Prop boxes are a collection of materials for sociodramatic play in which children act out authentic roles and scenes of the real world. Teachers collect materials around a topic or theme that connects to students' interests and addresses academic standards across multiple subjects. In this article, the authors suggest that prop boxes can make more…

Early online course materials were text-based and relied heavily on discussion forums as the de facto tool for interactions. Faculty members today, however, have many other choices for course design and course materials. There is not consensus for online course design guidelines or principles, though. Choices in course design by faculty members…

A multi-year study investigated the impact of incorporating student-directed discovery projects into introductory statistics courses. Pilot instructors at institutions across the United States taught statistics implementing student-directed projects with the help of a common set of instructional materials designed to facilitate such projects.…

Background: To reduce teen pregnancy rates, prevention programs must be consistently available to large numbers of youth. However, prevention efforts have been historically conducted with little emphasis on ensuring program sustainability. This study examined the needs and barriers to sustaining teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) programming in…

English 341: Advanced Composition for Teachers is a three-credit undergraduate course for pre-service educators at Francis Marion University, a mid-size public university located in northeast South Carolina. According to the university catalog, students enrolled in English 341 "explore connections among writing, teaching, and learning as they…

Classroom participation is an important and frequently used pedagogical strategy. This paper examines how awarding students with course currency, bills that are redeemable for bonus points at the end of the term, affects class participation and students' understanding of the material. The research uses surveys and data analysis to examine the…

The literature indicates that the demand for program evaluations is likely to increase and that those evaluations will be conducted across diverse disciplines. Preparation of discipline-specific evaluators may present challenges. This study reviews the experiences of a group of arts educators who participated in a discipline-specific evaluation…

Tests the effects on student performance when using graphs as part of a University of South Carolina (Columbia) principles of economics lecture. Finds in 1995 that students in the lecture with graphs had significantly lower gain scores than those in the no-graphs lecture. Finds no significant difference in 1997. (RLH)

Discusses results of a Green Index, published by the Institute for Southern Studies, that ranks the 50 states on the basis of 256 environmental indicators. Explores how and why the deep South states are all at the bottom of the list. A vignette provides a comparison between state hazardous waste generation and spending on waste management. (MCO)

Describes the development of "The South Carolina Atlas of Environmental Risks and Hazards," a digital atlas that provides people with information on environmental hazards in South Carolina. Discusses the content and navigation of the atlas and considers its utility for classroom instruction and public resource. (CMK)

Adolescents in foster care must have a voice and play an active role in envisioning and planning for successful adulthood. This principle serves as the philosophy of First Voice, a training package for anyone who works with youth in foster care. The philosophy corresponds with the four parts of the Circle of Courage--Independence, Belonging,…

Information is provided on South Carolina's Project SEARCH, which is designed to identify and serve potentially gifted rural African American children in the regular classroom. Nontraditional measures of giftedness, teacher development initiatives, instructional material selection, strengthening collaboration, and problems encountered are…