Engaging with materials can shape the teaching experience, teachers' practices and mindsets, and, ultimately, students' learning experiences. This issue of "Learning Professional" looks at an area of emerging interest: curriculum materials and the role they play in the daily work of educators and leaders. Educators, researchers, and…

Writing has become more visible in academia through writing advice manuals and the faculty development activities they inspire. In this article, I examine writing advice manuals and argue they are epistemologically current traditional, which limits how well and how far they can support scholarly writers. Writing advice manuals and composition…

Australia State of the Environment 2011 (SoE 2011) is a comprehensive review of the Australian environment, providing an independent and authoritative snapshot of the state of our continent. The report presents relevant and useful information to the public and decision makers to improve understanding of environmental issues and support better…

Historians of ESL have tended to concentrate on higher education as the primary site of their research, alluding to immigration and Americanization yet ultimately regarding them as peripheral. This article situates the Americanization Movement within an existing scholarly framework with particular attention to how teachers were selected and…

Remix is touted as one of the most important practices within the field of open educational resources (OER). But remixing is still not mainstream practice in education and the barriers and limitations to remix are not well known. In this article we discuss the design and development of a print and web-based booklet created to introduce the topic…

This research investigates the effectiveness of the Instrumental Enrichment Approach on the enhancement of the reading comprehension skills of learners with English Language Learning Difficulties. It aims at identifying the reading comprehension skills required for preparatory stage English language learners, re-develop and teach sample materials…

Reports that five basal reader programs, kindergarten through grade six, give far more attention to assessment and practice than to direct, explicit, comprehension instruction. (AEA)

Presents a rationale and procedure for evaluating literature study guides based on J. Langer's model for literature study and B. Cambourne's conditions for learning. Compares three guides using the evaluation procedure. Shows great differences in treatments of the same books in five publishers' guides. (CR)

While there are powerful arguments in favor of using authentic, essentially ephemeral materials in second language learning, there may also be a significant need for fixed support in addition. Recent research in Ireland suggests a student-perceived need for instruction in grammar that, in combination with authentic materials and other kinds of…

A series of grids for the evaluation of study guides and instructional materials according to presentation and construction, supporting materials and documentation, linguistic content, notional/thematic content, and tests and evaluation methods is presented and discussed briefly. A list of references for specific aspects of materials evaluation is…

Discusses whether second language teaching manuals really reflect current, effective methodology, or manipulate and structure authentic material to suit editorial needs. (MSE)

A review of problems inherent in enhancing written guides for teachers is presented, focusing on the impact of different conceptions of educational practice and teaching. The goal of this review is to formulate theoretical perspectives and practical precepts for authors and readers of guides for educational practice and teaching. Conceptions and…

Two booklets were developed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--to help teachers adopt an approach to primary science teaching which would enhance children's understanding of floating and sinking. Both booklets were designed to enable teachers to reconceptualize their teaching task from activity-driven, didactic teaching to…

Two booklets were developed by the Learning in Science Project (primary)--LISP(P)--to help teachers adopt an approach to science teaching which would enhance children's understanding of floating and sinking; the strategy enables teachers to reconceptualize their teaching task from activity-driven, didactic teaching to conceptual-change teaching.…

Considers the functions of teaching guides, and suggests why their evaluation is a worthwhile activity. The evaluation process is examined, and a set of model criteria for a detailed evaluation are provided. (14 references) (JL)