A narrative of racial progress abounds in U.S. history, making it difficult for teachers to present complex interpretations of racial/ethnic discrimination. Historical complexity challenges such simplistic notions of race/ethnicity and encourages critical thinking. Adding anti-essentialist historical content about Latinx communities is one way to…

Research has shown that formative assessment is a key ingredient in raising student achievement. The goal of formative assessment is not to grade students, but to pinpoint where they are having trouble and then to take appropriate instructional action. In a review of 250 studies, Black and Wiliam found that formative assessments had a more…

This study contributes knowledge about how a digital badge system integrated into an online, subject-matter-specific, and competency-based professional development (PD) program affected teachers' experiences with and perceptions of the program activities. The report presents findings from a one-year exploratory study of an online PD program, and…

This case study examines a U.S. History class where a veteran teacher uses challenging primary source documents and a debate to encourage his students to think critically about history. The teacher is knowledgeable about the subject matter and articulates a clear purpose for teaching. Surprisingly, the author finds that the teacher's methods,…

This article describes a study in which eighth grade students in one school learned to create multimedia mini-documentaries in a six-week history unit on early 19th-century U.S. history. The authors examined content knowledge tests, group projects, and attitude and opinion surveys to determine relative benefits for students who participated in a…

Offers excerpts from a California State Education Department publication on curriculum reform ("It's Elementary!") that describes what elementary school students should be learning in subject areas and highlights character education. The subject areas covered are language arts, mathematics, history-social science, and science. (JB)

Over the past two decades, interest in Holocaust education has grown substantially as individual states, starting in the 1980s, began to mandate and/or recommend Holocaust studies as part of the social studies curriculum. As a result, these mandates and/or interest in the Holocaust have spawned any number of curriculum products, some of which seek…

Asserts that the rapid growth of the limited-English-proficient (LEP) student population has been a great challenge to social studies teachers. Proposes five reading and writing activities that actively involve LEP students in meaningful instructional tasks and encourage higher level thinking skills. (CFR)

Asserts that these are exciting times to be involved in history/social science education in California. Reviews recent trends and maintains they will have a significant impact on both preservice and inservice teacher education. Provides a preview of articles in this special theme issue on teacher education. (CFR)

Contends that understanding history is more than remembering isolated facts: it involves interpreting, hypothesizing, and evaluating. Provides recommendations for preparing elementary students for the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). (CFR)

Outlines an inservice-teacher workshop, used in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, intended for high school teachers who focus on the modern Middle East. Defines the critical thinking process it recommends: questioning assumptions, gathering information, and evaluating material. Describes small-group sessions that evaluate textbooks and news…