This research examines the impact of social studies teachers' personal practical knowledge on their roles as gatekeepers to controversial topics in the classroom. The findings indicate that the context of the school and community directly impact the teachers' decision-making process. Furthermore, the teachers perceived the content area standards…

In this paper, we describe an experience within mathematics teacher preparation that engages preservice teachers (PSTs) in Making and design practices that we hypothesized would inform their conceptual and pedagogical thinking. With a focus on the design of new tools to support mathematics teaching and learning, this Learning by Design experience…

This article make a case for the importance of background knowledge in children's comprehension. It suggests that differences in background knowledge may account for differences in understanding text for low- and middle-income children. It then describes strategies for building background knowledge in the age of common core standards.

Although many English language learners (ELLs) in the United States have knowledge gaps that make it hard for them to master high-level content and skills, ELLs also often have background knowledge relevant to school learning that teachers neglect to access, this author argues. In the Common Core era, with ELLs being the fastest growing population…

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) is different from the objectives that many teachers have previously experienced in their state frameworks. Although the mathematical topics of the two may be the same, the mathematical expectations within the Standards require a deeper understanding by teachers and students. In this article, the…

The creation of a flexible education system, including procedures for the validation of previous education and other forms of knowledge should be one of the objectives of higher education institutions as well as other institutions that are engaged in adult education. To be effective, the system must be developed and implemented in partnership with…

Training preservice teachers to develop a predisposition toward constructivist instruction is a major goal for many faculty in teacher education. One critical attribute of a constructivist teacher is a strong hold on pedagogical content knowledge. This study examined the prior knowledge of preservice science teachers and how that knowledge aligned…