Describes "Wyzt's Playground", a fourth grade math multimedia title that emulates and simulates the real-life scenario of building a playground and supports the instruction of mathematics and measures proficiency in five NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) standards. Explains the multimedia production process and the…

Asserts that elementary students should learn economics to prepare for their adult roles as consumers, producers, and voters. Discusses the "Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics" that consist of 20 standards and the respective benchmarks that describe the concepts students need to know by the end of grades 4, 8, and 12. (CMK)

Cultural difference is an important topic of discussion in second language education. Yet cultural difference is often conceptualized as fixed, objective, and apolitical based on an essentialist and normative understanding of culture. This article challenges such conceptualizations by examining and politicizing multiple and conflicting meanings of…

In this activity, teachers in one state create and share an "exchange box" of environmental and cultural items with students of another state. The Environmental Exchange Box activity enables teachers to improve students' skills in scientific inquiry and develop attitudes and values conducive to science learning such as wonder, curiosity,…

Recent events, such as the anthrax scares and the SARS outbreak, have forced teachers to focus on issues such as disease control and bioterrorism in their own backyards. Students are aware of the current biological issues in the news and are curious about infectious diseases and the issues relating to biological warfare. In order to address the…

The final work of the National Skill Standards Development Project (NSSDP) is to create a model for developing and administering a certification program for electronics technicians based on already developed skill standards. During its first 2 years, NSSDP has developed over 300 standards for work-ready, entry-level electronics technicians;…

This report describes the nature of the partnership between the George Washington University (GWU) and Fairfax County, Virginia, Public Schools (FCPS) to support the design of GWU's advanced Master's degree program and to support National Board for Professional Teaching Standards candidates as they pursue certification. Section 1 discusses the…

An Austrian elementary teacher in a Tyrolean mountain village, who spent a year in the United States learning about the education system, provides her viewpoint on Austrian education in an interview. The teacher discusses the Austrian tracking system as a principal means of achieving educational quality. She believes that as long as the Austrian…

This report provides suggestions for effectively linking priority health information in 12 core subject areas without increasing teacher workload. It also illustrates how current academic standards in these core areas can be met by linking the health-learning opportunities with subject area standards. Four sections include: (1)…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has developed and made available sophisticated teaching assessments in nearly two dozen fields. This paper draws on an array of research evidence, and data gathering in four urban communities with large representations of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs), to describe three major…

This paper was prepared for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment and Training Taskforce on Teacher Quality & Educational Leadership. It covers the following broad areas: (1) How can a national definition of "Good Teaching" be developed, and what should it include?; (2) What should a "National Standards…

In 2002, the Michigan State Board of Education asked the Department of Education to develop grade-by-grade "content expectations" in reading/English language arts and mathematics to provide guidance to local educators and parents and serve as the basis for annual assessments required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of…

This report describes the work of the Charlotte Collaborative, a partnership between North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Johnson C. Smith University. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) chose CMS to develop a model for other school systems to use in…

This study analyzed aspects of a knowledge base for teaching and ways that teachers understood and described the required student knowledge base, highlighting the construction of a knowledge base for elementary teaching. Participants were elementary teachers and staff from one Brazilian elementary school. Teachers wrote reports on what they…

Australia has a federal system, comprising the national Commonwealth government and eight state and territory governments. At the Commonwealth level, the ministries of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, and Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business have primary roles in the career information and services field. Education and training…