Quest is a whole-year group approach to teaching English in Key Stage 3. Pupils are grouped according to their current level of reading comprehension, typically with smaller classes for the lowest attaining groups. Key components of the programme include: an emphasis on collaborative (or 'co-operative') learning; a requirement that participating…

In the past decade, traditional classroom teaching models have been transformed in order to better promote active learning and learner engagement. "Implementation and Critical Assessment of the Flipped Classroom Experience" seeks to capture the momentum of non-traditional teaching methods and provide a necessary resource for individuals…

This resource is part of a series produced by the Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) to assist educators as they use College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) to plan instruction for diverse learners. Although the processes described in this resource use the Common Core State Standards (CCSS; National Governors Association…

The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program was developed to increase the number of secondary students who participate in rigorous academic courses, to accelerate student learning, and to improve student performance. The AVID program in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) targets students who (1) are in the academic…

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have become important tools in higher education language instruction, which can facilitate both student learning and the administration of courses. The decision regarding which LMS a particular university adopts is a complicated process where the needs and opinions of several stakeholders, including…

This paper reports on the findings of a study that investigated formative assessment practices of Senior English teachers in the standards-based Queensland assessment system. This paper focuses in particular on the teachers' provision of feedback on rough draft summative assessment items. It identifies the links between assessment criteria and…

Critical literacy approaches to English teaching have existed in Australia for more than two decades. Despite this, they continue to be criticised by the media, especially during times of perceived "literacy crisis" and curriculum review. In addition, teachers and academics continue to explore their worth and meaning for English teaching…

The dangers of a single story in current U.S. large-scale writing assessment are that assessment practice does not align with theory and this practice has negative effects on instruction and students. In this article, I analyze the connections or lack of connections among writing theory, writing assessment, and writing instruction, critique the…

The article explores the use of a classroom-based investigation at Masters level to support pre-service teachers (secondary English PGCE trainees) in focusing on the need for explicit teaching and assessment of speaking and listening skills. With reference to specific case studies, it explores how the module encourages trainees' use of Socratic…

The spread of ICT is arguably one of the greatest changes that compulsory education has witnessed in the last twenty years. However, to what extent are prospective secondary English teachers on a PGCE course effectively equipped to use ICT to work in a multiliterate curriculum, and how well prepared are their ITE tutors to support them? Here, I…

Here, the author looks at four diaries, more specifically three conventional diaries and a blog: "The Diary of a Young Girl," by Anne Frank; "Zlata's Diary," by Zlata Filipovic; and "Last Night I Dreamed of Peace" by Dang Thuy Tram. "Baghdad Burning" is the transcript of a web log, a blog, by a young Iraqi woman who went by the pseudonym…

In 2010, a number of suicides resulted in part because of bullying and cyberbullying. They include Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Eric Mohat, Meredith Rezak, Raymond Chase, and Billy Lucas. These students were gay and lesbian and felt that they had no other option than to take their own lives. Research shows that because…

"Milieu teaching" is a practice that involves manipulating or arranging stimuli in a preschool child's natural environment to create a setting that encourages them to engage in a targeted behavior. For example, a teacher might place a desirable toy in a setting to encourage a student to request that toy (where requesting a toy is the…

The usefulness of the dictionary as a reliable source of information for word meanings, spelling, and pronunciation is widely recognized. But even in these obvious matters, the information that the dictionary has to offer is not always accurately interpreted. With respect to pronunciation there seem to be two general pitfalls: (1) the…

Background: The matter of teacher knowledge in the curriculum subject of English is not simple. Certainly it is not easy to delineate what its "content knowledge" should be and how this relates to other aspects of teacher knowledge. In the context of education policy in England, at a time of change when the nature of the subject and its…