The development of the metacognitive skill of prediction in deaf students in a middle school social studies classroom was explored in an action research study (Riel, 2006). After observation of this group of learners and assessment of current skills, a unit was developed that integrated the teaching of prediction into their study of the American…

During the past decade, there has been more than an adequate amount of research addressing issues regarding social studies methods courses. However, the apparent void is that there is no clear understanding of what pedagogical content knowledge or understanding of pedagogical approaches teacher candidates bring with them to social studies methods…

In an effort to gain greater insights into bilingual and bicultural children's understanding of their cultural and linguistic identities, the authors embarked on a Where I'm From (WIF) multi-media poetry project. The WIF project has great potential and value for developing students' language and communication skills, and for exploring the meaning…

In the past year, there was an overall decrease in dropouts at all grade levels in Maryland, with the largest decrease occurring among students in grade 12. Not surprisingly, principals across the state discovered that alternative assessment strategies that were designed to help students from special populations actually worked for all students.…

Drawing from the theoretical lenses of cultural memory and critical race theory, we examined how elementary level and middle school level social studies textbooks represent the history of racial violence directed toward African Americans and resistance to this violence in the U.S. Using a literary analysis method, we found that textbooks often…

A three-month study examined how interactive iconography impacts social studies and promotes critical writing skills. Groups of three middle-school immigrant students constructed museum labels using "Scope Out", an experimental online revision tool that makes iconography interactive. This study included three comparison groups and one…

In the face of the challenges of globalization, nation states try to reinvigorate their traditional or national values and local identities as a kind of counterbalance to globalizing influences. Hence, social and citizenship education across nations in Asia takes different forms with certain distinctive varieties in terms of policies, practices…

This case study examines a U.S. History class where a veteran teacher uses challenging primary source documents and a debate to encourage his students to think critically about history. The teacher is knowledgeable about the subject matter and articulates a clear purpose for teaching. Surprisingly, the author finds that the teacher's methods,…

Censorship is a complex question. Studies show a number of reasons teachers refrain from teaching controversial issues. These include: (1) The general "chilling effects" in school and community contexts, characterized by fear of reprisal; (2) Standards and high stakes testing; (3) Insufficient teacher preparation to teach about…

This study examined the classroom practices of five pre-service teachers from three secondary schools in a large southeastern state. Through classroom observations, survey responses, reviews of refection logs, and focus-group interview responses, we centered on the issue of developing classroom authority as a means to effective classroom…

A unit on China's ethnicities provides students rich opportunities to explore multiple themes in the social studies while helping them to develop a deeper understanding of recent events in western China. Studying China's ethnic minorities encompasses such topics as stereotyping, cultural diversity, the creation of ethnic identities, and key…

The new Social Studies curriculum recently introduced in Alberta proposes to encourage students to affirm their place as citizens in a democratic society. Grounded in Biesta's (2007) argument that regardless of a Program of Studies' best stated goals and intentions, if a school is not structured democratically the chances of the program being…

For decades teacher leadership has been widely promoted by policy makers and education leaders as a prime strategy for improving the educational enterprise. As practitioners of exemplary teaching, as innovators of pedagogy and curriculum, and as promoters of high-quality instruction for all students, teacher leaders are uniquely positioned to…

This document provides the framework to guide the development of the assessment instruments for the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography. Altogether, four documents will be designed to guide the geography assessment and this Assessment Framework is the first. This framework is designed to assess the outcomes of…

This study examines the treatment of the three most practiced monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, within the pages of High School World History Textbooks. The results find that within World History textbooks Christianity and Islam receive more coverage than Judaism in narrative content, word usage, illustrations, and…