Herein, Leland Spencer provides a review of four book selections while reflecting on paradoxes regularly faced by feminist teachers (and scholars, activists, and thinkers). The books include: (1) Bradley, Harriet. "Gender." Cambridge: Polity, 2012. Print; (2) Murphy, Michael J., and Elizabeth N. Ribarsky, eds. "Activities for…

At three different institutions, public and private, in varying roles, I have found the very particular problem of how to inform micro-level classroom practices with macro-level disciplinary knowledge to be centrally important to our field's development and our students' learning--and singularly difficult to overcome. In this program profile, I…

Maria Andree focuses on an immigrant student whose error in a laboratory activity leads to a novel, colorful outcome that she excitedly shares with peers. After engaging in class activities for a few weeks she returns to her earlier dislike of science, saying: "I hate science, particularly Chemistry." The classroom activity system…

Physical education as a dynamic content area should motivate students to be physically active. In this article, readers suggest new ideas to kick off the new school year and get everyone "moving" in the right direction.

School is sometimes framed as a place for preparing, a place for becoming college and career ready. At times this approach positions school as an important space "within" the world of college and careers, envisioned perhaps as Dewey imagined it, as a safe place to try things, a space where real work of participation in society could be done but in…

A year after receiving his PhD in psychology from the University of Rochester, Tim Kasser accepted a position at Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, where he is currently professor of psychology. He regularly teaches psychology classes on personality, clinical and abnormal psychology, dreaming, and research methods, as well as an…

Brief essays discuss (1) a teacher's discovery of the difficulty of the writing process, (2) various methods of writing instruction that are still only a part of the whole, (3) the difference between children's writing at home and at school, (4) a method for teaching poetry, and (5) a fifth-grade book writing project for first-grade students. (HTH)

Meanings of "surprise" are wide and include uplifting and engaging facets like wonder and amazement on the one hand as well as ones that may be of the opposite nature like interruption and disrupt on the other. Pedagogically, educators who use surprise in class activities are focusing on students being "taken aback" by a situation, hopefully…

Examines research that pertains to the use of space, time, and task activities in water play in nurseries. Identifies factors in water play which support quality play and learning. (BC)

Many middle school students claim that their voices are ignored in the classroom, where the attitude is too often that the teacher holds the one right answer. Instead of this approach, teachers may wish to use the Socratic Seminar, which prompts students to examine issues and ideas through dialogue and actively involves and motivates them, giving…

In this article, findings from a recent one-year research project that investigated the use of games in a variety of school settings are described and discussed. The project involved four schools and 12 teachers designing classroom activities around specific games to support learners both within the formal national curriculum and in the context of…

Describes problem-based thematic instruction in an effort to give both students and teachers meaningful experiences. (MG)

Every teacher has one particular wish, and it is usually for a peaceful classroom. This article features several tips for educators on how to have a peaceful classroom. They should plan carefully for their first week. They should write out half-hour segments of what they wish to accomplish. They should introduce a Peace Table, set up near their…

Discusses ways to create a classroom environment that encourages students to test the power of their language through reading and writing experiences. Describes a writing lesson in a writer-centered classroom, what a writing classroom looks like, and what teachers should do first in terms of the physical setup of the classroom. (SR)

Discusses the corporate trend of "dressing down," its popularity, and company policies on casual business wear. Notes that students preparing for careers in business should be aware of this change, and discusses the need to include this concept in business communications curriculum. (SR)