Eliciting, responding to, and advancing students' mathematical thinking all lie at the heart of great teaching. In this article, the authors describe a formative assessment approach that teachers can use to learn more about their students' mathematical thinking and inform their instructional decisions. This assessment approach draws on a widely…

To address third- and fourth-year chemistry students' difficulties with the challenge of interpreting [superscript 1]H NMR spectra, a problem solving-cooperative learning technique was incorporated in a Spectra of Organic Compounds course. Using this approach helped students deepen their understanding of the basics of [superscript 1]H NMR…

This toolkit, developed by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central in collaboration with York Public Schools in Nebraska, provides a process and tools to help teachers use data from their classroom assessments to evaluate promising practices. The toolkit provides teachers with guidance on how to deliberately apply and study one classroom…

Although Response to Intervention (RTI) is a necessity for all schools, the truth is that supplemental instruction can never compensate for inadequate core instruction. That's why you need this book's improved approach to RTI. Authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey introduce you to a strengthened model of RTI that emphasizes formative assessment…

Teach well. Be happy. In this book, Heather Wolpert-Gawron, author of the popular education blog "Tweenteacher" shares ideas for teaching an age group that too often presents a challenge for educators. With sparkling humor and a unique, fundamental understanding of the middle children of education, the award-winning teacher offers tried-and-true…

Using data for school improvement is a key goal of Race to the Top, and now is the time to make data-driven school improvement a priority. However, many educators are drowning in data. Boost your professional learning community's ability to translate data into action with this new book from Pam Robbins and Robert T. Hess. "The Data Toolkit"…

Discusses the use of portable keyboards that can download their information into a computer and describes how they can be used effectively in elementary school classrooms. Highlights include uses in various subject areas, including writing improvement; student motivation; taking keyboards home; and uses outside the classroom, including field…

Describes a group of teachers working together to consider Action Research projects in their own classrooms in the area of assessment. Describes ways teachers can use a range of assessments (rubrics, performance assessments, checklists, and other feedback and assessments), analyzed in a variety of ways, to examine the effectiveness of their…

Reading Recovery teachers can determine the child's literacy performance by using patterns of responding, that is, what the child mostly does in reading and writing. The child's performance informs the teaching, and close observation is the key to being able to "follow the child." Observation is central to the idea of following the…

Describes a project developed for fifth graders that was designed to teach them about databases through collecting information for a community census. Activities supported by the census project are listed, including both noncomputer activities and computer activities; and an effective sequence of instruction with databases is discussed. (LRW)

This paper describes a practicum designed to use CD-ROM books as a supplement to the basal reading program to improve reading comprehension in second grade students from a predominantly rural area in Delaware. A non-equivalent control group design was used involving a 20-member treatment and a 16-member control group. Pre- and postreading…

Points out inadequacies in the numeric data set that accompanied the Supplementary Empirical Teaching Units in Political Science (SETUPS) monograph on the U.S. Supreme Court. Suggests that the data not be used for research purposes but notes they may be utilized as a teaching tool in discussing quantitative methods of analysis relative to Supreme…

Finds that introductory psychology textbooks present limited and often confusing coverage of research methods. Presents two research models that delineate separate dimensions for data collection procedures, research designs, and research settings. Contends that these models provide better coverage of research strategies. Includes suggestions for…