As every elementary teacher knows, an elementary classroom is a busy place. While literacy and mathematics command the majority of hours of the school day, many schools are left with an inadequate amount of time to devote to science. In an urban district, students in grades K-5 receive a mere 30 minutes a day for science and social studies. There…

As states review, refine, and implement new academic standards, professional learning activities,also known as professional development (PD), should be scheduled in order to support educators. At the request of a state education agency, the Center on Standards and Assessments Implementation (CSAI) conducted a scan of six states' PD opportunities…

The Elizabeth Thoman Archive at the Harrington School of Communication and Media, University of Rhode Island, has the last complete kit of one of the milestones in the early chronology of media literacy, the 1972 Media Now curriculum. This curriculum was the first of its kind, using self-contained lesson modules that were part of a larger series…

Studying global economic system helps middle-school students unravel complexities of world economics by focusing on other countries, their motivations as consumers, and their decision-making processes. By examining interrelationship of economics and everyday life, students can see their place in economic chain. Concepts such as marketing, stock…

Project SCATE (Students Concerned About Tomorrow's Environment) is an action-oriented, interdisciplinary program for secondary students in environmental stewardship. Students participate in both scientific investigations of environmental issues and political processes necessary to implement solutions. (Author/SJL)

An exemplary project was initiated in March of 1977 as a jointly operated project with Arrowhead Area Education Agency 5 and Iowa Central Community College. The purpose of the effort was to analyze the potential and demonstrate the components of the Experience-Based Career Education--Appalachia Education Laboratory (EBCE-AEL) model for mildly…

Describes a fourth-grade project at Malcom Price Lab School at the University of Northern Iowa in which students write and produce a community brochure about their hometown, Cedar Falls, Iowa. The brochure provides a "kid's eye-view" of Cedar Falls' history, cultural events, and recreational activities and is distributed by local…

This article presents a model of formative task-based language assessment implemented in the Chinese language program at the University of Iowa. The model was conceptualized from both empirical evidence, namely previous research done by other team members and me, and assessment theory, namely task-based learning and testing. Our formative…

This article discusses a project about lunch undertaken by a class of 3- to 5-year-old children in a preschool in Iowa. Following a description of the school and the goals of the project, the article presents the three phases of the project. The teacher's reflections about the project are also included. Photographs taken to document the project…

Phase II of the Iowa High School Industrial Arts project sought to revise industrial arts content to include the infusion of new technologies, structured mathematics and science content, and a less project-oriented approach to teaching. The project identified a philosophical basis and a content structure; set priorities for development and…