Adopting new instructional materials is an important way to support reform in science education, but implementation can be challenging and complex. Therefore, we conducted a contrasting case study of two middle schools implementing new curricular materials. We conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers and leaders and collected…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, schools across the world closed, either periodically or over a considerable time. The OECD reports that during this period, globally, over 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom. As a result, schools moved part or all of their curriculum online, teaching remotely via digital platforms. Evidence suggests…

The field of education is rich with metaphors that reveal one's perspective on the nature of teaching and learning--ideas are "covered," students "absorb" information, teachers offer writing "clinics." Each of these metaphors indicate nuanced ideas about what schooling is and is for--to be checked off? Taken in…

The definition of instruction and curriculum may take on different meanings based on the purpose or interpretation whether political, social, or educational. Teaching effectively requires the skill of a knowledgeable and experienced educator. Teaching can be convincingly debated as being an art or a science or defined collectively as an art and a…

With a clear understanding of the terms, along with examples of their appropriate use, all educators can make wise decisions about the application of accommodations, modifications, and interventions.

We are 21 years into the 21st century, and educational practices across North America were woefully unprepared to 'flip the switch' to online learning; at times no education occurred at all, not online or onsite. The COVID-19 pandemic disruptor storm peeled off the layers of blindfolds time accrued in an instant. Issues included three areas. Area…

First year students often experience a culture shock as certain literacy practices at the university level are different from their experiences in high schools. Some major challenges that students encounter include students' ability to maintain academic integrity practices in their studies, to comprehend complex academic texts to outline key…

Both teaching and facilitation are effective instructional techniques, but each is appropriate for unique educational objectives and scenarios. This article briefly distinguishes between teaching and facilitative techniques and provides guidelines for choosing the better method for a particular educational scenario.

Working with gifted pupils is a specific problem which differs from the work with other pupils. It wouldn't be correct if we say that working with talented pupils is the same with the general pedagogical work. Even though we accept the gifted students as a particular problem, it is not right to see them as a world in its own, divided from other…

"The root of 18 is closer to 4 than it is to 5 because 18 is closer to 16 than it is to 25". Is this statement, voiced in an 8th grade class, valid? We suggest hypothetical arguments upon which this statement might be based, and analyze them from two complementary perspectives--epistemic and pedagogical--drawing on Toulmin's notion of…

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how PE teachers can personalize learning to meet a variety of student needs. Differentiated instruction (DI) is a term frequently used in classroom-based learning to describe a method of personalization for individual students. The term can also describe a theoretical model for teaching and…

One major obstacle for integrating the history of mathematics in teaching (hereafter referred to as IHT) is how to help teachers, particularly those who lack experience in IHT, use historical materials in their teaching. Based on many IHT practices in Shanghai, this paper proposes an IHT framework including two parts: one is a triangular pyramid…

Place-Based education (PBE) is gaining rapid recognition across the United States. The authors of this article contend that there is an imperative need to re-structure and re-conceptualize teacher education such that it allows for a significant shift in thinking and practice around learning, teaching, and community. They advocate that the PBE…

Discussions of power and privilege, oppression, and structural inequities in classrooms can produce complex understanding and critical analysis when facilitated effectively. In this article we present the critical conversations model for facilitating conversations that open up space for discussing such issues and encourage the development of…

This article describes aspects of the physical education context that set it apart from other instructional contexts. While physical educators share numerous attributes with other teachers--for example, a love of children and a commitment to their content area--many distinctions exist, as well. The nature of physical education is such that…