Schools in the late sixties and early seventies had many options and were engaged in implementing a variety of programs rooted in the social science disciplines with effective pedagogy drawn from social studies educators. With the implementation of the "No Child Left Behind" Act, one can observe the drastic changes made in the way social…

In this article, the authors summarize important and promising research on what they call "authentic intellectual work." It is important because so often schoolwork, not only in social studies but across the curriculum, requires little in the way of deep conceptual learning that also connects to life beyond school, and it is promising because the…