A comprehensive approach for integrating technology into a TESOL teacher preparation program is described. Ten specific ways to assure constructivist technology use in teacher education are highlighted. These techniques have been synthesized into a compact model with three pillars: (a) electronic assessment system (e-portfolios for individual…

Contract grading has achieved some prominence in our field as a practice associated with critical pedagogy. In this context we describe a hybrid grading contract where students earn a course grade of B based not on our evaluation of their writing quality but solely on their completion of the specified activities. The contract lists activities…

As scholars continue to debate over the specific skills underprepared students need in order to complete their course of study, perhaps the focus should be on how to tap into students' independent thought processes and encourage students to utilize independent thought to contribute to interdependent groups. Placing value on students' independent…

The developing discourse which moves assessment away from a measurement model towards one of learner empowerment and the development of assessment for lifelong learning sets the context for this paper. Within this framework, we explore how the demands made on practitioners may influence current reported assessment practices. The reasons given by…

The work presented in this paper traces the history of active learning and further utilizes the available literature to define the meaning and importance of active learning in higher education. The study highlights common practical problems faced by students and instructors in implementing active learning in higher education and further identifies…

In response to the claim that students who have received an undergraduate degree in education lack adequate preparation for postgraduate study, the designers of a masters course in research methods set an assignment at the first meeting which asked practising teachers to match Goffman's dramaturgical concepts to observation of behaviour in public.…

This paper presents the results of a study evaluating student perceptions of online assignment submission. 47 students submitted assignments and received feedback via features within the Virtual Learning Environment Blackboard[TM]. The students then completed questionnaires comparing their experience of online submission and feedback with…

We discuss an upper division applied statistics course that has been structured to satisfy our college's writing intensive requirements within the mathematics major. In this course, students complete two projects, performing both a statistical survey and a controlled experiment, and then write up their work on each project in a formal paper. After…

This study grew out of a course I teach for undergraduate teacher certification candidates ("Education in the United States") in which the final assignment--"A cultural memoir of schooling"--requires students to study the events, policies and stakeholders in American education through the experiences of their extended families. The article…

Reading, writing, and mathematics are best learned by children in meaningful, integrated experiences. In an engaging project combining math and literacy, primary children in Michelle Piwko's classroom followed the framework of verses from a classic children's book to structure their own writing about geometric forms. They brainstormed geometric…

There is nothing worse than hearing moans and groans when writing time is announced to students. Motivation for writing begins when students' interests are mixed with opportunities for creativity. This article presents an idea shared by a writing coach who found a way to spark students' interest in writing by developing recipes for more…

Inspired by his ability to teach algebra to low-income and mostly African American and Latino urban students--and have them outscore the state averages for high-income and Caucasian students on standardized tests--Kadhir "Raja" Rajagopal, the 2011 California Teacher of the Year, provides you with a model for teaching that unleashes the…

Science classrooms in the United States have become more diverse with respect to the variety of languages spoken by students. This qualitative study used ethnographic methods to investigate the discourse and practices of two ninth grade science classrooms. Approximately 44% of students included in the study were designated as English learners. The…

As educators, we have two missions. First, we must serve our students--they are both our customer and our product. Second, we aim to provide the market in general with graduates with relevant skills and knowledge for jobs that have not even been created yet. Given that most students graduating and moving into the workplace are not necessarily…

This study is aimed at investigating students' annotation behaviors and their effects on learning achievement with pre-reading (reading before class) exercises and Web-based sharing mechanisms. An 8-week quasi-experiment was conducted with 125 sixth-grade elementary school students. The study shows the following results. First, a significant…