This study investigated the degree to which teacher developed curriculum was aligned with the national standards in Qatar. Three sources of data included teacher response to a questionnaire, teacher interviews and expert rating of the alignment of teacher-developed materials with curriculum standards. A survey and interview questions measured…

The study investigated a relationship between National Board certification and perceived use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A self-developed survey, the Early-childhood Teacher Inventory of Practices, was e-mailed to participants. Participants included 246 non-National Board-certified (non-NBCT) and 135 National Board-certified…

Habits of inquiry should be nurtured as early as possible. Elementary students must be challenged to ask good questions and develop inquiring attitudes. As a science teacher, educator, professional developer, and science program reviewer, the author has often observed that the default is to use "good" science investigations from…

This article is the third of four articles in the PE Metrics series related to the value of using national assessments to inform teachers, students, parents, and administrators about student progress at the elementary level toward achieving the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 2004) for Standard 1. The first article focused on the…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of a K-5 Gifted Education Program. Program evaluation addressed how well the gifted education program studied met the National Association of Gifted Children standards. In addition, this study included stakeholder perceptions of the current gifted education program K-5. This program…

The first content standard of the National Standards for Music Education requires that students sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. Although state and district elementary music curricula vary widely, many are based on the National Standards for Music Education and therefore include singing as a primary content area and…

The National Science Education Standards are designed to provide a vision of scientific literacy for "all" students--regardless of age, race, ethnic background, English-language proficiency, socioeconomic status, disability, or giftedness. One of the most powerful strategies in science instruction--which aligns with the Standards--is the use of…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" outlines fundamental elements that are crucial for creating a problem-solving and inquiry-driven classroom learning environment that highlights conceptual understandings of mathematics ideas. Even though this document outlines…

"Bars, Lines, & Pies" is a dynamic math program designed to build graphing skills in students, while also showing them the relevance of math in their lives. Developed by The Actuarial Foundation along with Scholastic, the graphing lessons and activities involve engaging, real-world examples about the environment and recycling. In these lessons,…

This report is a synthesis that explores "opportunities for professional learning" that might occur when teachers work together to moderate their judgments about students' work. Since such conversations are inherently social, the synthesis employs the lens of sociocultural learning theory. It draws together key themes from the small…

iCivics, a free online, civics education program created by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, is aligned to state and national standards to teach core civics content. The research question for this study is: Does spending at least 30 minutes on the iCivics interactive web site 2 times per week improve student scores on a civics test? A…

Global education units are great motivators for activity in elementary physical education because they can bring freshness and excitement to a physical education program. Additionally, children are provided with the opportunity to learn just how much physical education interacts with the other academic subjects that they study. This article…

How can a science concept be taught in a way that generates interest, gives students the opportunity to consider other possibilities, does not lock them into one way of doing or seeing things, and gives them some ownership of their learning? These authors searched high and low for the perfect activity to illustrate a key concept for their partner…

Categorizing organisms as living or nonliving things may seem to be intuitive by nature. Yet, it is regulated by scientific criteria. Students come to school with rules already in place. Their categorizing criteria have already been influenced by their personal experiences, also known as observations and inferences. They believe that all things…

To better understand the evolving identity of school counselors, this article examines the value stakeholders place on the roles of elementary school counselors. The School Counselor Role Survey (SCRS) was administered to assess stakeholders' perceptions of the importance of the school counselor roles advocated by The Education Trust and the…