This article reports on a 3-year longitudinal case study of a school-based project designed to restructure and reculture the school's teaching and learning environment. Using a participatory action research framework, groups of teachers from the school worked together to develop a community of inquiry focusing on core teaching values, student…

The present study discusses the findings from a research that was conducted involving fourteen teachers in a primary school. In the study, the teachers' classroom practices of teaching and learning science were observed and analysed. The data gathering procedures included 23 classroom observations and analysed by means of qualitative data…

Recently developed Professional Development School standards underscore the importance of professional learning community, inquiry, shared decision-making and a focus on student learning. These standards closely mirror the goals of "Critical Friends Groups," a significant movement in education to improve student achievement through…

In this article the authors focus on how features of a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment can elicit and support domain-specific reasoning and more specifically historical reasoning. The CSCL environment enables students to collaborate on a historical inquiry task and in writing an argumentative essay. In order to support…

In this article, the author presents findings of a project that focused on identifying elements in the learning environment that promote numeracy outcomes. The project--"Numeracy Research and Development Initiative"--was undertaken in eight schools across a range of settings within the three schooling systems in Queensland and was…

Reflecting recent policy and standards initiatives, emerging research agendas, and key innovations, this volume provides a contemporary overview of important developments and issues that have that have in recent years shaped elementary science education pre-service courses and professional development, and practices that are shaping future…

This module on principles of teaching is 1 in a series of 10 modules written for vocational education teacher education programs. It is designed to enable the teacher to do the following: (1) identify subject matter and integrate that subject matter with thought-provoking questions; (2) organize and demonstrate good questioning techniques; and (3)…

This paper presents a description and analysis of the work of a group of primary grade teachers who decided to study their practices and engage their students in inquiry. Their school was in a lower socioeconomic area with a multiethnic student body. The political nature of their work is documented via two themes that emerged from their work. The…

A major goal of any teacher education program is to prepare prospective teachers to know what to do in a classroom of children and how to do it effectively. The purpose of this research study was to examine the level of first-year teachers' science content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge in order to evaluate the…

This book is a collection of research papers and respected philosophical statements on how secondary school students learn science best. Taken together, these papers serve as the basis for the Project on Scope, Sequence, and Coordination of Secondary School Science (SS&C). This book explains where the learning ideas of the SS&C Content…

This paper describes the development of two World Wide Web sites, "Our Place in the World" (OPITW) and "Chicana and Chicano Space" (CCS), specifically designed as resources for art educators, and describes a framework for three blended levels or layers of navigation that support knowledge construction within the domain. The…

This publication is intended for mainstream teachers and school administrators involved in the education of language minority students, and describes professional competencies necessary to capitalize on the linguistic and cultural strengths inherent in a culturally diverse population. The materials included are designed for both training and…

The Science 16 program provides for the development of essential concepts, skills, and attitudes in science that will enable students to function successfully in the home, classroom, workplace, and community. The program is activity-based, and provides opportunities for students to relate essential concepts, skills, and attitudes to their own…

The Mathematics 16 program provides for the development of essential concepts, skills, and attitudes required for effective computation and problem solving. The program is activity-based, and addresses the need for students to be able to transfer and apply specific mathematical concepts and skills to more generalized situations in everyday life…

This instructional guide suggests a way for teachers of fourth grade students to organize a social studies unit related to the study of Maryland. The eight to ten week unit is divided into four sections. Section I, a general unit outline, presents organizing concepts and questions, instructional objectives, and suggested topics for study. Section…