As students learn to problem solve in authentic situations, they must also develop metacognitive tools to manage and regulate their problem-solving process. To foster process-focused metacognition utilized by mathematical thinkers and problem solvers, inquiry-based learning classroom practices and an adapted version of portfolio problems were…

In the context of an on-going project emphasising the centrality of speaking and listening in the primary curriculum, the present article turns to vocabulary development: to the wide differences characterising primary age children in this regard, to their consequent unequal access to the wider curriculum, and to means by which such deficiencies…

Civics education shouldn't be confined to dusty textbooks, as evidenced by this assortment of projects. In one unit, elementary students play out the presidential election--from campaigning to inauguration day--using the Storypath approach. In another project, 5th graders explore the controversy about Confederate monuments by studying a local…

Research suggests that America today is more politically polarized and less capable of conducting civil public discourse than at least the last several decades. These greater cultural factors unsurprisingly seem to have trickled into American schools, as teachers report increased divisiveness and conflict, particularly directed toward…

Computational thinking is an important and necessary way of thinking for computer programmers and other professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Research on emerging practices around computational thinking that is developed through coding initiatives in schools reports that elementary children typically learn how…

This paper reports on what two teacher candidates and their instructor learned from an action research project into the use of inquiry to teach mathematics. We use a model of the relation between theory and practice in teacher education to interpret what we learned about inquiry. This model describes three modes for teacher candidates to learn…

In this article, the authors introduce a series of interconnected, inquiry-based activities from a fifth grade social studies curriculum, "My Place in Time and Space," which was developed in part through a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Regional Grant Program--Eastern Region. These activities are designed to…

Tour Across America is an interdisciplinary, project-based, multimodal (IPM) activity where students get the opportunity to apply what they learn to a real-life situation while illustrating the interdisciplinary nature of literacy. It provides students with a high-interest, creative platform to review, reinforce, and integrate learned literacy…

Worksheets hold a special place among the many well-intentioned--yet ineffective--items in the early childhood and elementary toolkit. They are nearly ubiquitous in some elementary classrooms and are even popular in preschools. Parents are encouraged when they see worksheets in their children's backpacks; they see such papers as indicators that…

This paper describes the theoretical foundation for a work in progress project of developing a mobile learning solution for sloyd education named Talking Tools (TT). Being a learner in a multimodal, blended learning environment entails both consuming and creating own content using a number of media sources and tools. For sloyd education, this…

Bruner's constructs of learning, specifically the structure of learning, spiral curriculum, and discovery learning, in conjunction with the Cognitive Load Theory, are used to evaluate the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM), an inquiry-oriented inductive language arts strategy designed to teach K-6 children phonics and spelling. The PWIM reflects…

This paper reports on the development and outcomes of the second phase of OER4Schools, a school-based professional development programme supporting interactive forms of subject teaching in conjunction with Open Educational Resources (OER) and technology in Zambian primary schools. We worked with partners to identify the needs of school-based…

A number of studies have shown that spending time in nature produces cognitive benefits. What if a child's exposure to the out-of-doors is considered not just a beneficial extracurricular activity, but a fundamental building block to an elementary education in math and science? The Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School operates a 9:30 a.m.…

Debunks five misconceptions about improving creative thinking. To encourage students to think creatively, instructional techniques should reflect an integrated set of mental skills, use materials mimicking real-life situations, consider students' beliefs and tendencies toward creative thinking, show metacognitive sensibility, and foster a creative…

This paper focuses on the use of toys to teach Social Studies to elementary school students. The first section offers a literature review on play and the significance of play in a child's development. The remainder of the paper offers activities related to play in the areas of history, geography and economics. The object of the activities is to…