How do we notice what is arriving? As authors, we collaboratively play with the continuation and momentum of emergence presented as a polyvocal text. As part of our research, we video-taped a collaborative mark-making activity led by two graduate students in a PhD cohort. What emerges from our interaction of situated dialogic inquiry is a…

Advances in technology have made it increasingly easy for teachers to film and share video recordings from their own classrooms, and much research exists highlights the rich learning that can occur when teachers watch and discuss video. Here, Miriam Gamoran Sherin, Jennifer Richards, and Mari Altshuler examine the opportunities for learning that…

In elementary school, the use of repetitive songs to help children remember concepts is commonplace and is usually very effective. Unfortunately for many students, this strategy is generally not used in later grades. A group of mathematics teachers at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, have taken this approach to a new creative…

Student attention and engagement in the classroom is an ongoing problem that has generated a considerable amount of press in recent years. Some studies report that student attention begins to fade within 10-18 minutes (Weimer, 2009). While the statistics related to how long students stay attentive and engaged has been questioned (Wilson &…

Once the reasons for habitual observation in the classroom have been established, and the intent to observe has been settled, the practical details of observation must be organized. In this article, O'Shaughnessy gives us a model for the implementation of observation. She thoroughly reviews Montessori's work curves and how they can be used to show…

Schools watch their students. Nearly every responsibility that schools shoulder includes an element of surveillance--from ensuring that preschoolers do not wander off, to keeping third graders on task, to stopping bullying and sexting. These responsibilities are not new, but schools' increased ability to monitor students continuously is. Despite…

PowerPoint[R] presentations in academia have a reputation for being less than engaging in this era of learner-centered teaching. The Net Generation also presents a formidable challenge to using PowerPoint[R]. Although the research on the basic elements is rather sparse, the multimedia elements of movement, music, and videos have a stronger…

Foremost in an effective curriculum for students with emotional and behavioral disorder (E/BD) is a high level of engaged time--time spent doing meaningful learning activities. Engaged time (time-on-task) is the portion of instructional time that students spend directly involved in learning activities. Walker and Severson (1992) defined the…