacher education programs is limited. This exploratory study of ten elementary school teachers focuses on how teachers learned science content from their teaching practice (including preparing to teach, classroom instruction, and…

While California has frameworks defining what concepts are necessary for understanding science, math, history-social science, and other disciplines, there has been no such framework for technology. The framework presented in this paper proposes a strategy for thriving in a future that will be strongly influenced by technology. That strategy is…

This article highlights the California Cultures Project as a case study examining the architecture and framework required to support the deployment of digital objects as virtual collections at the California Digital Library. Chronologically arranged, it describes the Online Archive of California (OAC) Working Group's functional requirements for…