Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe SPARK, an innovative elementary school that highlights the possibilities for elementary education as COVID-19 continues to unfold. Design/methodology/approach: The authors' analysis is based on a research synthesis of the main features of the SPARK model, as it was operating when schools in Arizona…

Sustaining changes in teachers' practices is a challenge that determines the success of curricular reforms, from which Digital Education (DE) is not exempt. As the literature on sustainability is considered "scarce" and "scattered", long-term studies modelling the factors impacting teachers' sustained uptake of DE pedagogical…

As science education shifts toward integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) approaches, guidelines for designing teaching and learning episodes that integrate curricular content and procedures from multiple disciplines become increasingly in demand. The existing plethora of conceptualizations of STEM makes difficult such…

In science education, there is a need to evaluate the behavior of dynamic systems. Representing and explaining processes through educational models or simulations enables students to perform activities where it is easier to understand these processes and discover the essential properties of a system. Performing modeling or simulation activities…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in Ontario were thrust into a new teaching situation at the end of the 2019-2020 school year for which few were prepared. To address the need for guidance in transitioning to distance teaching, we offer the e-3Cs model, a research-based framework with flexible "elements" essential for promoting…

There has been a lot of interest to competence-based education in research and scholarship. How competence-based education has been developed and implemented varies across education systems in Europe. The European Commission defines digital competence as one of the eight key competence standards for lifelong learning. The European digital…

This article captures a service learning initiative that blends an existing national program designed to teach economic principles to K-12 students with elementary education teacher candidates enrolled in a social studies methods course. The initiative gives candidates the hands-on experience of teaching national and state objectives in the area…

A STEM education program entitled "Come rain or shine" implemented in a primary rural school in southern Greece as part of the "Diffusion of STEM (DI-STEM)" project and the results of its implementation are presented in this paper. The educational program deepened in weather education and intended to develop eight scientific…

During the past two decades, youth-focused professionals have increasingly called for social-emotional learning (SEL) education in schools. A holistic approach to youth development suggests that, given the interconnected nature of development in the domains of career development and SEL, children and youth are better supported whenwe provide…

In this article, the authors unveil the Trade Book Inquiry Design Model (IDM) blueprint. Anchored in a compelling question inspired by a trade book, the new blueprint is broken into two instructional blocks: "Reading and Comprehension" and "Living Social Studies." The inquiry template is designed to be instructionally efficient…

Attaining equitable education for all is one of the sustainable development goals. Not only the gap of education between urban and rural students but also the gap of access to information and communications technology also exists. Thus, an effort to resolve this gap is necessary. This study combines novel engineering, which is the fusion of…

This dissertation consists of two chapters on topics in economics of education. In the first chapter, I develop and estimate an equilibrium model of endogenous instruction and student effort in order to empirically investigate the relationship between instructional choices, classroom composition, and student achievement in elementary school. The…

The ARICESA model was designed to improve learning motivation and understanding of student concepts. This study aims to develop a valid, practical, and effective ARICESA model to improve learning motivation and conceptual understanding of science teacher pre-service elementary school. The model was developed using the Plomp design with a…

This study addresses the urgent need for change in clinical experiences that better prepare teacher candidates to negotiate the changing landscape of educational and accreditation policies and practices affecting P-12 classrooms. Specifically, the article examines the impact of a comprehensive 4-year initiative to transform traditional student…

It is important to be able to make better informed decisions about issues such as sustainability and climate change that have both personal and global impact as early as possible in life. Primary teachers have a significant role in supporting students' learning and understanding of these concepts. One important teaching skill that needs to be…