Increasingly, national standards require K-12 students to develop digital literacy practices. In literacy, teachers' use of digital media platforms has unrecognized potential to impact students' literacy engagement. Moreover, students gain English Language Arts skills and knowledge of the writing process when completing digital literacy…

The Creative Learning Initiative (CLI) is a community-wide effort to bring creative learning and the arts to each and every student in Austin. Lead by MINDPOP, the City of Austin, and Austin Independent School District (AISD), CLI designs systematic and sustainable programs that integrate creativity, creative teaching strategies, and the arts with…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

The Creative Learning Initiative (CLI) is a community-wide effort to bring creative learning and the arts to each and every student in Austin. Lead by MINDPOP, the City of Austin, and Austin Independent School District (AISD), CLI designs systematic and sustainable programs that integrate creativity, creative teaching strategies, and the arts with…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

The recent Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to identify and turn around their lowest performing schools, but it breaks somewhat from prior policies by granting states significant autonomy over how they identify and turn around these schools. This mixed-methods study, which draws on administrative, qualitative, and survey data,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions, roles, practices, and characteristics of a high-performing suburban school district's implementation of a kindergarten through grade 12 visual arts program. Additionally, this study intended to understand how the school district implemented a kindergarten through grade 12 visual arts…

STEM is an acronym for the transdisciplinary integration of the four disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM education places a priority on the study of science and math with purposeful integration of technology and the engineering design process. STEM education is an opportunity for students to collaboratively solve…

Now more than ever, school principals play a critical role in the effective implementation of inclusive education programs in their schools, as inclusive practices are becoming tightly embedded in a school's culture (Sailor, 2016; Shogren et al., 2015). The success of inclusive education programs has been primarily supported by school principals'…

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) education is gaining popularity in schools across the United States and in parts of Europe, Asia, and Australia. Despite its popularity little empirical data exists to guide effective instructional practices, and even less is known about the challenges associated with instruction.…

Designing a mobile makerspace, the MakerBus, originated from our goal of bringing maker education to "all" students in K-12 schools, thus empowering students to believe they could create things and make social changes. This design case was guided by the human-centered design principles and the rapid prototyping instructional design…

In December 2015, the U.S. Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and, with it, ushered in a new era of education policy in America. Leaving behind many of the most criticized aspects of its predecessor, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), this new incarnation of the primary federal legislation guiding K-12 education provides state and…

This vignette focuses on Theatre/Drama in the Greek curriculum. Issues for consideration are presented, such as the minimal space for active learning through theatre, the limited opportunity of teachers to work as critical pedagogues and the problematic conceptual framework. A main issue is the fragmented implementation as Theatre/Drama is not…

Education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics has captured the attention of state policymakers who are concerned about preparing students for an evolving workforce. By 2030, Institute for the Future estimates that 85 percent of the jobs that today's K-12 learners will be doing haven't been invented -- demanding a workforce that is…

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy (CCSS-ELA) were adopted by approximately forty states (though in some cases, with significant revisions). However, researchers are still trying to understand how teachers are implementing the CCSS-ELA at the ground level--that is, in actual ELA classrooms. The CCSS-ELA call for…