The problem to be investigated by this study is whether museum visitors' history content knowledge is enhanced by their museum experience and whether their lived experiences played a role in their learning. The study is based on the theories of experiential, informal and free-choice learning. A qualitative design examined the lived experiences of…

This study examined the extent to which teacher beliefs and practices at the high school level reflect current research on historical thinking and understanding. The topic is significant as teachers are a crucial variable in a child's education and evidence over the years has revealed that students have long struggled in developing conceptual…

The School of Education and the Department of Physics at Boston University offer a sequence of 10 two-credit professional development courses through the Improving the Teaching of Physics (ITOP) project. The ITOP courses combine physics content, readings from the physics education research (PER) literature, and the conceptual history of physics…

Inquiry-into-practice represents a valuable disposition for teachers; reflecting on one's teaching to derive insights for subsequent practice can enhance professional efficacy and promote student achievement. To support this disposition among teacher candidates (TCs), Lynch School of Education faculty at Boston College created a capstone course,…

Late in 2007 New Visions for Public Schools, a New York City reform organization, received a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation to organize select high schools and community partners into delivery systems that could improve student achievement. New Visions asked Policy Studies Associates, Inc. to provide research support for this effort in the…