Successful communication requires that individuals attend to the perspective of their conversational partners and use this information to modify their behavior accordingly. This paper presents a framework by which to understand children's communicative perspective-taking skills and, within this framework, outlines three routes by which children's…

Applying the Deluzoguattarian concept of the trace, this article explores interactions between a White teacher and his Black students and the way race is coconstructed therein. Using a short story by the Argentine mystery writer Jorge Luis Borges as a frame, the author connects the poststructural philosophy of the trace to current notions of…

Student psychology--how the classroom looks and feels from the perspective of the student--can powerfully affect motivation and learning, and experiments are increasingly showing that even brief interventions to change psychology can boost achievement over months or years. When paired with other structural reforms, social-psychological…

This article discusses five generally accepted reasons to use data as a part of an educator's ongoing professional practice. Of course, there are many other more specific reasons one might look at data, but these five cover the overarching need in an educational setting. The five major purposes for using data are: (1) To enhance understanding and…

New technologies can dramatically change the way people live and work. Jet engines transformed travel. Television revolutionized news and entertainment. Computers and the Internet have transformed just about everything else. And now small video cameras have the potential to transform professional learning. Recognizing the potential of this new…

Ethics is defined as a set of guidelines and/or rules for the conduct of individual behavior in an organization or civil society. This ethical code of conduct is intended to guide policies, practices, and decision-making for employees on behalf of the organization. This article explores the importance of ethics, the basis for making ethical…

This paper recounts the investigative journey of a small group of faculty and graduate students at the University of British Columbia who extensively employed research-based theatre methods to collaboratively and performatively explore three distinct but related contexts that represent critical "moments" in the professional lives of…

Students tend to perceive that direct communication is best. In class discussion, they've overwhelmingly conveyed their feeling that people should say what they mean and be as direct and precise as possible. Initially, they don't tend to recognize that the perception of directness is relative. What some consider clear, others consider rude. What…

One central aspect of a healthy democracy is the practice of democratic dissent. For the first time in many years, dissent is being widely practiced in town hall meetings and on street corners across the United States. Despite this presence, dissent is often suppressed or omitted in the prescribed, tested, hidden, and external curriculum of US…

Hopi Brian Honyouti's "clown" sculptures stem from his personal and political views and comment on commercialism, big business, greed, over indulgence, and irresponsible and sexual behavior. This essay explores the meaning of these carvings to Honyouti, to Hopiit, and to the buying public, as well as their relationship to "tithu," the carved…

One of the most established "truths" in suicidology is that almost all (90% or more) of those who kill themselves suffer from one or more mental disorders, and a causal link between the two is implied. Psychological autopsy (PA) studies constitute one main evidence base for this conclusion. However, there has been little reflection on the…

Many authors suggest that incorporating the history of mathematics in the classroom leads to a heightened awareness and appreciation of mathematics, aids in looking at problems from a different perspective, and helps students understand why mathematics is important. Introducing students to the history of mathematics provides them with a chance to…

As an amateur photographer, the author seeks surprises amid the mundane. For example, instead of simply photographing a spider's web, she waits until just after it rains and to find the spider's web filled with glistening droplets of water that serve as tiny prisms of light. The mundane suddenly is transformed into something truly amazing. Moments…

"Using your profanisaurus" derives from a project, "The Production of University English", whose earliest findings were published in "Arts and Humanities in Higher Education" in 2005. By analysing "ordinary" discussions in "ordinary" English Literature classes in diverse universities, the project…

This essay examines the how's why's and what fors of Montessori teacher training. Treating the Montessori system as an illuminating case of alternative teacher preparation, three concepts common to the lexicon of teacher education--culture, craft, and coherence--are explored in detail. Drawing both from both mainstream teacher education research…