This article investigates teacher enthusiasm and how it relates to instructional behaviours. We distinguished teachers' enthusiasm for the subject matter of mathematics from their enthusiasm for teaching mathematics. A total of 323 teachers and their 9th-grade classes participated in the study. Questionnaires were used to assess teachers'…

Kelly Sassi and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas describe their struggles and eventual success with students in constructing a "counternarrative to colormuteness and colorblindness"--the self-imposed student segregation and silencing of voice. Because of discussions during a Native American unit and student participation in a classroom intervention…

The declining cost of computers and wireless networks has made laptop programs more affordable than ever. At the same time, the internet resources available to teachers and students have grown exponentially in the 15 years since web browsers first became practical. As a result of these trends, growing numbers of students nationwide are provided…

This article is about the benefits of self-assessment and its use in language education. The main focus is on "auto-evaluation" as a means of beginning class in an organized and motivating way. In contrast to "bell work" or other start-of-period activities on random topics, "auto-evaluation" involves asking questions that are closely tied to what…

Previous studies have shown that teacher cognitions and practices can be inconsistent, particularly with claims about communicative teaching practices. This article describes the practical theory of a state school EFL teacher in Armenia who claimed to be using a communicative approach to language teaching by considering her stated cognitions and…

This implementation guide is intended to support the Kindergarten to Grade 3 portion of the Ukrainian Language Arts Kindergarten to Grade 9 Program of Studies. It was developed primarily for teachers, yet it includes information that may be useful for administrators and other stakeholders in their efforts to plan for and implement the new…

This book embraces the idea of listening to and learning from students. Although many educational theorists have long argued that incorporating children's perspectives about teaching and curriculum has the potential for increasing students' interest and participation in learning, their radical perspectives are still ignored or dismissed in theory…

As a result of frequently hearing students comment that the language used in mathematics is "like hearing a foreign language," the author investigated this perception by studying a ninth-grade mathematics classroom. Using transcriptions of classroom discussions and semistructured interviews with students, her findings suggest that students…

The high school dropout problem has been called a national crisis. Educators, researchers, and policymakers continue to work to identify effective dropout prevention approaches. One important element of such prevention efforts is the identification of students at highest risk for dropping out and then the targeting of resources to keep them in…

The author describes one of the first activities that his ninth grade Applied Technology class complete each semester. This activity calls for developing a "Wanted Poster" featuring an inventor/technologist. He adapted the activity from one that he saw on a science-related site on the World Wide Web. The Wanted Poster activity gives students an…

This laboratory training manual on laser communications and fiber optics may be used in a general technology-communications course for ninth graders. Upon completion of this exercise, students achieve the following goals: match concepts with laser communication system parts; explain advantages of fiber optic cable over conventional copper wire;…

Throughout the 2003 school year, Christopher Leahey's ninth grade global history students followed the media's coverage of the escalating crisis between the United States and Iraq. In early March of that year, as the media's coverage intensified, students brought a multitude of questions and concerns into the classroom. Rather than simply answer…

This document presents a guide to help students, who are entering the ninth grade, and their parents prepare for the transition from middle school to high school. The booklet is organized around a series of questions that students might ask themselves as they begin to plan for their high school careers. Each question is considered and discussed to…

Intended for adaptation by teachers to suit their students' and their own strengths, this guide is a series of thematic units intended to encourage meaningful language use in an enjoyable and serious atmosphere in the ninth grade classroom. The guide includes many reading and writing activities that can be used in both the specific contexts in…

Almost all early civilizations had mythological stories. From the great cradles of civilization--Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome--to the Mother Earth and Father Sky of the early Native Americans, myths have been part of the civilization of humankind. Typically, in this teachers' ninth-grade painting class, the students paint landscapes in…