This article explores how 12 classroom teachers, enrolled in one of the author's graduate social studies methods course, used service-learning as an instructional tool to help students practice active participation in their community and beyond, while also recognizing the relevance of academic coursework as they applied their knowledge and skills…

The purpose of this study was to test an educational swine curriculum geared toward fifth grade classrooms to measure the change in students' knowledge about the pork industry, pork as a nutritious protein source, and the value of byproducts derived from pork production. Objectives of this study were to evaluate overall change in students'…

We describe a model professional development intervention currently being implemented to support 3rd- through 5th-grade teachers' science instruction in 9 urban elementary schools with high numbers of English language learners. The intervention consists of curriculum materials for students and teachers, as well as teacher workshops throughout the…

Imagine soaring in the Earth's atmosphere to near the edge of space. Is there air to breathe? Is it dark? Are there clouds? What about air pressure? Fifth-grade students from Ferguson Elementary in Klamath Falls, Oregon, were wondering these questions as they participated in "To the Edge of Space," an exciting, yearlong collaborative…

The authors conducted an ethnography investigating children's lived experiences in a 3-day residential environmental education (EE) program with 20 gifted 4th- and 5th-grade students. The authors also conducted participant observation and a series of interviews before, during, and after the trip. After the authors conducted the interviews and…

This investigation is an ethnographic case study of the literacy learning opportunities of a fifth-grade Hmong child (pseudonym Deng) who came to the United States from Laos via Thailand at the very end of his third-grade year in school. Deng was one of 25 students in a mainstream urban classroom in the Midwest during his fifth grade in school…

This article describes a case study of an international collaboration between two classes of fifth grade students through an online discussion platform with one group more experienced in online knowledge building activities than the other. Before the collaboration, the novice class tended to produce isolated notes filled with information and…

Within the context of the Project on Learning (a 3-year research project under the direction of Professor Graham Nuthall), each of the authors of this paper participated in a series of classroom-based studies focussing on the experience of Years 5 and 6 students. The use of the extensive methodology, comprising audio- and video-recorded…

This article provides an overview of medicine ball training. Specifically, it describes "Medicine Ball for All," a physical activity program designed to provide children and teenagers with a meaningful learning experience that is consistent with their developmental needs. The article focuses on developing a safe, successful, and inexpensive…

An evaluation mosaic brings together different methods and forms to present an overall picture of the impact this professional learning experience had on teachers' practices and on student achievement. Using this framework, professional developers were able to determine whether they were getting the results they wanted--and they did.