A number of memorable tasks have been revealed through collegial exchanges with underlying philosophical, theoretical, and potentially nefarious motivations. Such was the origin of the probability problem, and the various differences of opinion, presented herein. This article recounts how, together, we explored and disputed the probabilities…

This single-class activity augments the popular desert island activity to include a secret insider who aims to influence their group covertly. The motivation for this augmented activity is twofold: (1) to highlight and dispel notions of invulnerability to groupthink and (2) to provide an opportunity to engage in small-group decision making. To…

Problem solving is a critical component of academic and social emotional learning. It is a life-long skill. For young children, opportunities to make choices and problem solve lay the foundation for later development of self-determination (Palmer et al., 2012). However, young children may not have the experience or ability to resolve problems…

The Young Olympians Program was developed to further a partnership between a university and the local Boys and Girls Club in central Illinois. The program was developed to improve youth participants' academic efficacy and social and emotional learning, while also engaging them in physical activity. This article shares the project-management stages…

In this paper, we first frame Sprague's vision in the historical context from which it emerged. From there, we explore some contemporary concerns instructional communication researchers must grapple with, and then propose some practical next steps for envisioning instructional communication research as a platform for meaningful contributions…

We aim to open up discussion about the intertwined roles of teachers and tasks that involve students communicating about mathematics when working in groups. Over many years we have observed, researched and ourselves have taught students working on mathematics in groups and find that it is often easier to pay attention to the forms of communication…

Collaborative learning requires a lot of talk. Although not all student talk may be related to the task at hand, some off-task talk is actually productive, as it enables students to negotiate how they will work together, gain attention of fellow group members, and draw others into joining the work. Emma C. Gargroetzi, Rosa D. Chavez, Jen Munson,…

The COVID-19 pandemic found many K-12 school leaders unprepared to deal with the magnitude and duration of this emergency. Dealing with sustained crises is not sufficiently addressed in most K-12 leadership programs, nor in the National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards (NPBEA, 2018). What can be done to better prepare leaders…

Why encourage children to play board games? In the increasing disconnect of our digital lives, playing games provides a way to connect and relate with others on a human level. Strategy and role-playing games provide intellectual challenges and stretch creativity to keep the gifted mind engaged in solving problems. At the same time, the players…

When students are working together, some off-task conversations actually smooth the way to working together more effectively. While many assume that off-task talk is unproductive, our study revealed that students used off-task talk predominantly for productive purposes. We found that off-task talk supported student access to collaboration, and…

The article gives the description of the notion "formation of teachers' foreign language communicative competence in the system of the advanced training". This competence is formed in the close connection with professionally oriented subjects in the process of the educational, scientific and practical activities in the field of foreign…

This article discusses the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Teaching and Research (STAR) Leadership Program, developed at Austin College, which engages students in activities integrated into undergraduate STEM courses that promote the development of leadership behaviors. Students focus on interpersonal communication,…

How can Applied Theatre impact office productivity and employee well-being? A pilot program in NYC presents its discoveries.

The National College Learning Center Association defines a learning center at institutions of higher education as interactive academic spaces which exist to reinforce and extend student learning in physical and/or virtual environments. A variety of comprehensive support services and programs are offered in these environments to enhance student…

In order to be successful in the 21st century, students will need to master an expanded set of competencies that extends beyond discrete academic standards. Competency-based education (CBE) is an educational approach that focuses on mastery of these competencies -- rather than seat time -- as a measure of student learning. This approach is being…