Jere Brophy was a leading researcher and scholar in education. He was a University Distinguished Professor of Teacher Education at Michigan State University, where he taught from 1976 until his death in 2009. Janet Alleman is Professor Emeritus of Teacher Education at Michigan State University, where she focused on curriculum content and instruction methods as well as issues in teaching social studies. She has co-authored a host of books, including an award winning one with Jere Brophy entitled CHILDREN'S THINKING ABOUT CULTURAL UNIVERSALS. Other books co-authored with Jere Brophy and Barbara Knighton include INSIDE THE SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM and A LEARNING COMMUNITY WITHIN A PRIMARY CLASSROOM. Currently, she serves as a consultant and teacher coach in K�12 schools. Anne-Lise Halvorsen is an associate professor of teacher education, specializing in social studies education, at Michigan State University. Her research and teaching interests are elementary social studies education, project-based learning, the history of education, the integration of social studies and literacy, and teacher preparation in the social studies. She is a former kindergarten teacher and a former curriculum writer for the State of Michigan.