In addition to the continuing need for citizens who can address the challenges of "human" communities, growing concerns have arisen regarding "all" life on the planet. Indeed, one of our most urgent conditions is the decline of the environment upon which all life depends. Yet, despite our concerns, there remain vastly differing…

Virtual reality (VR) is no longer a surprisingly novel technology. Most art educators have heard about VR, although they may not have a detailed knowledge of or experience with it. However, as VR has become commercialized, education researchers have also looked at using VR for teaching, and they have discussed its effects on students' learning.…

In this article, we discuss how virtual reality (VR) can be used to provide learning experiences across time and space. After a brief introduction to VR technology, we discuss how VR can be used as a part of College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) inquiry in your elementary classroom, including management, materials, instructional considerations, and…

Classroom innovation can involve finding unique ways to present material to students. Engaging students with the material will support their understanding of the broader implications of what they learn and how it relates to their lives.

While the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education to address complex world problems, such as global warming, disease, and an increasingly interdependent world economy has led to many educational reform efforts in recent years, other content areas, such as social studies, have unnecessarily become…

Mobile technology continues to change and evolve the way people and society function in their everyday lives. Much like the phenomenon that was the Internet 20 years ago, educators now find themselves facing increasing pressure to adapt classroom instruction to accommodate for new and emerging technologies. This article offers practical…

How do we preserve our civil society and dynamic political system and prepare students to be active citizens in a democratic society? The need for civic education is more essential now than ever before, and students deserve access to powerful civic lessons that actively engage them in learning about our democracy. The ultimate goal would be for…

Due to the changing landscape of K-12 education in the United States, particularly issues arising from funding, safety, accessibility, and standardization, the frequency at which teachers utilize traditional field trips has diminished over the last few decades. Thanks to continued advances in communicative technology, however, teachers are able to…

In 2014, Virginia's Montgomery County school division adopted a place-based social studies curriculum titled "My Place in Time and Space" for fifth grade students. The curriculum promotes an awareness of the impact of place on local knowledge and disciplinary understandings in southwest Virginia, while also connecting local history to…

This article is drawn from the authors' book, "Judging for Themselves: Using Mock Trials to Bring Social Studies and English to Life," which discusses the effectiveness of mock trials as tools for learning and assessments. Mock trials are effective because they are challenging, authentic projects in which students create and then do…

Election simulations are considered a viable tool to instigate democratic learning in schools. This paper reports an explorative qualitative inquiry into one type of simulation project: mock-elections (ME). Main objective was to gain an insight into the organization of ME-practices in eight schools in the Netherlands in 2012. Thematic analysis of…

One of the most persistent and controversial issues facing the global community is climate change. With the creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol (1997), the global community established some common ground on how to address this issue. However, the last several climate summits have failed…

For almost one hundred years, educators have used model deliberative bodies (e.g., Model United Nations) as a pedagogical tool to teach students about the complexities of diplomatic negotiations. We argue that this type of classroom simulation activity may also serve to illustrate specific historical realities and, more broadly, provide a model of…

Simulations are of growing interest within the social studies in terms of research and practice. Although the findings of early research were unfavorable to simulations in terms of student learning, recent research has revealed new and interesting findings related to different domains of student learning that earlier research did not. In light of…

In many parts of the less developed world it is women and girls who are expected to provide water for their family. Frequently, young girls are unable to complete school or get jobs because water scarcity means they are forced to walk miles daily to obtain this most basic need. Since the creation of the United Nations Millennium Goals, progress…