The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (2012, 2023) (NSBECS) was first developed and is now updated to complement, support, and reach beyond academic and curricula standards to provide schools a roadmap to faith-based education that is governed with integrity and academically, spiritually, and…

THE FUSED health education series was developed as a one-stop guide for developing a quality curriculum for teaching health education. This first, two-part article introduces a new approach to teaching health education called THE FUSED Technique. THE stands for Teaching Health Education and FUSED stands for Functional (data driven) information,…

Alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS) are designed and implemented for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Historically, these assessments have been described as reflecting reduced "depth," "breadth," and "complexity." Yet, the meaning of these terms…

The central pedagogical principle on which the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) are built is that of three-dimensional learning. This principle posits that it is through meaningful integration of the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs) that students will…

This article presents how the District of Columbia's (DC's) state board has designed and coordinated a collaborative process to revise social studies standards that will ideally facilitate learning the long, interconnected arcs of history, economics, politics, and geography that run through the American past, helping students make connections…

There is an extensive history of collaboration with respect to policy initiatives between the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). In pursuit of promoting high quality inclusive education for all young children, DEC and NAEYC have…

Each year, in middle and high school classrooms, secondary science teachers introduce their students to the periodic table of elements (herein the periodic table). According to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013), one of the performance expectations states that high school students should be able to, "Use the…

The U.S agricultural industry is a major player in the global market, and changes in climate that impact the industry have implications for both domestic and global food security. Existing studies have revealed a disconnect between agricultural stakeholders and the wider climatological community which impedes the process of informed decision…

The examination of a PhD thesis marks an important stage in the PhD student journey. Here, the student's research, thinking and writing are assessed by experts in their field. Yet, in the early stages of candidature, students often do not know what is expected of their thesis, nor what examiners will scrutinise and comment on. However, what…

High-quality K-12 instructional materials can meaningfully improve teaching practice and student achievement, especially when paired with professional learning support. Yet state policymakers have usually left ultimate authority for textbook selection to school district leaders. Consequently, the quality of materials across U.S. classrooms and…

Part 1 of this article described THE FUSED Technique (Ford & Knutson, 2024) as a new pedagogical approach to teaching K-12 health education, blending or fusing the best aspects from the standards-based and skill-based health education teaching models. THE stands for teaching health education and FUSED stands for functional (data driven)…

Due to swift technological changes in society, programming tasks are proliferating in formal and informal education around the globe. However, challenges arise regarding the acquisition of programming skills. Many students are unequipped to develop programming skills due to limited instruction or background and therefore feel insecure when…

By implementing carefully selected children's literature into the current reading curriculum, teachers can help students develop into civic-minded citizens who are willing and able to take meaningful action. Much has been written about the need to link learning and culture in our literacy classrooms (Banks, 1995; Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995,…

During the 2024-2025 school year, the state of South Dakota will implement a curriculum inspired by the conservative Hillsdale College model. South Dakota teachers will need to expand their content coverage without the benefit of additional instructional time; find ways to teach young students content that is developmentally inappropriate; base…

According to the Next Generation Science Standards, three-dimensional teaching challenges educators to adopt an inquiry approach through science and engineering practices aligned with disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts. Few teachers today feel confident in their ability to orchestrate such lessons. Teaching inquiry science takes…