In this article, the author describes his experience conducting an inquiry investigation in his classroom in which high school physics students design, create, and race a solar-powered vehicle. Students learn invaluable science, technology, mathematics, communication, and critical thinking skills. Fueled by their knowledge, creativity, and the…

This article addresses an important need--the dissemination of information relating to technology as a public relations tool--and the associated exigency for administrator and teacher technology training. Specifically, we identify the increased expectations for the performance of school leaders and teachers, as well as unresolved issues in public…

"National Science Education Standards" (1996), published by the National Research Council, recommends that students learn to explain Moon phases and eclipses by the time they graduate from eighth grade. It is clear from the research literature, however, that misconceptions about Moon phases and eclipses are widespread and resistant to change, even…

This essay reviews the principles motivating contemporary"critical mathematics" discourses. Drawing from varied critical discourses including ethno-mathematics, critical theory, post-structural theory, and situated and ecological cognition, the essay examines the pragmatics of critiques to the privileged role of school mathematics in the…

While school leaders have long sought a definitive tool for assessing teacher affect and dispositions, a practical method for measurement has proven elusive. This book presents a conceptual framework that helps educators understand what "appropriate dispositions" are, why it is important to measure them, and how to implement an assessment process…

This paper argues that education in the United States will be increasingly intertwined with and impacted by federal expectations, requirements, and standards. The paper describes the impacts and effects of national goals and national assessment on K-12 and higher education. A review of state and federal responses to "A Nation at Risk"…

In recent months the idea of a single national test seems to have lost some of its momentum, while use of national standards to which voluntary regional or state tests would be indexed seems to have gained support. Nationally, there does not seem to be any organized attempt to fuse the national education goals into the state process beyond the…

This teacher's guide correlates with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television series "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great" hosted by historian Michael Wood. The four episodes of the series are entitled: "Son of God"; "Lord of Asia"; "Across the Hindu Kush"; and "To the Ends of the…

These American Indian standards for mathematics were developed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for use by classroom teachers of American Indian students. They have been closely aligned with the 1989 "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics," national standards currently in use in many BIA-funded schools. Each…

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) adopted mathematics achievement standards on May 11, 1991 that will be used to report results on the 1990 assessment of mathematics. NAEP achievement levels are descriptions, based on informed judgments, of what students should know and be able…

Similar in scope and intent to the National Science Education Standards, the Standards for Technological Literacy were conceptualized as a way to bring more consistency and accountability to the varied technology education K-12 content in the United States (International Technology Education Association, 2000). The organization's goal was to…

This document contains the analysis of the occupation of cabinetmaker, or joiner, that is accepted by the Canadian Council of Directors as the national standard for the occupation. The front matter preceding the analysis includes exploration of the development of the analysis, structure of the analysis, validation method, scope of the cabinetmaker…

This paper describes how university coursework for a graduate level teaching internship in Childhood Education (preK-4) at the University of Arkansas incorporates standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and encompasses performance-based assessment as utilized in Praxis III to develop instructional units. The…

The teacher standards movement and effective schools research movement both proclaim that all students can learn, irrespective of family background, wealth, gender, or ethnicity. Effective schools research promotes seven correlates as core to schools where students learn and achieve: clear school mission, high expectations for success,…

The size and adequacy of the federal workforce for carrying out scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities are ongoing concerns in many policy circles. Experts both inside and outside of government have voiced fears that this workforce is aging and may soon face a dwindling labor pool, a problem that could be compounded…