Policymakers' neoliberal reforms have negatively altered early childhood teaching and teacher education. In doing so, these policies make it difficult for preservice teachers to learn how to engage in pedagogical practices that sustain their students' sociocultural worlds. To address this issue, we utilized case study methodology to examine how a…

Five facts about standardized tests should cause educators to rethink their use in decision-making. Standardized tests used for state and federal accountability purposes in PreK--12 public education are not diagnostic. The test results are impacted by family income and student background knowledge. The composition of the tests disadvantage…

Purpose: Providing insights into the need to go beyond superficial equity efforts in classrooms, the authors present a standardized test analogy to make the concept of oppression accessible and relevant for educators. Three levels of oppression (individual, institutional and cultural/societal) are described along with a brief overview of Paulo…

As state and national curriculum standards continue to change, it is important for teachers to develop a common set of definitions for terms that appear in those standards. This column describes the four modes of discourse--narrative, descriptive, exposition, and persuasion--and links them to a variety of genres students can write in to compose…

Storytelling is a craft that takes "talking" to the level of "telling." The cleverest of teachers know these tricks. In this article the author presents the art of storytelling and why it is so important, especially in the educational environment of national standards and standardized testing.

Composition researchers have become increasingly concerned with the issue of knowledge transfer: the use of knowledge and skills learned in one setting to complete tasks in a different setting. In terms of writing-related knowledge transfer, research suggests that rigid rules and formulas for writing do not transfer as successfully as flexible…

This paper presents gradual implementation of active learning approaches in an organic chemistry classroom based on student feedback and strategies for getting students on-board with this new approach. Active learning techniques discussed include videos, online quizzes, reading assignments, and classroom activities. Preliminary findings indicate a…

In this article Kavita Gupta describes how she used assessment "as" learning, where students learn, self-correct, and collaborate "during" the assessment (Rowe 2012) in her AP chemistry class. In her class, she used these assessments as learning for "performance-based assessments" (PBAs). They share attributes of both…

High-stakes standardized tests in reading and limited instructional time are two powerful disincentives for teaching economics in the elementary classroom. In this article, integrating instruction in poetry and economic decision-making is presented as one way to maximize the use of scarce instructional time. Following a brief introduction to the…

High school students have had some difficulties in understanding chemistry due to traditional ways of teaching this specific science. It is important to improve teaching methods that increase student motivation, not only to enhance their capacity for understanding, but also to generate a greater level of interest in the study of chemistry for…

In September 2010 the Wellcome Trust published a detailed report which, for the first time, gave an in-depth analysis of the learning experiences of children in England and Wales as they prepare for science assessment at the end of their primary education (key stage 2), and the children's ideas about how the experience might be improved. The…

What standardized tests can not do--indeed, what almost no test can do--is capture a child's essence. Tests don't speak to the internal factors that play a major role in life success: curiosity, effort, resilience, and compassion. Howard Gardner and Daniel Goleman have each noted that success stems largely from interpersonal skills. Educators know…

Teacher reflection has been a popular topic during the past twenty years. The literature generally discusses teacher reflection as either (a) retrospection, (b) problem solving, (c) critical reflection, or (d) reflection-in-action. This qualitative study went beyond these typical descriptors to characterize teacher reflection instead as teacher…

This article explores changes in multicultural knowledge and skill to which beginning art teachers are held accountable through standardized teacher testing in Texas. Standardized testing of preservice art teachers' knowledge and skill has been the basis of the state's certification of beginning art teachers and accreditation of art teacher…

Current research on the teaching of writing puts some secondary English teachers in a bind. While many teachers understand that the best ways for students to develop into strong writers is to encourage them to select personally relevant topics, de-emphasize mechanics, and provide opportunities to take risks, the message they receive from state and…