One of the greatest challenges of an elementary school teacher is equipping students with comprehension strategies that transfer to all content areas. With stable levels of reading achievement over the last two decades in the United States, it is necessary that further research be conducted on methods of increasing students' comprehension…

This article details the work of third grade teacher, co-author Kim Heckart, as she engaged her students in making historical documentaries: a project that succeeded in reaching all of her third-grade students. For the last five years, Kim has required students to make historical documentaries. As her students produced these works, Kim conversed…

In a northeastern US state, the higher the grade the level, the more students do not meet the state mathematics standards. Teachers need effective professional development in classroom strategies and tools, such as interactive whiteboards (IWB), to assist them in preparing students to meet state standards. Multimedia learning theory and…

One professional development approach that has supported teachers in learning about particular children so as to become better teachers of those children is called the Descriptive Review Process (DRP), and involves taking an in-depth look at an individual child (Himley & Carini, 2000). The DRP is a ritualized close look at a particular child…

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Video Study explored instructional practices in the United States (US) in comparison with other countries that ranked higher on the 1999 TIMSS assessment, and revealed that 8th grade science teachers in the US emphasize activities over content during lessons (Roth et al.…

This paper describes implementation of a Lesson Study project with third grade teachers in a small school district to study the development of the critical lenses (perspectives) necessary for meaningful lesson study work. Adapting the Lesson Study process to meet school system needs, two outside facilitators stimulated teacher thinking with math…

This study examined urban elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in teaching science while supporting English language development of English language learning (ELL) students. As part of a larger 5-year research project in the United States, the study involved 38 third-grade teachers who participated in the first-year implementation of a…

The study was designed to enhance teachers' understating of students' learning by using assessment tasks. Four third-grade teachers and the researcher collaboratively set up a school-based assessment team in the two-year Assessment Practices in Mathematics Classroom project that assisted teachers in implementing assessment as integral part of…