In order to better understand literacy coaches' impact on teachers, the authors analyzed interviews with 35 teachers who participated in a statewide professional development effort, the South Carolina Reading Initiative. For 3 years, literacy coaches facilitated bimonthly study groups for teachers and spent 4 days a week in teachers' classrooms…

This article describes and analyzes a program of work in elementary mathematics teacher education at the University of Michigan that has, for a decade, been a site for the development of approaches to preparing beginning K-8 mathematics teachers that are both aimed at practice and centered in content. Among the products of this work are video…

We address issues of science curriculum for nonmainstream students--students of color, students learning English as a new language, and students from low-income families--who are often concentrated in urban schools. First, we describe a theoretical framework for equitable learning opportunities with nonmainstream students. Building on this…

This article describes an approach to developing student reading materials that support middle school learners in a project-based, inquiry curriculum for grades 6 through 8. Reading materials are designed to encourage sense making beyond the classroom, as students read and write about science as it takes place in a classroom and as it occurs in…

Coherent curricula are needed to help students develop deep understanding of important ideas in science. Too often students experience curriculum that is piecemeal and lacks coordination and consistency across time, topics, and disciplines. Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST) is a middle school science…

In this article we explore educators' use of Jean Piaget's theories concerning cognitive development to refute proposed social studies standards in Arizona. We describe the work of Piaget as well as the National Association for the Education of Young Children's developmentally appropriate practices as they apply to primary-grade children's…

Proposes new directions for K-6 social studies, including a curriculum model focused on key concepts, questions to guide student inquiry, and civic action projects. Summarizes informal feedback from elementary students, pre- and inservice teachers, and social studies education professors revealing consensus about the need for a new framework and…

Attempting to increase reading engagement, a collaborative team implemented a year-long integration of reading/language arts and science instruction known as Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI). Compared to traditionally organized instruction, the CORI context increased strategy use, conceptual learning, and text comprehension more than…

Maintains that Dewey tried to solve social problems related to the growth of industrialism, increasing economic inequality, and political inequality. Argues that Dewey aspired to create a counterculture to correct the human and social devastation of industrial capitalism through a curriculum and instruction that rooted academic learning in…

Synthesizes both qualitative and quantitative research on the importance of stories in classrooms, on storytelling form and how it differs from culture to culture, and on implications of these different traditions of storytelling. Proposes some ideas teachers might consider as they plan instruction on world literature, and offers directions for…

Examines forces that shape the design of assessment systems for teachers and some inherent contradictions with regard to curriculum and assessment. Proposes a system of assessment that is continuous, dynamic, and principled and does not remove from teachers the responsibility of defining what is important to student learning. (SD)

Discusses implications of critical questions relating to change in elementary education with emphasis on: curriculum development, organization, teacher behavior, and community expectations for public schools. (BF/JH)

Analyzes selected aspects of Piaget's theory of cognitive development and offers guidelines for primary social studies curricula based on the analysis. (CM)

Argues for the inclusion of celebrations related to national ethnic and religious holidays in the school curriculum. Identifies functions of ceremony and celebration. Discusses educational possibilities of celebrations. (RH)