This study researched the use of writing-to-learn strategies within a high-school (Year 11) chemistry classroom. The writing task itself asked the students to write a business letter to a younger audience of middle-school (Year 7) students. A mixed-method design was used for the study, incorporating pre/post- testing with semi-structured…

Student-led chapter presentations provide an excellent opportunity for instructors to evaluate a student's comprehension of the assigned chapter, as well as the student's ability to present and convey information in a public forum. Although several instructors realize the benefits of requiring students to complete chapter presentations either as…

The United States is currently experiencing the largest wave of immigration in its history. This contemporary immigration is unprecedented in its diversity of ethnicity, class, and countries of origin, and large urban areas are no longer alone in absorbing arrivals. The author reviews children's picture books about dilemmas that immigrant children…

In recent years project-based learning (PBL) incorporating online discussions has gradually been applied to courses that focus on writing projects. Past studies have shown that learners in PBL often face the difficulties of not having in-depth data analysis and peer discussions and how teachers design the rules and methods for online discussions…

The purpose of the present case report was to evaluate the effects of an individual token economy with a young child with severe behavior disorders. Three behaviors were recorded; time to completion, the number of assignments completed, and the frequency of inappropriate behavior. These data were gathered for 30 minutes each morning. The overall…

This article explores commonalties between literacy instruction and learning to understand the symbolic languages of the visual and performing arts. A detailed case study of an urban professional development program for secondary arts teachers looks at the learning initiated by writing assignments that prompted students to reflect on arts…

During their teaching program, pre-service teachers participated in a course concerning teaching in the heterogeneous classroom. As an introduction to the issue of "gifted children," the pre-service teachers were given an assignment: (1) to interview gifted children (identified as gifted by the Ministry of Education, according to IQ…

A related study found a number of changes in the reflective stance of preservice teachers using a video case curriculum in a mathematics methods course. These included a higher level of reflection, an increased use of evidence, a shift from affective to pedagogical concerns, and increased attention to student thinking (Stockero, 2006). The…

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are increasingly used by Higher Education Institutions to manage and enhance teaching and learning, and research. Discussion, chat, scheduling, and other collaboration tools make VLEs especially useful systems for designing and managing complex group projects. In the spring semester of 2006, students at the…

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of three different approaches to professional development in Earth science education: preparing teachers to "adopt" expert-"design" curricula; preparing teachers to use a principled approach to design curricula; and preparing teachers to use a principled approach to "adapt" curricula. The claims…

Every developmental education teacher would probably agree that motivation to complete assignments is one of the biggest obstacles to getting students to practice necessary skills. Short stories and other types of recreational reading might help motivate students, but they need to learn specific skills to help them cope with college textbook…

Student writing performance has not appreciably improved in the past decade. While there is evidence that teachers assign more writing than in the past, performance has not kept pace. Three urban schools that experienced significant improvements in students' writing achievement were studied. To glean ideas and examples, the authors observed…

This article outlines resources for reading in the math classroom including informational trade books, literature, and environmental print.

Critical thinking is often absent from classroom endeavor because it is hard to define (Gelder, 2005) or is difficult to assess (Bissell & Lemons, 2006). Critical thinking is defined as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Browne & Minnick, 2005). This paper shows how self-experimentation and single-subject methodology can be used to…

This study was aimed at finding effective ways of organising peer assessment of written assignments in the context of teaching history at university level. To discover features yielding optimal results, several peer assessment designs were developed, implemented in courses and their learning outcomes evaluated. Outcomes were defined in terms of…