This research aims to examine 1) analytical thinking skills of pre-service teachers by using research-based learning (RBL) and community learning resources (CLR), and 2) satisfaction of learning activities among the pre-service teachers. The one-shot case study was implemented in the research design. The research sample included 3rd year Social…

This study reports on the implementation and evaluation of the "Enlighten Roman Tombs with Periscope" activity, one of the STEM + activities in the project named "STEM-ANTIQUE." The project included a science camp with STEM-based scientific studies, field trips, and observations lasting 10 days and 80 hours. The activity that…

How can educators immerse high school students in a real murder case investigation that will require them to draw upon and practice the critical thinking, literacy, and reasoning skill sets so highly valued under the Common Core, the C3 Framework and the 21st Century skills rubric? As an attorney and former high school teacher, the author knew…

Motivating middle school students to learn can be challenging. One proven method for doing so is through an integrated curriculum. Educational philosophers and curriculum theorists have long noted the benefits of an integrated curriculum, which recognizes that the subject areas within the curriculum are connected to one another and to the real…

This study applied an Integrated Triadic Model (ITM) to a social studies methods course and measured the extent that preservice teachers' TPACK changed. The study also gathered beliefs about the effectiveness of course activities for developing TPACK. Data collected and analyzed from self-assessment surveys and reflective writings indicated an…

The author presents five classroom activities that involve students in the settlement at Jamestown. Activity 1 simulates the problems encountered on the "Godspeed," a fifty-two-foot foot boat with fifty-two passengers traveling across the Atlantic in 1607 for three slow months. In Activity 2, students plot their route, ocean currents,…

Describes a problem-solving model developed by economists that incorporates the use of economics into the high school social studies curriculum. Model components include defining the issue, identifying objectives, looking for ways to achieve objectives, identifying pertinent economic concepts, analyzing alternatives, and evaluating which…

Considers how elementary school classroom teachers can employ exploration methods (gathering, evaluation, and synthesis of data related to a specific topic) to help students develop readiness for intellectually complex problem solving. (Author/DB)

Intermediate and junior high school students became very involved with this learning activity which involved detective work. Working in groups, students had to solve a riddle based on a sequence of clues. The answer to each set of clues was either a person, an event, or a place. (RM)

Activity requires secondary students to make an entrepreneurial decision concerning a conflict between long-term and short-term results. Students read a dilemma story involving an automobile manufacturer. They must write down positive and negative consequences for alternative decisions on a "Human Consequences Matrix" and an "Economic Consequences…

An action research study investigated how the multiple tasks found in WebQuests facilitate fifth-grade students' literacy skills and higher order thinking. Findings indicate that WebQuests are most successful when activities are carefully selected and systematically delivered. Implications for teaching include the necessity for adequate planning,…

This theme journal issue is devoted to an exploration of peace and its history in Iowa. The features and activities include: Iowa's Peace Tradition; A Global View; World Map; A Mesquakie Tale; Swords into Plowshares; Make a Peace Crane; Student Protest; Goldfinch Patriotism Debate; Peace Meal; A Short Story; and Work It Out. (DB)

Five teachers describe the ways they teach consumer education: 1) through the theme of American problems, 2) through a team of teachers representing different disciplines, 3) through tandem teaching with constant representation from business and social sciences, 4) as a unit in an economics course, and 5) by activities integrated into the…

The lesson for junior high and secondary social studies classes illustrates the effects of a breakdown in the functioning of one key system in an interdependent network. Based on an airline strike, the activity involves students in identifying the subsystems affected by the strike, devising solutions, and writing business reports about the…

In the evaluated project the core of the elementary curriculum is centered around economics, although other social science disciplines are integrated into the program which emphasizes helping students to develop problem solving abilities and analytic thinking through their involvement in learning activities. (SM)