Japanese early childhood teachers use the "mimamoru" approach, in which teachers let children develop their sense of right and wrong in a group-oriented environment where they are accountable to others. Cultural in nature, the "mimamoru" approach is based on teachers' beliefs that children are truly autonomous beings who can…

At the start of this new school year, most educators' attention will be split between attending to students' social and developmental well-being and overcoming pandemic-driven lack of engagement in learning. When these two goals are addressed in tandem, students can be exposed to new challenges and experiences. This article explores how a…

This article describes an innovative teaching approach that can offer the changes needed for school improvement. When entering an Education: Basic and Interactive (EBI) classroom, one will see students focused on accomplishing self-guided tasks and eager to move on to the next challenge in their self-paced learning. The EBI Project described here…

This article explores the power of student voice, in recognition of the child's right to be treated as a capable, competent social actor involved in the education process. In this study, student voice is considered in the light of improving students' engagement and personal and social development at the primary school level. It emphasizes the…

Read-alouds nurture language and literacy practices required for a successful schooling experience. They motivate children to read more and nurture language expression across the curriculum. Read-alouds not only provide content for learning, they also introduce authors and genres; model ways of reading, types of writing, and other ways of…

Today's children may be exposed to violence in their environment, through the media, at home, and in school. Some children live in countries at war, while others survive in neighborhoods where street gangs prevail. Most parents and children used to assume they could depend upon schools to be safe places, free from abuse and violence. Now it seems…

Most teachers send work home with their students, expecting it to be done the next day. Parents, or other adults in the household, often dread this activity because they may hot understand the goal, directions, or how to help the student. No one--whether family member, teacher, or student--will benefit from such a situation. Homework can turn into…

This discussion of classroom teachers serving as mentors of children draws from the literature on the origin of mentoring, the definition of mentoring, and the current theory on the characteristics and qualities that define an excellent mentor-mentee relationship. Parallels between the study of adult mentoring relationships and the teacher-child…

The project approach involves an in-depth investigation of a particular topic that integrates language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and the fine arts and extends over a period of several days or weeks. Discusses new ways to implement this approach in early childhood classrooms. (MDM)

Creating classroom rules together can be a very meaningful experience for children and teachers and can help establish a positive sense of classroom community. Student participation in rule-making encourages active involvement, reflection, meaningful connections, respect for rules, a sense of community, problem solving through negotiation,…

Describes some of the ways children in a kindergarten, grade one, and grade two combination class learn math by choosing to do it in real, sensible, and interesting ways. This whole math approach has children develop their own problems to investigate specific topics that combine math, science, problem solving, and the language arts. (MDM)

Presents the use of family involvement webs to integrate diverse family life experiences to support the same education objectives. Describes steps to develop and implement family involvement webs, including identifying a theme, brainstorming family involvement activities, identifying family roles, implementing the web, and evaluating the outcome.…