Background/Context: To stimulate national and regional economic growth, policymakers and businesses have expressed great interest in growing the supply of workers with skills in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). A key link in this pipeline is high school, where learning experience plays a critical role in shaping student's…

Background: Data visualizations transform data into visual representations such as graphs, diagrams, charts and so forth, and enable inquiries and decision-making in many professional fields, as well as in public and economic areas. How students' data visualization literacy (DVL), including constructing, comprehending, and utilizing adequate data…

This much-needed guide provides the specific skills and materials necessary to facilitate effective dialogues across identity differences. We are living through arguably one of the most divisive times in our country and the world. People do not know how to communicate across differences in a way that advances the public good--from the…

All too often, race discourse in the United States devolves into shouting matches, silence, or violence, all of which are mirrored in today's classrooms. This book will help individuals develop the skills needed to facilitate difficult dialogues across race in high school and college classrooms, in teacher professional learning communities, and…

The number of computer science (CS) courses has been dramatically expanding in U.S. high schools (HS). In comparison with well-established courses in mathematics and science, little is known about how the decisions made by HS CS teachers regarding how and what to teach impact student performance later in introductory college CS courses. Drawing on…

This quantitative causal comparative study investigated how the modality of course content delivery impacts the self-efficacy of dual enrollment students. The problem was that it is unclear how the benefits of dual enrollment impact different student groups based on the location of the course. The purpose was to verify existing research linking…

When the author began teaching in Paraguay, he ran into a series of classroom challenges familiar to English teachers around the world: a classroom overflowing with students, a large range of English abilities, and insufficient textbooks and traditional teaching resources. The activity described in this article is a one-size-fits-all activity that…

One of the most important aspects in our lives is learning how to have mutual, caring romantic relationships. Yet while schools and many other industries in this country devote tremendous attention and resources to preparing the young for work, they do remarkably little to prepare them for generous, self-respecting sex and love. Educators and…

Face-to-face adult communication with young people about sexuality is, for the most part, assigned to two main groups of people: educators tasked with teaching school-based sexuality education that is provided as part of the compulsory Life Orientation (LO) learning area, and parents. In this paper, we report on a study conducted with Further…

This study aims to evaluate the practice of academic quality assurance in design model based on seven aspects of quality are: curriculum design, teaching and learning, student assessment, student selection, support services, learning resources, and continuous improvement. The design study was conducted in two stages. The first stage is to obtain…

The use of animals in biomedical research is a socio-scientific issue in which decision-making is complicated. In this article, we describe an experience involving a role play activity performed during school visits to the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) to debate animal testing. Role playing games require students to defend different…

Since the mid-20th century, the standard U.S. high school and college math curriculum has been based on two years of algebra and a year of geometry, preparing students to take classes in pre-calculus followed by calculus. Students' math pursuits have been differentiated primarily by how far or how rapidly they proceed along a clearly defined…

Teaching students how to think critically and develop lifelong habits of evidence-based inquiry outside of the classroom is a primary goal for educators today. This paper describes nine activities designed to promote evidence-based critical thinking in college or high school classrooms in any discipline. We have developed a seven step process for…

Many states are now requiring high school students to be competent in the areas of economic and financial literacy. This is due to the recent escalation of bankruptcies, large credit card debt, and mortgage foreclosures in our society. This study examines how financial knowledge is transferred from the high school level to the college level and…

"Teaching History to Adolescents: A Quest for Relevance" is an exploration of research, ideas, trends, and practices for educators who teach American history to adolescents from the middle grades through high school. Higher education faculty in history and professional education will also find the book germane to their work. Topics within the…