Physical education teachers and the programs that prepare them find themselves in the early part of the 21st century in a public policy environment that differs significantly from that of the 20th century. This policy environment is grounded in an ideology that postulates that schools and teachers, rather than social forces, should be held…

Almost 60 years have passed since Dr. James Comer last saw three of his elementary school friends, yet he vividly remembers them. They were African American boys just like him. They, too, came from two-parent homes, and their fathers also worked in the local steel mill. But unlike Comer and his siblings, these three youngsters did not take an…

The "Millennial Generation" includes students enrolled in primary grades through high school. These students are also known as Digital Natives, Generation Why, the Net Generation, Generation Me, and i-Kids. The generation includes ages ranging from approximately 7 to 30. This is the generation who have always had technology integrated into their…

In this commentary on Ziegler and Phillipson's article, "Towards a Systemic Theory of Gifted Education" (this issue), the author states her opinion that their alternate way of viewing gifted education is pedagogically sound. What Ziegler and Phillipson propose is creating a system where the interaction between action repertoires and the…

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often experience difficulties with motor skill learning and performance. The pool is a unique learning environment that can help children with ASDs learn or improve aquatic skills, fitness, and social skills. A pool-based approach is also aligned with the elements of dynamic systems theory, which…

Eight years ago, the authors carried out a study on scientific creativity. Thirty-four eminent scientists, who had gained great creative scientific achievements in five fields--mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and life science--were chosen and interviewed. In the study, the authors tried to find out what made a person demonstrate…

One way to engage all students and ensure that they feel valued within a classroom is to provide opportunities for learning that tap into varied intelligences. According to Howard Gardner, "It is of the utmost importance that we recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligences, and all of the combinations of intelligences."…

While carefully plotted lesson plans are invaluable in a classroom, tuning into the flow of the moment is just as essential. My experience has shown me that the most effective teaching happens when everyone in the room is in synch with one another. Teaching requires intuiting what each student is experiencing individually and adjusting in order to…

Acknowledging that an interested and enthusiastic teacher can create excitement for students and promote learning, the author discusses how teachers can improve their appearance, and, consequently, how their students perceive them. She offers concrete suggestions on how a teacher can be both a "visual aid" and an "audio aid" in the classroom.…

School librarians help train students to be effective acquirers, evaluators, and users of ideas and information--a necessary skill for survival in the information-rich society. From this stance, school librarians are definitely caregivers. But the author argues that this does not get to the heart of the matter: Librarianship usually translates…

In "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture" Henry Jenkins defines participatory culture as having "relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing with others, and informal mentorship whereby experienced participants pass along knowledge to novices. Members believe their…

From the perspective of emergence, professors can facilitate and shape a class as a complex, adaptive, and living system. A case study illustrates phases of emergence in the classroom by tracing how a professor may use this perspective to empower students to share in the leadership of the classroom. Instead of presenting lessons, the professor…

Low cost and significant advances in technology now allow instructors to create their own virtual learning environments. Creating social interactions within a virtual space that emulates the physical classroom remains challenging. While students are familiar with virtual worlds and video meetings, they are inexperienced as virtual learners. Over a…

Decisions about ways to improve student achievement have been of concern over the years (Reeves, 2011). Multiple reforms have been attempted (Evers, 2000; Marzano, 2000), but researchers have differed in viewpoints on their effectiveness (Jennings & Rentner, 2006; Rose, 20 I 0). State test scores in Mississippi have not risen to levels…

Classical conceptual distinctions in philosophy of education assume an individualistic subjectivity and hide the learning that can take place in the space between child (as educator) and adult (as learner). Grounded in two examples from experience I develop the argument that adults often put metaphorical sticks in their ears in their educational…