Assessment is usually considered as an afterthought in the instructional design process. Given the many challenges of assessment design--and the lack of ready solutions--teachers may fall back on familiar forms of assessments and hope for the best. As a result, the problem is not a lack of will on the part of teachers. Instead, it is the lack of…

The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework continues the long tradition of inquiry-based learning in the social studies by merging disciplinary and critical inquiry approaches. Using the Inquiry Design Model (IDM), an instructional design tool, teachers guide students through a series of formative tasks to address supporting questions. By…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is increasingly popular in K-12 schools, not just in the United States but around the world. PBL is a great way to engage students in their learning. In this article, the author presents what PBL is and is not.

The first step in teaching-to-understand economics is not teaching "the rules," but working with fundamental economic models from the outset. Many of the concepts in economics are illustrated through models. Students must: (1) be able to draw these models; (2) understand the assumptions of the models; and (3) use the models for analysis.…

Getting students involved in the process of inquiry takes much more than pointing out a problem, offering sources, and setting them on their way. Fortunately, there are a number of teaching strategies that can be instrumental in engaging students in the process of inquiry. As a teacher of world history in the seventh grade, House of Avalon, at…

Students often report that social studies is their most boring and least favorite subject. As a child, Woodrow Wilson was bored by history, later describing his early studies as "one damn fact after another." Of course, Wilson went on to become an eminent historian, but only after he learned to reach beyond the "closed catechism" of "questions…

In today's society, film is a part of popular culture and is relevant to students' everyday lives. Most students spend over 7 hours a day using media. With the popularity and availability of film, it is natural that teachers attempt to engage students with such a relevant medium. The method of using film and the method of using firsthand accounts…

Digital history refers to "the study of the past using a variety of electronically reproduced primary source texts, images, and artifacts as well as the constructed narratives, accounts, or presentations that result from digital historical inquiry." Access to digitized primary sources can promote active instruction in historical thinking. A…

A framework for teaching critical thinking skills is presented, and specific strategies that can be used at key places in this framework are outlined. The framework requires that teachers employ direct, systematic instruction in critical thinking skills prior to, during, and following student introduction to these skills. (RM)

Examines three problem-solving models that have applications for the elementary school classroom. All are easily understandable, practical, pedagogical, and will improve children's thinking. Models are the Universal Traveler, Philosophy for Children, and the Decide Model. (Author/AV)

This article argues for and provides suggestions for new directions in law-focused education at the elementary level. An examination of legal education, criticisms of legal education, the practice of law itself, and children's thinking about law can supply these directions. (Author/JR)

A model is provided which shows how the community can become a laboratory in which the learner studies data and makes decisions. In the community laboratory, learners are both participants and observers, helping them understand why they live as they do and how citizens work together to improve community life. (Author/JR)

In social studies classes, there is a longstanding interest in how societies evolve and change over time. However, as stories of the past unfold, it is often difficult to identify a direct link between causes and effects, so students are forced to accept at face value the interpretations of economists, political scientists, historians,…

This article describes in detail how the inquiry teacher performs in the classroom and what the possible alternatives in the process are. The major goal is to clarify the components of inquiry teaching and to indicate the exact junctures where major decisions need to be made. The operations subsumed under instructional decision are spelled out and…

Argues that educational models based upon socioeconomic norms which are Anglo and middle class do not meet the needs of minority group children. Suggests that educational models will better serve minority group children if they are based on cultural differences instead of cultural disadvantagement. (Author/DB)