The researcher investigated the effects of learning in an integrated curriculum environment in a Midwestern urban school among 7th grade students. The control group consisted of students who were enrolled in just a 7th grade social studies class. The test group consisted of students who were enrolled in both a social studies class "and"…

This action research study focused on a problem of practice observed in a Title 1 middle school in rural South Carolina, where seventh-grade students show low academic achievement levels in social studies, evidenced by low scores on teacher-made tests, district benchmarks, and the state standardized test. To address this problem of practice,…

The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to explore pedagogical responses to technology in the classroom, specifically how the one-to-one Chromebook initiative influenced the instructional methodologies and pedagogical developments that support the development of digital practices of middle level students. The participants of this study…

The introduction of low-cost hand-held devices has provided K-12 educators with the opportunity to teach using virtual reality (VR). However, the efficacy of VR in K-12 classrooms for teaching and learning has not been established. Therefore, the purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the influence of virtual reality field trips…

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, is home to approximately 3.4 million U.S. citizens. The literature on Puerto Rican national identity (PRNI) describes how and why it has been debated on the island for more than five hundred years throughout the colonial trajectory, once under Spain and now as a…

The purpose of this action research study was to ascertain the possible impact of using schema development strategies and the digital application Quizlet on student learning perspectives and achievement in a mid-level social studies classroom. U.S. schools are highly influenced by state standardized testing based on standards-driven curriculum…

Problem: Educators struggle with how to include the attacks of September 11th, 2001 in the nation's social studies classrooms. This study investigates how teachers engage in instruction about these events and the messages students take away from that instruction. Much of the research to date on the instruction of 9/11 focuses on resources and…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the beliefs held by content area social studies teachers who teach reading. The rationale for this study is that students in the 21st century must be able to meet the demands of disciplinary literacy to compete in the workforce. The data from the semi-structured interviews and classroom…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine what effective teaching with technology looked like in practice within middle grade Social Studies' classrooms. An additional purpose was to understand how teachers' combine content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge when making decisions about their curriculum.…

In 1985 the state of Georgia introduced the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) in accordance with the Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act. These learning standards identified the content knowledge that students were required to learn in each subject area at all grade levels. The QCC was replaced by the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) to identify the…

Historical thinking is an integral part of understanding and doing history, as well as a good example of the kind of critical thinking necessary in today's society. This study, conducted in two phases, investigated ways in which students are brought to this higher level of thinking in the social studies classroom. Data collection occurred…

Fueled by the proliferation of new technologies, teachers are being asked to rethink their own practice and deliver instruction designed to help students succeed in the 21st century. The aim is to extend students' intellectual capacity through the use of contemporary tools and to create powerful learning situations which can extend their…

This study examined how the use of teacher think-alouds influenced and transferred to the reading comprehension and metacognition of seventh grade middle school social studies students in two Reading Apprenticeship classrooms. The researcher conducted classroom observations at a middle school in a mid-size suburban and rural school district in…

This participatory action research study addressed questions of pedagogical strategies, motivation, assessment, and student choice surrounding an inquiry approach to teaching and learning in a 7th grade social studies classroom. Teacher and student data were collected over a 6-week inquiry project stemming from and directed by student choice. Data…

Although the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires that classroom teachers be highly qualified, the assumption that achieving the highly qualified endorsement equates to teacher effectiveness in the classroom is unverified. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of teacher qualification, as defined by the NCLB Act and…