Failing Forward: Educative Curriculum Materials, an English Teaching App, and a Revolution

Educative Curriculum Materials (ECMs) are teaching materials that have the dual function of providing learning activities to students and providing professional development to the teachers that use them. Answering a call for professional development opportunities, and with input from English teachers in rural Nicaraguan schools, the designers created a set of ECMs aligned with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education Curriculum. When physically bringing the completed materials to educators in rural Nicaraguan schools became impossible, it was determined that the delivery system had to change. With support from a team of undergraduate computer science students, the ECMs were transferred to a digital delivery system, the new format allowing for even more English teaching and learning support. This paper shares how a revolution in Nicaragua and failed project ultimately led to the creation of the English teaching app Reaching for English.

Expanding the Science Capital in K–12 Science Textbooks: A Notable Doctor's Insights into Biology & Other Accomplishments of African American Scientists

This article explores the need to include the science capital and cultural capital of African Americans in science teaching and offers practical exemplars for inclusion in the K–12 science curriculum. The author discusses ideas in the evolution of culture that contribute to the science content and perspectives of current textbooks and their supporting educative curriculum materials. The exemplars provided shed light on the scientific concepts and ideas indicated by the scientific accomplishments and narratives of African American scientists and a notable doctor, Charles R. Drew. The practical considerations described have implications for the disciplinary core ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards, and for understanding the cultural, social, and political values inherent in the nature of science.

Educative Curriculum Materials: Uptake, Impact, and Implications for Research and Design

The authors synthesize the findings of a research project to extend what is known about educative curriculum materials, or curriculum materials designed with the intent of supporting teacher learning as well as student learning. Drawing on a three-year program of research, including several close observational case studies and a large-scale quasi-experiment, the authors demonstrate how teachers use curriculum materials, what evidence there is of teachers’ uptake of ideas in educative curriculum materials, and what evidence there is of impact on teacher and/or student knowledge. These findings are situated in the literature, and the authors discuss how, taken together, the findings suggest design principles for educative curriculum materials. The authors close with implications for research.