This paper describes a collaborative project between a district curriculum specialist and university-based researchers to provide on-going support to social studies teachers as they transitioned to digital learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. We developed an asynchronous, on-line and self-guided professional learning project to support teachers…

The purpose of this study is to provide the best possible learning environment for K-8 English Learners (ELs) in social studies content suggested by ESL teachers and school administrators in North Carolina. ESL teachers and school administrators share their perceptions of best practices and strategies that have been effective in addressing the…

Time constraints and the pressure to prioritize ELA and mathematics appear to drive teachers' planning and allotment of instructional time, especially given the widening post-pandemic needs of students. This prioritization can often lead to limited time for social studies instruction. Additionally, high-quality social studies resources (such as…

This qualitative study focused on high school social studies teachers' understandings of and perspectives about vocabulary acquisition and instruction. The research questions were the following: (1) What do high school social studies teachers understand about vocabulary instruction? and (2) How do high school social studies teachers support…

The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), in the state of North Carolina, has gone through considerable recent effort to revise, support, and assess their seventh-grade social studies curriculum in an effort to serve three goals: comply with the Common Core State Standards (Common Core), comply with the North Carolina Essential Standards…

Founded by TNTP, the Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice is an annual award for the nation's best teachers in high-poverty public schools. The goal is to shine a spotlight on great teaching and amplify the voices of some of the nation's best educators so that others can gain insight into their remarkable classrooms. No more than five…

This qualitative study examines Civics teachers' perceptions of working with immigrant students in a new gateway state. By analyzing collective case studies of six teachers in central North Carolina, from different types of schools and with different professional backgrounds, this study is positioned to make recommendations for social studies…

For years, researchers have shown the value of using real-world data to enhance instruction in mathematics, science, and social studies. In an effort to help develop students' higher-order thinking skills in a data-rich learning environment, Green Research for Incorporating Data in the Classroom (GRID[subscript C]), a National Science…

This document presents the proceedings of the 18th Annual Research Forum held June 26, 2013, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following 13 action research papers: (1) Developing Oral Language Ability in the Secondary Spanish Classroom Using the Interpersonal and Presentational Modes of Communication…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

This issue of "Service-Learning Network" identifies the skills that students need to become responsible citizens in a democracy. In the issue's lead article, a definition of civic responsibility is created after examining a broad array of competencies and skills put forth by prominent organizations in the field, and a list of…

Project Change was a curriculum development and teacher training effort to improve the quality of education in 13 North Carolina public school systems. The project was carried out by a corps of resource teachers. Their responsibilities included: (1) the development of curricular materials in the language arts-social studies area; (2) the…

This curriculum guide for North Carolina social studies teachers stresses the fact that social studies traditionally has accepted the dominant burden of preparing young people to inherit the right and the responsibility of effective citizenship. It is the single curriculum area whose subject matter is the entirety of human experience. The sequence…

This document is the report of a committee charged with two tasks: (1) to examine the state recommended sequence of study and the recommended textbooks for purposes of determining whether or not North Carolina's students were afforded adequate opportunities to study the roles of religion in shaping the human heritage in the United States and the…

The system-wide curriculum development and instructional improvement (ESEA Title III) project concerned itself in the first phase with mathematics; emphasis in the 18-month second phase will be in social studies. In spring 1968, committees were formed representing the primary, middle, junior high and high school levels, and college consultants and…