Plate tectonics is the organizing paradigm of geosciences, but it is also conceptually complex, and students often struggle with developing a system level understanding of the earth. This article reports on research designed to create a characterization of the different levels of sophistication around plate tectonics in the form of a learning…

This study examines the value of a professional collaborative partnership between college faculty and middle school teachers in improving students' literacy skills and teachers' instructional practice. Three college faculty and two middle school teachers engaged in a collaborative effort to design and implement evidence-based strategies to promote…

This article describes a collaboration between a university professor and a sixth-grade teacher who teamed to introduce algebra using a visual approach. The project began with a study of qualitative graphs, moved on to quantitative graphs, then introduced tables of values and finally concentrated on equations. (Contains 12 figures.)