Cheryl Mason Bolick

It's about the Kids: Transforming Teacher-Student Relationships through Action Research

Action research is often included in teacher education programs to improve teacher reflection and practice; however, there is little indication of its impact on students. In this article, the authors examine action research conducted by 114 experienced teachers enrolled in a masters of education program. The teachers came from a range of disciplines and grade levels. Based on their investigation, the authors determined that action research provided a vehicle for teachers to (a) establish more personal relationships with students, (b) develop a better understanding of students as learners, and (c) give students a voice in the classroom. The authors illustrate these themes with three portraits of exemplar teachers.

Fostering High-School Students' Self-Regulated Learning Online and across Academic Domains.

The proliferation of online information has not come with a commensurate growth in students’ ability to learn from that information. Today’s students may be digitally native online communicators, but many lack the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate, find, and integrate online information into coherent understanding. Students who are able to plan their learning, enact effective strategies, and monitor and control their learning (i.e., self-regulated learning knowledge and skills) are more likely to successfully manage the wealth of information online. Unfortunately, there is little coherent literature on how high school teachers can foster students’ online self-regulatory knowledge and skills, and even less on how this can be done across academic domains. In this paper, we synthesize the self-regulated learning literature to distill key aspects of classroom-based innovations that teachers can use to foster their students’ learning online, within and across academic domains.

Unstable Ground: Unearthing the Realities of Experiential Education in Teacher Education

Experiential education (EE) leads to positive outcomes for K-12 students; however, such practice remains on the periphery of schools. One key to centering EE in classrooms is to do so in teacher education. This study explores what it means to delve into EE as teacher educators alongside our students in field sites far removed from traditional university classrooms. For this self-study, we analyzed instructor journal reflections, research-assistant field notes, and a collective interview transcript. From these, we developed narrative cases of our individual experiences at field sites. Cross-case analysis revealed themes rarely associated with the work of teacher education professors. Like our students, we were confronted in the field with what Christian Itin refers to as physical, social, moral, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual challenges. The shifting realities of our roles as teacher educators revealed what it means to do EE alongside our students. The experience and accompanying reflection prompted us to consider how centering experience in teacher education shifts the oft-directive and didactic nature of our work. To shift their pedagogy, teacher educators must have new images of possibility. Here, we make transparent our journey as teacher education travelers on the path of experiential education.

The Wiley Handbook of Social Studies Research

• This is the first major reference work on social studies education and research in a decade • An in-depth look at the current state of social studies education and emerging trends • Three sections cover: foundations of social studies research, theoretical and methodological frameworks guiding social studies research, and current trends and research related to teaching and learning social studies • A state-of-the-art guide for both graduate students and established researchers • Guided by an advisory board of well-respected scholars in social studies education research