The benefits of using formalized debates in the classroom are widely known as debating develops various skills that students need both inside and outside the modern educational system. Such competences range from communication and research skills, critical thinking, team work, public speaking, and self-confidence (Kennedy, 2007; Medina, 2020;…

Constructivist thought and practice connect easily with forms of art education that emphasize choice and student agency. This article traces the contemporary forms of constructivism that vie with more structured pedagogical approaches in American schools and recommends policies and procedures that may preserve the qualities of constructivist…

This paper analyzes the debates on "interracial competition" and "racial extinction" in the biological discourse on human evolution during the second half of the nineteenth century. Our intention is to discuss the ideological function of these biological concepts as tools for the naturalization and scientific legitimation of racial hierarchies…

Sparked by the Common Core State Standards, teachers and literacy experts are arguing about the role of a time-honored pillar of English/language arts instruction: classroom activities designed to help students understand what they are about to read. The attacks on--and defenses of--"prereading" are unfolding largely in cyberspace, through online…

This brief is a summary of "Increasing the Application of Developmental Sciences Knowledge in Educator Preparation: Policy Issues and Recommendations" by Robert C. Pianta, Randy Hitz and Blake West. It includes highlights and policy recommendations contained in that paper. This brief argues that teachers and education administrators need…

This is the second of two reports commissioned by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) intended to address the dire need for teacher preparation policy and programs to reflect recent advances in scientific knowledge of child and adolescent development. In the first report, "Principles and Exemplars for…