As America's education system transitioned into an era of accountability, elementary teachers often found it more difficult to advocate for instructional strategies that aligned with strong acts of constructivism. In fact, scholars have speculated that teachers are using field trips significantly less since the start of the new millennia; however,…

In this article, we describe lessons learned from three separate literacy professional learning initiatives that took place in elementary schools in three different locations: high-poverty urban, medium-poverty rural, and low-poverty suburban. The professional learning initiatives were also diverse in scope: one was a three-year, school-wide…