The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an integral measure of academic progress across the nation and over time. It is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what the nation's students know and can do in various subjects such as civics, mathematics, reading, and U.S. history. The program also provides…

Background: Despite its numerous benefits, dialogic discussion seldom occurs in secondary history classrooms. To examine ways to promote it, this study compared two ninth-grade classes' productive disciplinary engagement (PDE) in a whole-class discussion on the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Methods: The two class sections were comparable academically…

This qualitative multiple case study assesses two locally designed instructional artifacts created to support teacher enactment of culturally relevant educational (CRE) practices. Attention is paid to artifact's ability to support collective teacher use of CRE and the ways that artifacts acted as proxies for instructional leadership. Findings…

This paper reports results from a six-state study of 62 USA social studies classrooms. We examined the extent to which intellectually challenging authentic pedagogy was present in study classrooms, the characteristics of classroom practice at different levels of authentic pedagogy, and how those characteristics may promote or inhibit high levels…

While democratic nations like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany have elected women to the preeminent position in their governments, there has never been a woman president in the United States. The upcoming presidential election provides an excellent opportunity to have students consider why the United States has yet to elect a woman…

At the request of the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, the Office of Shared Accountability examined the impact of offering Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History on enrollment and performance in Advanced Placement (AP) social studies courses in Grade 9. The study compared Grade 9 enrollment and performance in AP U.S. History or AP U.S.…

The purpose of this correlational study is to understand the relationship between end-of-course grades as assigned by teachers and standardized end-of-course scores earned by students in Algebra, Geometry, Biology, Physical Science, and U.S. History courses at one virtual charter school in the State of Georgia. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation…

Developing disciplinary literacy in history requires that classrooms become an environment where students can engage in discursive practices typical of the profession. Disciplinary literacy refers to the specialized ways of reading and writing used in history to construct historical arguments and ways of reasoning. Learning history includes using…

Scholars often define historical reasoning as constructing defensible interpretations of past events. Drawing on critical theory, this article suggests that it also entails consciously framing one's topic of inquiry. The article examines an instructional unit that aimed to foster this expanded view of historiography. Forty students, ages 14-15,…

This collective case study of teachers and students in two ninth-grade US history classes examines the role that films can play as a "thoughtful" medium for teaching history. Specifically, the study focuses on the nature and range of authentic intellectual work that students are engaged in with film in the classroom (Newmann, F., B.…

No significant difference in beginning ninth-grade pretest compared to ending ninth-grade posttest comparisons of American History t(17) = 0.34, p = 0.37 (one-tailed), d = 0.09, English t(17) = 1.40, p = 0.09 (one-tailed), d = 0.34, and Biology (t(17) = -1.58, p = 0.07 (one-tailed), d = -0.22, course grade scores were observed for students…

In this design-based study, an eleven-week curricular module in recent American history was developed that departed from both the epistemology and ideology of traditional textbooks. The curriculum instantiated a constructivist epistemology by having students assess multiple historical narratives and sources of evidence. It instantiated a…

In this article, the authors show how oceanography can enlighten and energize the teaching of middle- and high-school social studies on a grade-by-grade basis, and they describe "hooks" from oceanography that will heighten students' interest in various social studies topics. They base the article on their own experiences--as a…

This educator guide provides background information on Wilbur and Orville Wright. It also presents activities on aeronautics that provide templates for building the 1900, 1901, and 1902 Gliders and the 1903 Flyer. Activities include: (1) Early Aviation; (2) Your First Interview; (3) Your First Report; (4) Build a Model of the 1900 Glider; (5)…

When there is a limit on the amount of information available in a classroom, the students need to depend on the teacher as the master of information. Conversely, when accurate information is widely available, conveniently organized, and easily accessed, then the nature of the learning that takes place can resemble more what the AHA now advocates:…