This practical resource shows teachers how to enact robust forms of civic education in today's schools. Both instructive and thought-provoking, it will inspire teachers to craft curricula addressing a wide range of genuine civic problems such as those related to racial discrimination, environmental damage, and community health. Dividing civic…

This study explores configurations of laptop use in a one-to-one environment. Guided by methodologies of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model of change, an Innovation Configuration Map (description of the multiple ways an innovation is implemented) of a 1:1 laptop program at a middle school was developed and analyzed. Three distinct configurations…

In this case study, an exemplary seventh grade science teacher's beliefs, planning decisions, implementation, and student reactions to her student-centered methods were examined over a 4-week unit on genetics. This situation was unique because the teacher was new to the profession and her students had no prior experience with student-centered…

Involving students in authentic science work is one way to enhance their interest in science. This paper reports a project in which Year 4-7 students actively participated in a study that involved the provision of a suitable nesting site for local turtles. The students collected data on turtle nests at the site and evidence of turtle hatchlings at…

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Based on social-cognitive approaches to emotions, they hypothesized (a) that teacher enjoyment and student enjoyment within classrooms are positively linked and (b) that teacher enthusiasm mediates the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment.…

Many middle school students claim that their voices are ignored in the classroom, where the attitude is too often that the teacher holds the one right answer. Instead of this approach, teachers may wish to use the Socratic Seminar, which prompts students to examine issues and ideas through dialogue and actively involves and motivates them, giving…

This paper reports on a study that examined teachers' concerns and attitude toward inclusive education of students with disabilities in Ghana. A 20 item Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Africa Scale (ATIAS) was completed by 100 teachers from five "Inclusive Project" schools and five Non-Project coeducational basic schools in three different…

Describing a teacher's struggle to help her seventh-grade students reach their full potential, this book is about girls--their learning, their social dilemmas, and their dreams, hopes, and fears. The book reveals the obstacles the teacher faced and how her students collaborated with her to become curriculum builders as they explored issues such as…

This study compared the classroom environments as perceived by fourth-grade, seventh-grade and high school boys and girls in classes taught by males and females to determine if any perceptual differences existed. The analyses showed no differences for fourth-grade students, one for seventh-grade students, and three for high school students.…

North Carolina and Dare County, with assistance from the federal government, are developing a seafood industrial park at Wanchese, a small residential community. The purposes of this park are to develop a major commercial seafood handling, processing, and distribution port in North Carolina; and to provide a home port with support facilities for a…

This study reports the instructional effects of issue investigation and action training on the environmental behavior of middle school students. Discussed are the methodology including training and modules, the design of the study, instruments used, scoring protocols, and analysis of results. (Author/CW)

This unit examines early life in Utah from about 10,500 BC until 1550 AD. Early human culture and changes in lifestyle during the Paleoindian, Archaic, and Formative periods are foci of the unit. The first period studied is the Paleoindian when humans first came to the North American continent and then to Utah and covers the period from 18,000 BC…

Designed to examine the key factors that characterize effective science instruction, this particular volume of the Intermediate Life Science Study portrays the ways in which 11 teachers taught two topics in seventh grade life science. The participating teachers were volunteers from schools in the greater San Francisco Bay area and from the greater…

Because of its geographical location, topography, and climate, South Florida has unique water problems. When the rainfall situation is combined with changing land use patterns and increasing population growth rates, the result is often water shortages in some areas and floods in others. This study unit looks at some of the reasons for the present…

This activity guide, developed to provide hands-on environmental education activities geared to Hammocks Beach State Park in North Carolina, is targeted for grades 6, 7, and 8 and meets curriculum objectives of the standard course of study established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Three types of activities are included:…