Developing computational thinking (CT) skills at a young age is critical for preparing preschool children to engage with the technologies that have become central to nearly every occupation and for improving achievements in STEM, literacy, and other disciplines. This paper builds on foundational research in early childhood math and CT by reporting…

In this collaborative, multi-voice paper we tell the story of our design collaboration. By describing the process of one design team of teacher educators, we offer a template of what it means to center teachers' lives and experiences as we design professional development with and for them.

Fostering experiential learning experiences that allow students to apply their design thinking skills is important for developing technological and engineering (T&E) literacy. However, K-12 schools must ensure that educators providing these experiential T&E experiences are adequately prepared and supported to maintain a safer teaching and…

Recent scholarship in computer science (CS) education shifts from a focus on the technical-cognitive skills of "computational thinking" to the socio-cultural goal of "computational participation," often illustrated as remixing popular media (e.g. music, photos, etc.) in online communities. These activities do enhance the…

Spatial reasoning is a gatekeeping skill for students. With it, the invisible scales of the universe become objects of wonder and curiosity in your mind's eye. Without it, students struggle to understand the mechanics of the natural world. Spatial thinking is a key science practice, and the body of literature on spatial ability, spatial learning…

A variety of research studies reveal the advantages of actively engaging students in the learning process through collaborative work in the classroom. However, the complex nature of the learning environment in large college general chemistry courses makes it challenging to identify the different factors that affect students' cognitive and social…

The authors outline a new approach to introductory political science courses limited exclusively to political science majors that focuses on democratic development and its intersection with conceptions of "res publica." The course is innovative in that it is for political science majors only, is team-taught, eschews traditional…

Tactical populations and other performers who find it difficult to access training often turn to simulation training to adequately prepare, and increasingly are using virtual reality (VR) as a resource. Additionally, groups struggling with fear produced by various aspects of tactical training may find VR, alongside psychological skills training,…

Partnership for 21st Century Skills has continuously identified critical and metacognitive thinking skills to be essential for life and career in post-secondary education and workforce settings. As a response to the Race to the Top (2010) initiative and Common Core State Standards (2009), New York State Board of Regents began an overhaul for all…

This dissertation study examined how secondary social studies teachers in an ICT setting plan and teach as they adapt their instruction to prepare students for the new social studies Regents examination framework in New York State. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the researcher asked teachers to complete a survey. Sixty-three participants…

This paper makes a conceptual argument for using the Decoding the Disciplines research paradigm as a pedagogical innovation in the field of teacher education. It incorporates empirical findings from a research project in which teacher candidates conduct Decoding interviews to deepen understanding of historical thinking and learn pedagogical…

We studied a case of a school in a high need setting that undertook multiple simultaneous initiatives during a major school reorganization. We focused on the simultaneous implementations of two comprehensive initiatives, one related to ambitious mathematics teaching and one related to the Understanding by Design curriculum writing process. We…

How can school librarians change the view of school librarians to better match the reality of their work? One way is to increase their explicit connections with broad, recognizable initiatives, like digital fluency and computer science. The The New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency (CS/DF) Standards, in alignment with the "AASL…

An action research case study was conducted to investigate the effects of incorporating LEGO robotics into a seventh-grade mathematics curriculum focused on the development of proportional reasoning through the lens of Social Constructivist Theory. This research, which was part of a larger study, reports the findings when LEGO EV3 robots were…

Reading Apprenticeship is a research-based professional learning model and instructional framework designed by the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd to improve student literacy and learning. Based on understandings of the close relationship between curricular reform and professional development (Heller & Greenleaf, 2007), Reading…