This volume explores the tension between the search for generic principles of good teaching that cut across school subjects and the belief that portrayals of best practices ought to be framed separately for each subject. Its contributors all favor teaching in ways that encourage students to learn each subject with understanding of its big ideas, appreciation of its value, and acquisition of the disposition to apply it in their lives outside of school. They consider curricular, instructional, and assessment aspects of best practices that foster this kind of learning in fourteen school...

This volume is a sympathetic but analytical and critical view of social constructivist teaching, considering both its affordances (what it offers to students when implemented well in situations for which it is well suited) and its constraints (enabling conditions; situations in which these conditions are absent and other forms of teaching are more appropriate). in the areas of teaching in which their scholarly work has concentrated, to describe the forms that such teaching takes and the rationale for using them, assess their strengths/areas of applicability and their weaknesses/areas of...

This book features contribution from people who have developed and used video in teacher education. The focus is on video as opposed to other technology (e-mail, etc.) and its use in teacher education. The video can be stored on videotapes, CD-Rom, DVD, or computer drives, and it can be used in either preservice or inservice teacher education/professional development programmes. education programmes or courses and talk about how they use it, focusing in particular on principles for: making the videos (decisions about how and what to capture on video, the degree to which the teaching should be...

This volume is designed to accomplish three primary purposes: illustrate a variety of qualitative methods that researchers have used to study teaching and teacher education; assess the affordances and constraints of these methods and the ways that they focus and shape explorations of teaching; and, illuminate representative questions and findings associated with each method described. The book is organized around three issues that impact research in qualitative paradigms: perspective, methodology, and representation. The first section, 'Perspective: Whom Should I Ask?' explores what can be...

Drawing on interview data, the authors describe K-3 students' knowledge and thinking about basic aspects of the social world that are addressed in the elementary social studies curriculum. The interviews focused on human activities relating to nine cultural universals that are commonly addressed in the elementary social studies curriculum: food, clothing, shelter, communication, transportation, family living, childhood, money, and government. This volume synthesizes findings from the research and discusses their implications for curriculum and instruction in early social studies....

Drawing on interview data, the authors describe K-3 students' knowledge and thinking about basic aspects of the social world that are addressed in the elementary social studies curriculum. The interviews focused on human activities relating to nine cultural universals that are commonly addressed in the elementary social studies curriculum: food, clothing, shelter, communication, transportation, family living, childhood, money, and government. This volume synthesizes findings from the research and discusses their implications for curriculum and instruction in early social studies....

Ideal whether you're a pre-service or in-service teacher, POWERFUL SOCIAL STUDIES FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS outlines ways to select content and teach history, geography, and social sciences meaningfully. It combines theory and research with examples from classroom practice. The fourth edition emphasizes the importance of using developmentally appropriate content and methods when helping students to develop social understanding and prepare for civic life. It also includes a solid research base, uses additional visuals to display content, provides examples of curriculum and design, and reflects...