An interdisciplinary Pop-Up Learning Community (PLC) allowed students from various disciplines with different levels of content knowledge to discuss their perspectives on and beliefs about climate change. The impact of this event on students' climate change beliefs was gauged by a survey from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. This…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] The communities of practice framework has become an essential framework for understanding identity development both in physics education research (PER) and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, more broadly. However, the use of communities…

This Special Issues Brief from the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) outlines essential features for providing high-quality, structured, and sequenced opportunities to practice within teacher preparation programs. This brief is…

In this case, Sharon Rowley, a veteran principal, volunteers to participate in a new community-driven accountability initiative and encounters dilemmas about what it means to be a "data-driven" instructional leader. This case provides an opportunity for aspiring school leaders to explore and apply data-use theory to the work of leading…

This article describes three service-learning projects implemented in three different ESL programs in the United States. Each description includes typical course goals, service-learning assignments, reflection activities, student learning outcomes, and pedagogical challenges. The first project was developing digital literacy through…

Providing opportunities to foster students' civic engagement during their undergraduate education is a goal of many universities. There are a variety of ways in which students participate in community service and in community change efforts and social change initiatives; capturing how students integrate these experiences into their broader…

Today's educational environment requires teachers who understand teaching and learning, have strong content knowledge, and can make connections between life experiences and the curriculum. Teachers are expected to be continually learning to improve their practice. Professional learning is essential in this process. Research on professional…

In the more than 10 years since the inception of EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) Brownfields Program, brownfields have been redefined. Properties that were shunned or eyed warily by those with the resources to transform them are now viewed as dormant opportunities for economic and environmental rebirth. Communities that suffered aesthetic…

This paper presents results of a qualitative study describing classroom participation in pre-college mathematics classes taught by seven successful community college faculty members. The analysis reveals high levels of student participation coupled with low complexity, which can result in detrimental opportunities for students to learn…

The Geosciences Institute for Research and Education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn has been an example of a successful and effective model in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. The program emphasizes involving middle school and at-risk high school students from the Detroit area public schools,…

A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT MOTIVATED A GROUP OF EIGHTH-GRADE CIVICS STUDENTS TO FORM DIFFERENT COMMITTEES TO OBTAIN A TRAFFIC GUARD FOR THEIR SCHOOL. COMMITTEES WERE FORMED TO CONTACT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BY LETTER AND INTERVIEW, TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE STREET CORNER AND MAKE CHARTS SHOWING ITS DANGER, TO DO RESEARCH ON CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF CITIZENS,…

Focusing on occupational clusters in the areas of public service, natural resources and health this unit entitled "Community Helpers" is one of four kindergarten units which are part of a total set of twenty-seven career development curriculum units for grades K-6. This unit is organized into four sections. Section 1 identifies two…