Perception is one of the most fundamental aspects of human communication. This activity utilizes art to help students experience and understand the psychological and communicative aspects of perception. Students are required to observe and discuss their observations about selected pieces of artwork. After completing the activity, students enhance…

The purpose of this paper is to review the utility of think alouds in writing instruction and highlight the function of think-aloud modeling in the development of cognitive and metacognitive strategies that support learners' independence. For these purposes, modeling with coping is also explained. Coping models, in which teachers encounter…

Students in introductory physics classes often have difficulty recognizing the relevance of physics concepts outside the confines of the physics classroom, lab, and textbook. Even though textbooks and instructors often provide examples of physics applications from a wide array of areas, students have difficulty relating physics to their own lives.…

An emphasis on visual rhetoric can be incorporated into a variety of classrooms. This article illustrates teaching visual rhetoric to first-year composition students via interpretation and analysis through a trip to a local art museum for the first essay assignment and through an exploration of photography for the second essay assignment. In the…

Peer assessment of long written tasks poses particular problems as these tasks typically involve complex learning and solving ill-structured problems which require divergent responses. Marking reliability of this kind of writing task is difficult to achieve. The author illustrates this through an evaluation of two implementations of peer…

Children's work documents their thinking and the details they note as they learn more. Over time, by drawing, dictating, or writing about their observations, children can reveal and deepen their understanding of science concepts. Documenting work to further understanding and sharing information is part of the National Science Education Teaching…

This article describes a writing partnership that involved university preservice teachers and ninth grade students enrolled in an integrated social studies/language arts class. While the high school students found the experience exciting and satisfying, the preservice teachers expressed anxieties and concerns as they endeavored to foster academic…

In the May 2009 issue of "English Journal", we reported on our analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to provide a first look at changes in the teaching of writing over the past 30 years. In this article, we provide a more detailed look, drawing on data collected from visits to 260 English, math, social…

Student writing performance has not appreciably improved in the past decade. While there is evidence that teachers assign more writing than in the past, performance has not kept pace. Three urban schools that experienced significant improvements in students' writing achievement were studied. To glean ideas and examples, the authors observed…

Engaging students in a course in the Sociology of Religion can be a challenge, particularly when working with student populations in a homogeneous region of the country who have limited experience with religious diversity. We approached the course from a sociological/anthropological perspective, requiring each student to complete an in-depth…

Describes three active learning strategies for use in a teaching assistant (TA) training program that can enhance graduate students' teaching skills: (1) in-class activities; (2) written assignments (journals, written exercises, and teaching portfolios); and (3) modeling and observation (watching versus performing teaching behaviors). (CMK)