Across the United States, state education agencies and school districts face daunting challenges and difficult decisions for restarting schools as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As state and district leaders prepare for what schooling will look like in 2020 and beyond, there is an opportunity to identify evidence-based policies and practices…

The pandemic affected the lives and social-emotional experiences of every student to some extent. Along with the unprecedented closures of schools across the country in March 2020, virtually all social activities ceased. Students were cut off from their teachers, with uneven access to live instruction and hands-on, collaborative learning. There…

This document is an outgrowth of the 2016 National Education Technology Plan (NETP). The NETP presents a shared vision and call to action for transformational learning enabled by technology at all levels of our education system. This Higher Education Supplement to the 2016 NETP builds on the principles described in each of the NETP's five…

This paper describes the role of a college instructional designer (ID), asserting that every college needs one. The field of instructional design has become especially important since the introduction of technology into the educational system. These individuals are knowledgeable about using technology to enhance teaching and learning. IDs help…

Working with teachers and artists from Florida to Maine, a drama educator has discovered that creative power and insight can emerge when using drama in the language arts classroom. One seventh-grade class began with simple warm-ups to loosen inhibitions and then moved into a unit that dealt with improvising using movement. A student who had hardly…

Most teachers face the challenge of bringing technology into classrooms with only one computer. This article describes how one computer can serve the needs of many students: connecting it to a TV or projection device to display agendas, Web sites, microscope slides and other scientific instruments, and spreadsheets; tabulate data; deliver…

Describes an innovative academic assistance program that provides tutoring services for high school students functioning below grade level. Students are referred to a Learning Center, where professional staff and assistants help them define their problems, make a general improvement plan, and gain self-confidence in a caring environment. (MLH)

Outlines a model of instruction that uses Marvin Olsen's reconceptualization of sociology as "sociological practice" to integrate sociological practice into traditional courses. States that this approach helps students gain a critical perspective and overcome personal and cultural ideological constraints in dealing with real issues…

This digest considers approaches to langugae arts teaching that are based on mythic or archetypal ways of experiencing and knowing. The Digest argues that such approaches address students' inner lives more directly than do the usual instructional methods such as whole language or student-centered instruction, and thus can help to promote…

Describes and promotes topic synthesis, an approach where students rather than instructors summarize the key points of the previous lecture at the beginning of the next class. Benefits include improved oral presentation skills and reinforcement of key concepts. The method also provides an accurate assessment tool. (MJP)

This teaching guide for high school college instructors begins with an introduction on "Shakespeare and the American Landscape," by Samuel Crowl, and includes the following 32 essays: "Some 'Basics' in Shakespearean Study" (Gladys V. Veidemanis); "Teaching Shakespeare's Dramatic Dialogue" (Sharon A. Beehler);…

A review of five professional journal articles offers ways of enhancing the teaching of history or political science by allowing students to reach out to primary sources. According to the review, the first article, "The Senior Citizens' Tea: A Connecting Point for Oral History in the Elementary School," by George Bidlake and others,…

Focusing on the role of the educational developer, the 19 essays in this collection provide a forum for educational developer practitioners: (1) to share their practices and insights; (2) to explore what it means to be an educational developer and instructional designer, and to give some philosophical reflection of the role; and (3) to clarify the…

Effects of such characteristics as sparse population, poverty, and non-urban acculturation experiences are related to the difficulties in providing for the educational needs of rural gifted students. Promising solutions to these problems are suggested, including computer/video linkages between school systems, cooperative personnel development, and…

Noting that literature on higher education instruction is sparse on the topic of class and course endings, this paper provides advice on how to successfully end individual classes and semester-long courses in ways that maximize learning and minimize discomfort. Based on this literature and a discussion the authors initiated through online computer…