This article presents the findings from a yearlong narrative inquiry of teacher enactment of state mandated curricular reform in middle level social studies. Four brief narratives and cross-narrative themes are presented to provide examples of the complexities of teacher decision making and positionality when implementing new reforms. Analysis…

Student learning is substantially impacted by the choice of curriculum, and a significant predictor of achievement gain is the level of implementation. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore implementation experiences of primary and middle school teachers of English Language Arts (ELAR) curriculum at a rural school…

COVID-19, social distasting, and synchronous versus asynchronous learning have continued to widen gaps in students' knowledge. Teachers have largely been responsible for closing those gaps with little to no additional resources, except for what new state mandates have in place such as House Bill 4545 in Texas. Previous research has shown that new…

Incorporating computer science (CS) into K-12 education has been highlighted in recent years as an important way to promote computational thinking skills. The aim of this study was to investigate teachers' experiences with a new CS curriculum and address challenges to teachers during implementation. This study was designed to evaluate CS…

This is a qualitative, descriptive, and multi-case study, in which the researcher investigated the perceptions of middle school teachers who were implementing three-dimensional learning aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into their instructional practices. The participants were 10 middle school teachers who worked in three…

After finding research confirming that the innovative approach of project-based learning (PBL) improves 21st century education for all students, the administrators of a large local diocesan Catholic school system (LDCSS) initiated PBL implementation in their schools. The problem was that after 6 years it was not known how the teachers were…

The problem addressed in this qualitative descriptive study was that despite the evidence illustrating the significance of STEAM curriculum in students' academic and career success, there was still a considerable degree of uncertainty regarding what challenges were faced by P-8 schoolteachers and what support may be required to facilitate the…

This study seeks to share teachers' and principals' voices from middle schools in the Southeastern United States who are attempting to help their students achieve academic success. Obtaining a snapshot of middle schools in the Southeastern United States provides opportunities to recognize trends and identify challenges about the current…

Curriculum-based professional learning is not just having teachers read curriculum materials, but rather includes carefully crafted experiences to support their sensemaking, deep understanding of the curriculum and its pedagogy, and ability to transfer that knowledge into practice. This instructional model requires that teachers be responsive to…

Background: Competency-based education (CBE) has been implemented to varying degrees in the last several decades. New Hampshire has led the way in policy changes to promote its adoption. However, there has been a tension between the goals of the initiative and how teachers' beliefs inform implementation. Aims: The purpose of this study was to take…

Middle school students learn and develop at different rates which result in a variety of academic abilities within a given classroom. Middle-level educators face significant challenges when working to engage and instruct students. Innovative instructional practices that incorporate digital and non-digital tools are needed to create a dynamic,…

Despite the increasing popularity of teacher autonomy studies, there is still a need to explore what kind of mechanism or context is created by autonomy in the background while teachers are using or adapting the curriculum. This study aims to investigate teachers' perceived autonomy at the classroom level as well as their preferences for…

This study explored a middle school science teacher's curricular sensemaking in interaction with their use of an educative storyline curriculum, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, that was intentionally designed for more opportunities for students' scientific sensemaking. Using a phenomenological case study methodology, we examined…

This study utilizes action research to examine the design and implementation of inquiry-based teaching in a middle school social studies classroom. As a practitioner, fulfilling the role of teacher and researcher, I sought to better understand my teaching practices. To do so, I collected multiple forms of data that would help me understand…

This study examines challenges faced by middle-level social studies teachers in West Gojjam, Ethiopia, while implementing the Constructivist Teaching and Learning Approach (CTLAT). 178 social studies teachers were randomly selected and eight were chosen using maximum variation sampling based on characteristics such as teaching experience, female…