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This paper presents case studies of three student teachers negotiating the demands of the National Council of the Social Studies' (NCSS) five characteristics of powerful teaching and learning (meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active instruction) while engaged in the context-specific tasks of student teaching. For these three student teachers, the context of both their teaching and beliefs about teaching combined to help them focus on two of the five characteristics more deeply than the others. These case studies suggest that social studies pre-service teachers can constructively use their student teaching semester to focus on developing strengths in those characteristics most appropriate to their beliefs about teaching and their teaching contexts, and that social studies methods courses can aid in this process by helping student teachers to reflect on these factors prior to their student teaching semester.

The purpose of this study is to examine the teachers’ practice of “meaningful learning” has become an inseparable part of the educational discourse. As a result, many schools have adopted the project-based learning (PBL) approach, which represents different teaching methods. The PBL approach also changes the position of the teacher as a source of knowledge as well as teacher–student relationship. The integration of PBL into and its implementation in the teaching of the robotics profession in junior high schools have created a new reality in which teachers who use project-based learning for teaching robotics come from diverse professional backgrounds, and in many cases, they are selected by the principal of the school. In light of this reality, it is interesting to examine the experience of teachers who manage a project in a field of knowledge that is not their expertise. This study examined teachers’ perceptions of their experience in teaching using the PBL approach. The subject of robotics was chosen as the field of research, as it represents a much broader issue concerning the implications of teaching using PBL on the professional, personal and ecological aspects. The study data were collected using structured questionnaires, which also included open-ended questions. These questionnaires were answered by 173 teachers, some of whom are educators (class tutors) and some professional teachers from three fields of knowledge: human studies, sciences and engineering. Each questionnaire included attitudes relating to the PBL teaching experience and the contribution of the PBL approach to both teachers and students. The findings show a high level of general satisfaction among the teachers and a sense of self-efficacy in teaching PBL. The findings also indicate personal, professional and ecological (teacher–environment relationship) contributions that were perceived as significant. The findings additionally indicate that class tutors perceived ecological contribution more than professional teachers, and professional teachers in the fields of human studies and sciences perceived it to be more significant than engineering teachers.

This study was based on quantitative research principles from the assumption that it can also be applied to different populations. The premise of this study is that the best way to understand phenomena is by using a large sample and numerical measurement (N = 176), which is required to avoid a result that may reflect only a partial view of the matter at hand when focusing on only a few limited cases.

A limitation of the present study is expressed in the fact that it is based on the perspective of one of the participants in the learning–teaching process – the teachers – who guided the project. The students’ perspective has not been studied. It is required to continue the study and examine the perceptions of the students who participate in PBL classes in which the teachers are not experts in the field of knowledge.

Students often do not understand the relevance of social studies, are not interested in it, and some early childhood students confuse it with other disciplines. Various external and internal factors prevent teachers from providing meaningful social studies instruction; however, practical solutions can be approached more appropriately and interestingly through collaboration. A team of second grade teachers’ participation in lesson study, a 50 plus-year old Japanese collaborative model, and implications of their activities for 41 students are reported in this interpretative case study. Data concerning students’ perceptions of their social studies classroom environments and attitudes about social studies lessons were collected before and after the lesson study, using surveys and focus group interviews. There were slight changes, both positive and negative, in students’ perceptions of their social studies learning environments, though they were puzzled about the discipline of social studies. Early childhood stakeholders benefit from learning what young students articulate about social studies and social studies learning environments. The description of team collaboration, with early childhood social studies, could be helpful also to teachers engaging in job-embedded professional development.

This study covers an experience of teacher training carried out in an Undergraduate Business School from a private university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The purpose of the project was to provide teachers with an opportunity to reflect on their teaching practices at the university. The aim of this study is to systematize lessons and challenges that emerge from this teacher training experience and get to know in which way this helped to improve student’s learning process.

A group of teachers, who showed willingness to learn teaching abilities, was selected. They worked in two learning communities that were organized by expertise: one community of the field of social sciences and one of the field of economic sciences. They completed a formative process that began by diving into a pedagogic topic, continued with class observations and finished with an individual and collaborative reflection exercise. They repeated this process with each of the topics in a systematic way among colleagues. In this study, the production of eight teacher’s e-portfolio and the expected product of their training journey are analyzed.

The analysis shows that after the process of shared reflection, traits related to powerful teaching and meaningful learning have appeared in the classes. Teachers reflect having reached an awareness of their own practices, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement. The experience of sharing their own way and knowing the successes and failures of others was valued.

Teacher training programmes in business education are infrequent. This experience promotes a journey of pedagogical transformation for teachers of a Business School in Argentina, which could lead to a change in teaching practices for the entire Business School. The present study involves theoretical and pedagogical aspects of business education and its direct implications for the workplace, which may be transferred to other educational contexts.

Increasing reading achievement has become a nationwide priority resulting from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2005 (Dole, 2004). Due to this emphasis, coupled with the fact that an elementary school’s success is generally not correlated with test scores in social studies, teachers of the elementary grades find limited time to teach the social studies curriculum. However, in effort to combat this tragedy, elementary educators should be taught and encouraged to integrate content area teaching with literacy strategies. Using the appropriate.

This paper examines how a beginning teacher in Virginia and a beginning teacher in Florida make sense of the high-stakes tests in their state. By examining beginning teachers in two states where the tests are so very different, we gain important insight into whether there are similarities and differences across states and how the nature of the test affects the teaching and learning of history. We first offer insight into the context of accountability in Virginia and Florida and then discuss what ambitious teaching and learning look like in these states as informed by the literature. Then, we turn to our research methods, findings, and implications for the field of social studies.

It is now considered commonplace to teach in a multigenerational higher education classroom that is made up of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y and Z students. To ensure that all students, regardless of their generational identity, are successful in the classroom, educators must teach purposefully, with an understanding of the variables that affect student learning. Educators must ensure instruction is delivered according to varying student strengths and needs. This paper will provide guidance for higher education faculty teaching in multigenerational classrooms by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses across student generations. The most effective instructional practices for teaching will be discussed.

This article is a literature review focused on meeting the needs of multigenerational learners in synchronous and asynchronous online learning classrooms.

To ensure that all students, regardless of generational identity, are successful in the classroom, educators must teach purposefully, with an understanding of the variables that affect student learning. A summary of these generational strengths and needs are discussed within this paper.

This paper will provide guidance for higher education faculty teaching in multigenerational classrooms by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses across student generations.

This paper will provide guidance for higher education faculty teaching in multigenerational classrooms by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses across student generations. The most effective instructional practices for teaching will be discussed.

There is a tacit understanding among social studies teachers and educators that incorporating primary source documents in planning and teaching is desirable for many reasons, most prominent among them the ways in which it challenges students to think at higher levels. This study is a descriptive study of public school teachers’ uses of primary source documents in social studies planning, in which we review lesson activities of various grade level teachers to evaluate their use of primary documents for higher order cognitive purposes. Given the salient theme of critical thinking in the literature, we established a baseline continuum of uses that served as our framework for evaluating these activities. We asked the following questions: When history teachers incorporate the use of primary source documents in their planning, to what degree do they promote development of higher level critical thinking? What might a planned activity look like when they do? We found that the majority of the activities examined here employ primary source documents for lower order purposes but held the promise of easy transition to higher order uses.

The landscape of learning and teaching is changing through the recognition of a diversity of learning types, new student generations as well as advances in technology and theory in education. While claims for interdisciplinary research and inquiry-based approaches, as well as integration of new media and technologies are at the heart of current discourses on teaching and learning, most educational activities still take place in a conservative format of the hierarchical teacher–student relationship in rather traditional educational facilities. As an architect and anthropologist, but most of all, as an academic who is devoted to teaching and research, I believe in teaching and learning experiences that are based on theoretical and methodological explorations in different disciplines in order to develop practical, research and critical thinking skills among the students. Students are motivated and engaged when they understand why information is important for them. Through an inquiry-based approach, abstract information becomes tangible and contextualized. In this chapter, I will first discuss common characteristics of our learners, today’s generation of students (the Millennials). Second, I will conceptually locate my approach to teaching among inquiry-based approaches such as Situated Learning, Learner-centered Teaching and Universal Design for Learning, which I see as complementary to each other. Third, I will explain my course design and give an account of two courses as examples for Inquiry-based Learning in action. Although these courses address architecture students, the Inquiry-based Learning and teaching experiences from these courses will inform a larger, more general audience interested in the subject matter.

Each year, hundreds of accounting doctoral students attend doctoral consortia (DC) sponsored by universities and academic organizations. This chapter reports results of a survey of consortium attendees and analysis of related consortium programs. The authors seek a better understanding of the benefits attendees perceive from these consortia, the content attendees found most valuable, and whether these consortia appear to achieve the goals of the sponsoring organizations.

Survey results show that participants perceive significant benefits from consortium activities related to research, networking, and career management. Respondents did not find their consortium experience helpful on teaching-related dimensions; however, their comments suggest a desire for additional teaching coverage. The authors make recommendations to planners of accounting DC and leadership of the American Accounting Association (AAA), a major consortium sponsor, intended first to address respondents’ desire for additional teaching coverage. Second, the authors highlight opportunities to link doctoral education to AAA’s strategic initiatives and its vision to provide global thought leadership in accounting.