Whereas hackathons are widespread within and outside academia and have been argued to be a valid pedagogical method for teaching interdisciplinarity, no detailed frameworks or methods are available for conceptualizing and organizing educational hackathons, i.e., hackathons dedicated to best achieving pedagogic objectives. This paper is dedicated…

Robust evidence links physical activity to positive cognitive and academic performance outcomes, and engaging students in movement within the classroom has the potential to benefit learners at every age. Offering college students an opportunity to be active in the classroom can enhance learner engagement, promote critical thinking, and increase…

This article presents the Blended Learning Virtual Reality Inquiry Framework, an original framework for creating virtual reality inquiry-based lessons for the modern technology-driven classroom. The framework shared in this article invokes research on blended learning , experiential learning, and inquiry-based learning to structure a virtual…

This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children's cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and…

This guidance report offers early years professionals seven practical evidence-based recommendations to provide every child--but particularly those from disadvantaged homes--with a high quality and well-rounded grounding in early literacy, language and communication. One recommendation focuses on the importance of high quality interactions between…

Parent involvement in children's language and literacy development is a continuum. Parents enhance their newborn baby's language and vocabulary growth, whereas with older children parents are involved in school and provide support by engaging in learning activities such as assisting with homework. Parent involvement is an important part of…

Children are born naturally mathematical, so why is it sometimes so difficult to observe children being mathematical? Why do so many of us think we are "bad" at maths and how does this subconsciously affect the provision, experiences and opportunities we provide for young children who are starting their mathematical learning journey? This easily…

The Effective Instructional Strategies Series is a collection of six booklets based on the components used in Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD), a principles-based professional development program consisting of research-based teaching and learning strategies proven to help improve students' reading…

Interactive Literacy Activities, or ILAs, broadly refer to activities that facilitate interaction between adults and children for the purpose of promoting literacy and language development. It is essential to make ILAs developmentally and culturally appropriate for children and to use an approach that integrates various activities in order to…

Research shows that a child's social and behavioral skills affect the development of cognitive and physical abilities. Set students on a path to success and have fun doing it with this activity-packed second edition of "Wanna Play". The authors provide hundreds of activities that help children learn how to behave appropriately and make friends.…

Creative approaches in teaching children to write poetry are given. (MJB)

Step-by-step details are given for a classroom activity in which fifth and sixth graders construct original crossword puzzles. (SJL)

Over 600 talented elementary students in Massachusetts participated in a challenge program in which students were to devise a game format integrating math concepts into the theme "Futures: Fact or Fantasy." The challenge model can be used in other subjects to provide differentiated learning experiences for talented students. (CL)

Science activities using popcorn are described, involving history and mythology, and investigative, inference, and classification skills. (CB)

A teacher describes his unexpected success with a technique designed to help special needs ninth graders acquire writing and spelling skills. Assisted by his teaching aide, he used a dictation exercise coupled with immediate feedback and touch. He found that dictating sentences helped students make transitions betweens talking and writing. The…