Limited professional training regarding elementary social studies content and pedagogy contributes to the reduction of elementary social studies instruction. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore how the experiences of elementary educators during the 2018 Alabama Bicentennial Summer Institutes held in Mobile,…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning have increasingly become a part of educational practice and pedagogy. Educators, business leaders, and policy-makers seek to get involved with funding and making decisions for STEM initiatives. Stakeholders include those looking forward to preparing students for future…

This study explored the use of critical literacy practices employed by five third-grade teachers during their shared reading instruction. These individuals worked within a community of elementary classrooms. The purpose of the research study was to understand what critical literacy practices looked like as teachers learned about and then refined…

During 2012-2016, students with disabilities (SWDs) in Grades 3-5 in an urban elementary school in New York City did not meet the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) standards. The scores had been consistently low for SWDs when compared to their nondisabled peers. SWDs are placed in the inclusion classrooms with an Individual Education Plan…

Given the ongoing demographic transformations of U.S classrooms, knowledge of the strategies teachers use to address the vocabulary needs of English language learners (ELLs) is central for improving student outcomes. The problem in a Georgia school system was that ELLs were not building grade-level appropriate vocabulary at a pace comparable to…

As a result of a dramatic shift over the last 10 years in how educators and administrators are supported in their professional learning, teachers are no longer working in isolation behind closed doors. Instead, professional learning has moved to the school and the classroom, and teachers are encouraged to share their work and their students' work.…

Approached as an epistemology, implementing a constructivist workshop approach to literacy can challenge the traditional paradigm of teacher-focused instruction and transform to one where students construct knowledge together and learn through active engagement in authentic reading and writing. This study illustrated how two third-grade teachers…

This study that adopts descriptive and inferential research methods investigated the status of elementary grade pupils' English proficiency, particularly the Grades 1, 2 and 3 pupils who are simultaneously taking up subjects in the Mother Tongue and English that are integrated in their curricula. The research population was sourced from a single…

The purpose of this article is to describe the outcomes of a parallel curriculum project between life sciences and physical education. Throughout a 6-week period, students in grades two through five became members of teams that represented different animal species and biomes, and concurrently participated in a season of gymnastics skills and…

In this paper, we report on a longitudinal case study exploring Grade 3 teachers' implementation of iPads in the Language Arts classroom. A school-university partnership was formed based on a collaborative teacher inquiry model. We examined factors that shaped our collaboration. The project resulted in greater teacher sharing of iPad…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the implementation of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a professional development model effective in altering teachers' perceptions of their knowledge and skill in teaching developmental writing in grades K-3. This research is necessary to examine how offering teachers…

Imagine a classroom where students are actively engaged in seeking scientific knowledge from books and computers. Think of a classroom in which students fervently write to create PowerPoint presentations about their scientific topic and then enthusiastically practice their speaking roles to serve as docents in a classroom museum setting. Visualize…

This article features Point Road School, a pre-K-4 school in New Jersey that enhances student learning by integrating new and emerging technologies into the curriculum. Point Road School's technology story began in 1996 with a grant for a classroom modem so students could email their university literacy buddies. The New Jersey school has moved…

In typical school settings, teachers are not afforded the opportunity to observe the instructional practices of their peers. Time constraints, opportunity, and willingness to participate in observational practices are just three of the factors that may limit teachers' engagement in this type of activity. To provide teachers with opportunities to…

Collaborative teaching is an option worth exploring at the elementary school level. The problem is many teachers lack the knowledge to effectively make these co-teaching relationships work. The purpose of this study is to identify effective co-teaching strategies to enhance collaborative teaching relationships. The study documents 1st through 4th…