The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the writing experiences of eighth-grade students in three social studies classrooms while using a Web 2.0 online writing workspace. Participants included one social studies teacher and 69 eighth-grade students in a selective admission public high school. Furthermore, three of the eighth-grade…

The current generation of urban pre-service teachers attended K-12 schools under the increasing influence of a testing and standards-based, market-driven education, a trend that has been growing since the 1990s (Ravitch, 2010). Because of this, I argue here that exposing these pre-service teachers to an inquiry-driven learning experience, in this…

Curiosity about artifacts found on school grounds led to a year-long historical and archaeological research project for fifth-graders in Isaac Dickson Elementary School (Asheville, North Carolina). Student research and interviews focused on Stumptown, a Black community formerly located on the school site. The project demonstrated the 11 Foxfire…

This publication compiles oral histories preserved by rural students around the country and provides teachers with information and resources for developing oral history projects. The first five sections were written by the students and teachers of (1) Anderson Valley Junior/Senior High School, Boonville, California; (2) Edcouch-Elsa High School,…

Addressing the "death of hope" in rural Nebraska during the 1980s farm crisis, the "School at the Center" project engages rural schools and communities in active learning projects: housing or historic-building repair, environmental repair, microenterprise development, exploration of local cultural heritage, and technology…

"Muncie Remembers That Day in Dallas" is an oral history project report of a study conducted by two academic U.S. history classes of 21 students at Muncie Southside High School (Indiana) during the 1993-94 school year. The occasion of the 30th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, along with the movie "JFK,"…

A high school teacher describes how her classroom methods changed from traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to the active and democratic involvement of students in developing their own learning communities. Sidebars describe class projects: an oral history project that blossomed into a "Forties Festival" with 1940s alumni and the…