In a recent paper, Pierre Tchounikine has suggested to advance the Script Theory of Guidance (SToG) by addressing the question how learners appropriate collaboration scripts presented to them in learning environments. Tchounikine's main criticism addresses SToG's "internal script configuration principle." This principle states that in…

In this "Postcard from the Podium," Belinda Luke describes her first experience on a faculty Academic Misconduct Committee. From a personal perspective, the experience made her reconsider her own views not only on plagiarism--to which there are varying degrees ranging perhaps from students looking at a previous assignment to using it as…

Christopher Jencks is the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Here he comments that Downey and Condron (2016) (DC) argue that the sociology of education suffers from a one-sided view of schools' contribution to inequality. He agrees that most sociologists who study what goes on inside schools tend to portray…

Dr. Mary Margaret Wood is best known for developing psychoeducational programs that integrate mental health and special education interventions for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Developmental Therapy (DT) includes comprehensive assessment of student behavior, communication, social, and cognitive development,…

Translating ethics knowledge into ethical behavior is much harder than it appears, writes Sternberg. In this article, he outlines an eight-step process that individuals must go through to act in an ethical way--for example, recognizing that there is an event to which to react, taking personal responsibility for generating an ethical solution to…

Is there an ethical giftedness, and if so, what does it look like? In this article, I consider why ethical behavior is much harder to come by than one would expect. Ethically gifted individuals are able to complete a series of eight steps to action, the failure of any one of which may result in a person, even one who is ethically well trained, to…

Over the past 25 years, Gallup polls have consistently reported that disruptive behavior and discipline problems are some of the top concerns of school staff and community members. In fact, problems with classroom management are among the most common reasons that teachers leave their jobs. In response, many schools are turning to more formal…

Technology in education is considered in empirical and theoretical literature as both beneficial and harmful to children's development. In the field of the early years settings there is a dilemma whether or not early childhood teachers should use technology as a teaching and learning resource. This paper has a pedagogical focus, discussing the…

There is a wealth of literature examining the role of motivation in second language (L2) learning but remarkably little research that has examined how teachers can foster motivation in the classroom. For this reason alone Guilloteaux and Dornyei's (2008) correlational study of the relationship between motivational strategies and student motivation…

Some teachers feel that spending any class time on topics other than the subject at hand is a waste--but in this article, the author argues that it is important for teachers to share of themselves and make personal connections with their students, particularly in middle school. Teachers who share personal vignettes and make use of "teachable…

Recent articles from the "Atlantic Monthly" to "Newsweek", have identified plagiarism as an issue now on the educational front burner. Academics and teachers in all areas seem to be upset about the numbers of students who are not writing their own papers. In this article, the author, describes strategies, he has used in his class for minimizing,…

In this article, the author introduces innovative activities designed for students to eliminate the teacher's stress of the last days of school. As an elementary teacher for many years and now a substitute teacher, the author states that she had always dreaded the last week of school. To minimize stress and to keep the children learning, she uses…

In this article, the author opines on teaching students in an easy, peaceful and happy manner. Realistically, however, this is not always possible. Oftentimes teachers labor over figuring out the reasons for children's strengths and attending to their needs. Here, she discusses the types of behaviors that may be exhibited by students during…

The author answers Jere E. Brophy's criticisms of a previous paper on the usefulness of behavior analysis for improving classroom teaching and learning. Briefly discusses the issues of control of student behavior, individual versus group learning, and behavior analysis versus traditional classroom management methods. (Author/MJL)

Several aspects of Mosston's Spectrum of Styles are listed and discussed. Many of the concepts have not been proven as appropriate instructional approaches. The idea of reconceptualizing several styles of the Spectrum into microstrategies is suggested. (Author/DF)