This article examines the liberatory potential of student-led discussions in an increasingly neoliberal global context. More specifically, it will explore one such poetry-oriented practice as it embodies theories from scholars like Peter Rabinowitz and Michael Smith (as established in "Authorizing Readers: Resistance and Respect in the…

Getting students talking about a work of literature -- sharing and interrogating their own and each other's textual interpretations and responses -- is vital for the teaching and learning of literature. If a classroom community of readers is constituted by such talking, then responsive teaching involves a lot of "listening." What,…

Intentional emergence (IE) as a pedagogy centers students in learning and calls for the educator or facilitator to take a different role. It is important for educators to mindfully regulate their presence in the classroom to allow students to notice the role of authority in leadership practice. This article provides recommendations for productive…

This article presents the concept of a physical activity break called "Fun Innovative Time" (F.I.T.). F.I.T. Breaks are designed to be fun, engaging, and educational for students, while providing opportunities for them to develop their leadership, teamwork, and creativity skills. The four phases of a F.I.T. Break are explained in this…

Barlow et al. (2018) discussed three types of mistakes worthy of inspection: procedural errors, inappropriate solution processes, and misconceptions. Here, the authors focus on procedural errors, as these often led the teachers in their professional development project to limit their inspection of mistakes to correcting. Despite this narrow focus,…

Decisions about how mathematics is communicated--and who gets to communicate that work--influence who has "mathematical authority" in a classroom. But what exactly does that mean, and in what ways can that authority be shared between students and their teacher? In this article, the authors expand on the idea of what it means to have…

Despite over 30 years of educational research to the contrary, some educators continue to hold to classroom management theories along the lines of "don't smile until December," which pits consistency and control in the classroom against the kindness and caring that should also characterize the learning environment. We address the source…

Teachers who are concerned about introducing inherent biases into their classroom practices may find themselves turning to equity strategies to help randomize and equalize their practices. But these strategies, such as using popsicle sticks to randomize who a teacher calls on to ask a question, can also mitigate inequities in a different direction…

Over three decades ago, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1991) proposed that "for students to develop the ability to formulate problems, to explore, conjecture, and reason logically, to evaluate whether something makes sense, classroom discourse must be founded on mathematical evidence" (p. 34). As math interventionists…

The principles of positive psychology have been studied for many years, but it seems to be only recently that the benefits of these techniques are being accepted by the wider community of mainstream educators. In this article, we first describe the principles of positive psychology, primarily through the work of Martin Seligman. Then we highlight…

This article discusses classroom conditions that support the co-creation of dialogic space--where our different ideas and perspectives are in conversation with others such that we might take in what other people are saying and be open to it affecting our thinking. Drawing on ethnographic case study data, we provide context to illustrate ways this…

This article explores current research on how music can affect levels of motivation and increase levels of physical activity. Some of the topics include using music as a distraction, thinking about synchronous or asynchronous pairing of music with lessons, and how the tempo may interact with student engagement. Following the review of current…

This article introduces a unique application, ClassDojo, that can be easily used in elementary classrooms, including physical education classes. Specifically, it describes the three features that are most relevant to class management, assessment, and communication in physical education. This application can enrich physical educators' repertoire of…

By implementing carefully selected children's literature into the current reading curriculum, teachers can help students develop into civic-minded citizens who are willing and able to take meaningful action. Much has been written about the need to link learning and culture in our literacy classrooms (Banks, 1995; Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995,…

This article builds on the work of social-emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching, and culturally responsive mathematics teaching to provide a framework that establishes learning spaces where equitable mathematics instruction can flourish.