The author, a professor and former student at Harvard, was intrigued by how much the percentage of students with disabilities at that college has increased in recent decades. He began simply asking certain students, "How did you get here?" Drawing from in-depth interviews conducted with 16 Harvard attendees who had disabilities that…

So, you have decided to do a PhD … now what? In this essay, the author provides some advice for beginning PhD students, basically sharing what he would tell his younger self. Doing a PhD is a transformative experience, but the process is challenging, not merely on an intellectual level but also psychologically. To overcome these challenges, one…

There are selected ideas from the psychology of learning which assists students to achieve more optimally. They need to be in the repertoire of the social studies teacher. These are self efficacy, resilience, reflection, and self monitoring of the learner's own progress. Each of these concepts will be discussed as it relates to teaching and…

Renaissance School is part of a network of Expeditionary Learning (EL) schools that was borne of a collaboration between the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Outward Bound, USA. The EL model is centered on the Outward Bound ethic of having youth work together to achieve a task. EL schools take an approach to teaching and learning that…

The goal of teaching is learning, and learning in physical education requires more than activity for children to achieve. This article highlights and discusses research that focuses on teaching in physical education, with a particular emphasis on motor skill learning and on student attitudes toward physical education. It presents a brief…

Many students experience difficulties when they try to get good grades in their accounting classes, and they are searching for answers. There is no single answer. Getting a good grade in an accounting class results from a process. If you know and understand the process--and can apply it--then your chances are much improved for getting a good…

The purpose of this article is to outline how motivation of first year university students can be enhanced through effective pedagogic practices and to discuss policy level decisions that impact upon the cultivation of student motivation. It reports on practices within a specific first year unit, Understanding University Learning, which…

Maintaining order and preventing chaos in the classroom are major concerns of educators. However, for many teachers these concerns create a motivational dilemma. If a class lacks order, students tend to play and become over-excited instead of learning. On the other hand, if a class is strictly ordered, students become bored and make minimal effort…

This is the story of a college professor with learning disabilities that were undiagnosed until age 17. Failing school, he was excluded from a college bound academic track in junior and senior high school. He eventually went on to earn a doctoral degree after first becoming a special education teacher, certified reading teacher, and school…