Drawing on the thinking behind the Humanities 20:20 initiative, this article explores why the humanities are so important in a balanced and broadly based primary curriculum, arguing that, well taught, they provide an essential basis for how children learn to become critical thinkers and active citizens. This does not just involve teaching history,…

This design case describes the curricular transformation process undertaken by San José de Las Vegas school, a K4-11 school in Medellin, Colombia, committed to educating students as conscientious global citizens. The case outlines the school's multifaceted design choices, including the sequential steps and activities to develop and implement a…

Using digital learning content to realize learning in games is a rapidly-developing direction of interest for teachers and researchers. This study has developed a digital role-playing gaming system to review Social Studies course content to a fifth Grade class at an elementary school. It allows students to experience the historical storyline of…

This article explores why the humanities are an essential element of a balanced and broadly based primary curriculum. While history, geography and religious education make important contributions, the humanities should be seen more broadly as the study of one's own and other cultures, and so including areas such as literature, philosophy and…

This article is about an intervention introducing prehistoric life in primary education. Its objectives were to foster openness and interest for prehistory and archaeology, as well as content knowledge and conceptual learning with a focus on four main facets: basic knowledge about prehistoric life; conceptual learning/change regarding prehistory;…

Educating learners with Down syndrome can seem daunting at first, but this practical guide for teachers and carers to using evidence-based practices shows you how. Taking a unique lifespan, curriculum-based approach, Rhonda M. Faragher promotes the understanding that people with Down syndrome are a diverse group with vast potential and varied…

Drawing on a range of philosophical traditions, this article argues that the humanities are essential aspects of the development of the whole child. The humanities help children to understand themselves and other people in relation to place, time, belief, identity and culture and to become empathetic, thoughtful and critical citizens. Learning the…

This paper reports on a transdisciplinary approach to science with a Year 4/5 class incorporating citizen science through the Birds in Backyards project. This transdisciplinary approach created opportunities for student engagement through science, mathematics, design and technology, humanities and social sciences (HASS), arts and English, while…

This article suggests that a portfolio-based approach to assessing the humanities in the primary school is appropriate and outlines what this might involve. It argues for a broad interpretation of "the humanities" and for adopting principles associated with formative assessment, where assessment is not equated with testing and a wide…

A small project of STEAM education called "Innovation for Love and Care" was implemented in a local secondary school in Hong Kong. Four seventh-grade students participated from November 2020 to February 2021. The project aims to integrate humanism into the traditional STEAM curriculum, to stimulate the students' innovation in a…

To appropriately react to the swift development and changes of technologies these days, the need for creative teaching and learning has been increased. Making learners equip digital literacy of intelligent information has become necessary. This paper focused on three promising technologies that artificial intelligence humanities, forensic science,…

In 2013 the Vermont legislature enacted Act 77 mandating that students in grades 7-12 develop personalized learning plans (PLPs) to guide them toward high school graduation using proficiency based requirements. In a qualitative self-study the authors document the implementation of a personal learning framework integrating PLPs into a humanities…

The proposed revisions to the "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics" highlight the importance of learning to mathematise, problem-solve and reason in real world contexts, including financial contexts. Through the Economics + Maths = Financial Capability research project, the authors have been imagining fresh ideas for connecting the…

The aim of this article is to increase understanding of the development of spatial practices in virtual learning environments. The spatial change and development in 38 small-group e-discussions taken from a data set of a yearlong 8th-grade humanities course are described and analyzed. We show that the focus on spatial changes in computer-supported…

All-day schools, the most common school form with extended education offerings in Germany, are expected to complement regular hours of school instruction with a wide array of offers and to compensate for origin-related educational gaps by providing specific offerings for disadvantaged students. Complementation and compensation can only be achieved…