Positioning students as competent is a teaching practice that uses specific, explicit affirmations to note that students have contributed something meaningful to the community of learners. It supports student agency in the mathematics classroom and contributes to the development of a positive mathematics identity. In this article, the authors…

Government Upper Primary School Puracherry is situated in the Madayi educational district within the Kannur district of Kerala. The school comprises 322 students and 18 teachers, offering classes from 1st to 7th standard. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government declared lockdown measures, resulting in the closure of schools. During this…

Author and educator Jason McKenna describes how teaching STEM education in his elementary school changed his classroom and his life, improving his students' and his own approaches to problem solving, collaboration, and general motivation to learn. Offering examples, tried and tested classroom projects, and collaborative strategies, this innovative…

Embedding mathematics in a relatable context has changed the way Christie Henderson's elementary students view the subject. In this article, Henderson discusses how presenting mathematics through a relatable context enables students to visualize the math and make a pictorial representation to aid them in solving it. When relevant and relatable…

In this story collected and shared as part of the OurStoryBridge online short-form oral history project from the Tremonton City Library in Tremonton, Utah, Parry recalls learning Shoshone history and culture from stories that his grandmother, Mae Timbimboo, told him. Parry recounts his excitement in elementary school when he heard that Shoshone…

This study aimed to develop, introduce, and conduct an inquiry-driven creative drama activity. The activity, for elementary students, related to the transmission of light and full shadow. In the activity, which consisted of a warm-up, dramatization, and evaluation stages, two inquiry-based experiments were added to the dramatization stage. Thus,…

The issue of unfinished learning and achievement gaps in schools has been a persistent concern in recent years, particularly among underrepresented and disadvantaged student populations. AVID Elementary is a promising solution for ensuring students have the necessary knowledge and skills to be college and career ready, as it is based on proven…

Even though the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) were released over a decade ago, science is still infrequently taught in early childhood and elementary classrooms. A lack of teacher confidence due to inadequate content knowledge may be a contributing factor, making access to high-quality elementary science methods courses even…

Learning outdoors can be a powerful pedagogical tool in a teachers science arsenal and one that can be exploited throughout the year to teach a variety of science topics. In his first article on outdoor learning in science, the author considered which areas of science could be taught outdoors and the resources that can be used; in this follow-up…

Accompanying a senior methods course, 19 teacher candidates at Southeastern Louisiana University participated in a semester-long social studies fifth grade mentorship at an International Baccalaureate World School. Teacher candidates identified factors they perceived to affect the success of the experiential learning experience through…

In this article, Jane Winter describes a pilot project that uses a simple and engaging science activity to raise children's science capital, as well as increasing understanding of the potential of science to combat world problems. "Potatoes to plastics" is a Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) project, aimed at key stage 2…

The sense of efficaciousness for engaging diverse learners was examined with twenty-four pre-service teachers concurrently enrolled in a junior-level Creative Arts methods course and a field experience course with placements in K-2 general education classrooms. The pre-service teachers participated in music and literacy activities in their…

Citizen science provides an opportunity for students to capture data both locally and globally while supporting the real-time work of scientists seeking to understand natural events. In this article, the authors present a project-based approach that explores climate at home and abroad to help develop elementary students' local-to-global…

Children are naturally curious about the world around them and are often intrigued by everyday objects and experiences. Primary school teachers frequently make use of "WOW moments" to generate children's interest in science (Feasey, 2005). These moments capitalise on the children's fascination with objects and experiences in their…

Primary schools rarely have dedicated science laboratories, which means teachers spend their lunchtimes rushing around collecting resources they need from the "science cupboard" to prepare their classrooms for a science lesson. The lessons have to be very teacher-led, restricted by what resources are available. The Phiz Lab programme,…