Formative assessment has been shown to be a critical activity for promoting meaningful understanding in the classroom. Systematic engagement in formative assessment helps instructors to develop a clearer picture of where students stand in relation to the learning objectives of the course. However, college instructors teaching large-enrollment STEM…

Using examples from the animal world, Montessori speaks of the natural laws of life and the phases of childhood that are different than that of the adult. The child develops independently of the adult. Montessori says, "The child is the period when man is created," and "The child is a worker." Through work, the child can arrive…

Montessori discusses the importance of the calm inner life (the soul) of the very young child. She stresses the importance of the soul's self-management, the child knowing what he needs to do, and of course, being allowed to do what he needs to do. The child can repeat the exercise or move ahead according to minimal clear and precise guidance from…

Learning to code has been an increasingly frequent topic of conversation both in academic circles and popular media. Learning to code recently received renewed attention with the announcement of the White House's Computer Science for All initiative (Smith 2016). This initiative intends "to empower all American students from kindergarten…

Once the reasons for habitual observation in the classroom have been established, and the intent to observe has been settled, the practical details of observation must be organized. In this article, O'Shaughnessy gives us a model for the implementation of observation. She thoroughly reviews Montessori's work curves and how they can be used to show…

Method-in-use (Nunn, Describing classroom interaction in intercultural curricular research and development, University of Reading, 1996, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 37: 23-42, 1999) is a description of the method actually being enacted through classroom interaction in a particular context. The description is…

In this article, the authors clarify the role of the leadership team, providing a rationale for one integrated team to examine academic, social, and behavioral programming, with careful attention to including all key stakeholders. Next, the authors discuss the procedures for teaching all key stakeholders the comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered…

Van Sluys and five eighth-grade ethnographers with a range of linguistic experiences in Spanish and English write about their processes and findings in their shared study of parent literacy practices. Here, they describe a disconnect between their own understandings of literacy and their roles in a literacy learning community. For example, their…

1:1 laptop programs, in which every student is provided with a personal computer to use during the school year, permit increased and routine use of powerful, user-friendly computer-based tools. Growing numbers of 1:1 programs are reshaping the roles of teachers and learners in science classrooms. At the Denver School of Science and Technology, a…

The major purpose of the research reported here was to determine how teachers from middle school to high school levels acquired their understanding of cooperative learning, how they used it in the classroom, and how they kept students accountable for performance. Eleven teachers were interviewed and observed in five disciplines (language arts,…

Examines a music teacher in a second-grade classroom in order to determine how the instructor taught and how the students learned. Identifies four themes related to the nature of teacher expertise and five themes on student learning. Reports that the teacher understood these issues and utilized the information to change teaching styles. (CMK)

Describes the experience of a preschool teacher who allowed her students to create curriculum with her by sharing observations of natural phenomena and the learning process. Considers the importance of preparing the environment so that children feel they have ownership of the classroom and the materials, the role of both teacher and children as…