The cultivation of curiosity and interest in children for their own pleasure and for their place in the world around them is a significant factor in each student's well-being as well as the future of society. Many educators think that schools no longer provide a curriculum that develops curiosity, creativity, and personal interests in young…

"Debates in Music Teaching" encourages student and practising teachers to engage with contemporary issues and developments in music education. It aims to introduce a critical approach to the central concepts and practices that have influenced major interventions and initiatives in music teaching, and supports the development of new ways of looking…

Self-directed learning (SDL) is an important life skill in a knowledge-based society and prepares students to persist, manage their time and resources, use logic to construct their knowledge, argue their views, and collaborate. The purpose of this study was to facilitate mastery of physics concepts through self-directedness in formative testing…

Since MIT launched the first OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative in 2002, responses from the academic community have ranged from exuberance to angst. Some institutions have been reluctant to adopt a program of open publishing because of concerns about long-term funding and possible adverse effects on paid enrollment. Money is an issue, forcing some…

Mathematics teachers in Finland and Iceland are on different tracks. Based on a recent video study, the classroom practices of Finnish mathematics teachers seem to be rather traditional. This is in contrast to the Icelandic teachers many of whom use progressive-minded, learner-based instructional strategies. The classroom practices in Finland…

Effectiveness in education is a national concern and reform efforts continue to be championed with the hope of stimulating improvement to more effectively meet the needs of all students. Many reform efforts include a focus on teacher professional development to strengthen teacher pedagogy and positively impact student achievement. Rapid expansion…

This article presents an excerpt from a typed manuscript of one of many lectures Maria Montessori delivered in 1915 in San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. In this particular lecture, Montessori talked about how teachers can make a profound change in their way of teaching. Instead of doing the traditional lecture, teachers can learn how to…

As heated as the controversy is and has been, most opponents of homework actually support at least a modest amount of "independent study," and the most ardent advocates are likely to emphasize moderation in the amount of homework and emphasis on the quality of independent assignments. In this article, the author focuses on this troublesome issue…

This study explored the choices of literacy media for independent study of students with visual impairments. The predictors that were taken into account were teachers' use of technology, experience in teaching, and mastery of braille and the knowledge of braille of students, parents, and close friends.

This study investigated the role of self-directed learning (SDL) in problem-based learning (PBL) and examined how SDL relates to self-regulated learning (SRL). First, it is explained how SDL is implemented in PBL environments. Similarities between SDL and SRL are highlighted. However, both concepts differ on important aspects. SDL includes an…

This article highlights the practice of a group of New Zealand teenagers who are considered by their family and themselves to be technological experts. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's key concepts of habitus, field and capital, this text identifies and discusses the cyber-relations that constitute the practice in the field of home computer use for…

All teachers want their students to become independent learners, but even motivated students are reluctant to take responsibility for their own learning. So what every teacher needs is this book's tried-and-true method for gradually enabling students to take on more of the "work" of classroom learning. Two experienced teachers describe a…

In on-demand education, students often experience problems with directing their own learning processes. A Structured Task Evaluation and Planning Portfolio (STEPP) was designed to help students develop 3 basic self-directed learning skills: Assessing the quality of own performance, formulating learning needs, and selecting future learning tasks. A…

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…

"Learning Around the Clock: Benefits of Expanded Learning Opportunities for Older Youth" identifies and describes Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOs) that improve academic performance, college and career preparation, social and emotional development, and health and wellness outcomes for underserved youth. The term "expanded learning…