In this article, the author, an elementary school teacher at Totoket Valley Elementary School in North Branford, Connecticut, describes how she uses music of the 1950s as a vehicle for teaching skills. She has found that selecting songs that have fun, peppy, and clean lyrics, and also lend themselves to teaching a particular skill, is a great way…

The relationship between talk and learning has been well documented in preservice and inservice teachers' and administrators' education. These studies demonstrate that talk is a central part of teacher learning and change, that particular forms of talk are more or less effective for such change to take place, and that talk must be conducted over…

Notwithstanding over 20 years of propaganda promoting board school teaching as an ideal career for upper-class women, it appears that in the 1890s it was still unusual for "girls of good family" to go in for it. Therefore, it was an eccentric plunge in 1898 when Eglantyne Jebb, an Oxford student from a prosperous land-owning family,…

Field trips provide active learning as children have firsthand experience with information they had previously encountered only in textbooks. In this article, the author describes how she used an interesting textbook to plan a field trip for her elementary social studies methods class to Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery (Alabama). The textbook,…

While 15 years ago only a few schools had microcomputers, today a majority of public schools have some computers, although an adequate number of computers for students to use is still in the future. Unfortunately, statistics show that, in many states, a higher percentage of male students are enrolled in computer classes than female; boys seem to…

The ways that teacher education is distinctly different from the other activities of higher education and is subject to greater external management and control are explored. The case is made that coercive external intervention damages quality and that the profession has the capacity for quality control. (Author/MT)

Examines the Bristol Day Training College for Women (England) which was founded to meet the growing need for teachers following the 1870 Education Act. Discusses its early emphasis on elementary school teacher training for women, and its resulting significance in the history of women's education. (GEA)

Maintains that there is a discrepancy between the ways children acquire language and the ways they have been taught reading skills in school, referred to as "The 180 degrees Syndrome." Attempts to promote more language-conscious reading instruction by describing five examples of the syndrome and suggests remedies to alleviate its symptoms.

Challenges the assumption that colleges and universities have special needs that the entire academic community must serve and asserts that collaborative experience corrects this assumption. Suggests an alliance between elementary, high school, community college, and university teachers to discover the full range of issues and the resources to deal…

The experiences and reactions of a teacher of low achievers who goes to a government-sponsored national conference are described in diary form. The difference between a classroom teacher's reality and that of "experts" is described. (MNS)

We examined elementary school teachers' justifications to number- theoretical "for all" propositions and existence propositions, some of which are true while others are false. We also assessed whether teachers regarded their justifications as mathematical proofs. About half of the teachers produced formal algebraic proofs. A smaller number of…

It is proposed that development of research skills, encompassing research for innovation, improvement, or theoretical purposes, be an essential and early part of the teacher education program for elementary school French native language teachers. This is seen as particularly important in recognizing and teaching the plurality of languages spoken…

While educators have always talked about active citizenship and critical thought, classroom practices have emphasized passive acquisition and character development. Teachers' philosophical assumptions that enable them to train future citizens to become passive spectators are discussed. (Author/RM)

Presents developmental principles with related applications for children, parents, teachers, and caregivers: (1) development takes place on an existing foundation; (2) development proceeds from general to specific; (3) development proceeds in stages; (4) developmental rates and patterns differ among individuals; (5) early years of development are…

Traces the changing views on the role and status of male early childhood education teachers in the forties and fifties (male prohibition), the sixties and early seventies (the macho image), and the late seventies and early eighties (the age of androgyny).