Instructors of physics courses face the demanding challenge of creating a safe, nurturing community in their classroom while maintaining sufficient rigor. First-day activities are especially important, because they need to both motivate their students and prepare them for the course. Experienced instructors happily share their successful first-day…

Teachers have a lot of frustrating things to deal with in school--obdurate administrators, inane work rules, and ham-fisted policies, to name a few. Instead of speaking up for change, many teachers have just come to accept all the dysfunction and take refuge in their classrooms. But teachers have it in their power to bust out of that classroom…

This article presents four inquiry-based learning activities developed for a liberal arts math course. The activities cover four topics: the Pythagorean theorem, interest theory, optimization, and the Monty Hall problem. Each activity consists of a dialogue, with a theme and characters related to the topic, and a manipulative, that allow students…

The Math Promise is a contract that family members make with one another. They commit to spending mathematical time together; getting to know each other's mathematical thinking and understanding; and finding time to play math games, solve problems, and notice mathematics in their daily lives. Whether parents and children are cooking in the…

Parents in the United States expect their students to have homework; and students, especially in middle school and high school, expect daily homework assignments from their teachers. However, it is difficult to create effective homework assignments. Despite the challenges involved, the authors believe that homework "can" be an important…

In the June 2010 "Harvard Business Review," Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, wrote a column entitled "You Are What You Measure." In it, he thoughtfully prods business leaders to consider the problematic correlation between the tools for measuring progress and actual…

Redmoor Academy is a Key Stage 3 (age 11-14) school in Leicestershire, UK, with a student cohort just over 500 pupils. The Academy has a long history of encouraging pupils to consider how STEM subjects relate to each other and to their future careers, and has made great inroads into ensuring that all teachers of STEM subjects are delivering the…

Resilience has often been defined as the ability to bounce back in times of adversity and to develop in a positive way when faced with setbacks. Children routinely show high amounts of resilience mostly because of temperament and a built-in sense of autonomy.Children are able to overcome adversity to bounce back before social and emotional harm is…

Research experience has been proven to be effective in enhancing the overall educational experience for undergraduate students. In this article, two engineering research projects with undergraduate students involvement are discussed. The projects provided the undergraduate student researchers with motivation for independent research work and…

I propose an approach to service-learning that encourages and enables students to engage with human rights and social justice in ways that are democratic and effective. I describe a teaching process in which civic action can be critically reflected on not just to promote engagement and build knowledge but ultimately to encourage and equip students…

We have designed a unique guided-inquiry-inspired course for entry-level graduate students using chemical research as a mechanism to teach research-oriented problem-solving skills. The course has been designed for flexibility around a shared research experience. The curriculum can be modified each year by incorporating a new research project into…

This article will describe a writing assignment designed for use in a liberal arts college whose mission stresses effective written communication both within and across disciplines. In this assignment, students write three separate solutions to the same mathematics problem: one for a mathematical peer, a second for a contemporary that does not…

Today's students require educators who will guide them to think critically, grow in character, and value relationships. These students become empowered to change their world and overcome social and racial oppression and marginalization. Empowered students are those who attain skills and knowledge with their teachers, and become equipped and…

Since the introduction of international achievement assessments, Korea has received a great deal of global attention because of its strong academic performance achieved at primary and secondary education levels. However, Korea has not fully benefited from these achievements in education for several reasons as discussed in this paper. The Korean…

The evolution of Singapore's school mathematics curriculum is in tandem with developments in the education system of Singapore. In the last six decades, economic policies of the government that are necessary for the survival of Singapore in a fast changing world have shaped the aims of the school mathematics curriculum. The present day curriculum…