This qualitative inquiry centered on the critical exploration of media education approaches that guided the praxis of student assessment reform, particularly textbook task design. Correspondingly, this instructional media research is predicated on the fundamental premise that textbooks and the student tasks contained therein are informed and…

This book investigates the ways in which new developments in areas of language teaching practice, such as policy-making, planning, methodology and the use of educational technology are locally adopted, adapted, and initiated and implemented in the four nations of the United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. By looking at the…

Our educational systems must prepare students for an increasingly complex and interconnected future, but teachers facing this task are not equipped to prepare students to succeed. Network science--the study of how biological, social, physical and technological systems interconnect, how the structure of those connections evolve over time, and how…

Grant-funded curriculum development efforts can substantially impact practice and research in science education. Therefore, understanding the sometimes-unintended consequences of changes in grant priorities is crucial. Using the case of two large funding agencies in the United States, the current portfolio review provides insight into these…

New York is ahead of most states in its work to design detailed curricula and professional development for the common core and to build brand-new tests to reflect them. What's unfolding in the Empire State as a result of that work illustrates the way the common standards can pressure changes in the education landscape, and torque the tensions…

The Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002) was used to identify processes of teacher learning during the collaborative design of curriculum materials in the context of curriculum innovation. Nine published studies from six different countries about teachers' collaborative curriculum design were analyzed to…

Teachers need to develop the ability to adapt curriculum materials. Two elementary teachers, Maggie and Catie, were asked to write narratives about their use of and changes to particular reform-oriented science lesson plans. Maggie drew on her knowledge of and experiences with students, as well as other knowledge, experiences, and resources, to…

We present the perspectives of teachers and others involved in the collaborative design of teaching and learning artifacts across three cases: (a) an independent group participating in lesson study; (b) teachers participating in professional development programs; and (c) a district initiative for producing numeracy tasks. Among the results we…

Indiana's declining SAT scores prompted the publisher of a statewide magazine covering the literary, performing, and visual arts to take action and create a program to use the magazine as a supplemental resource for students. It was believed that such a supplemental resource could enhance critical thinking and writing skills and help raise SAT…

In 2009-10 a series of Workshops was organized to focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning design for young students and adolescents. The objective was to provide visionary leadership to the education community by: (a) identifying and analyzing the needs and opportunities for future STEM curriculum development and…

In June 2010, the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers published "Common Core State Standards" (CCSS) for K-12 mathematics. Forty-eight states collaborated in the development of CCSS and, to date, 34 states have officially adopted CCSS to replace existing state standards. CCSS presents an opportunity for…