Presents ideas for teaching techniques and learning activities for use with kindergarteners. Includes areas such as matching letters, supplying props for dramatic play, and measuring. (JMB)

Proposes a method for building biographies with elementary students. Called the "snapshot approach," it encourages students to visualize memorable events in the life of the person being studied. Step one is gathering and studying biographical information, step two is selecting the material to use, and step three is arranging and interpreting the…

In courses such as the history of psychology, it is necessary to learn a variety of relationships, events, and sequences, in addition to the task of having to pair certain key concepts with related names, e.g., phrenology--Hall. One tool useful in this type of learning is the crossword puzzle. (RM)

A teacher of gifted fifth and sixth grade students describes a unit on research ability in which students engage in a library scavenger hunt. (CL)

Film techniques are suggested for use with gifted students. Pre- and post-showing discussions are described, as well as projects involving students as film critics and directors. (CL)

This article presents several activities that permit students to determine the index of refraction of transparent solids and liquids using simple equipment without the need for geometrical relationships, special lighting or optical instruments. Graphical analysis of the measured data is shown to be a useful method for determining the index of…

This paper explores ways in which Western literature can be taught to Non-western students. This paper demonstrates that non-western values do not have to be overcome but rather Western values can be highlighted and reinforced to deal with literary complexity. Values and ideals such as freedom, self-identity, religion, feminism, and equality are…

Knowledge of group dynamics and leadership activities is a component of the CORE Standards for the Master's degree curriculum in Rehabilitation Counseling. A group experience is often included as a learning activity in rehabilitation counselor education curricula as an instructional method of imparting knowledge of group dynamics. Group experience…

To test whether epistemically unproblematic ways of thinking and talking about science could be transformed during preservice teacher training, we designed a system of learning activities based on a set of "heuristics for progressive disciplinary discourse" (HPDD). The HPDD outline six design principles of learning environments where the aim is to…

Prior research has revealed that non-music specialist trainee primary school teachers lack confidence in teaching music in spite of changes to teacher training and the introduction of music in the National Curriculum in England. The current study investigated the effects on non-music specialist trainee primary teachers' confidence to teach music…

Educational discourse has often struggled to genuinely move beyond deficit-based language. Even action research, a predominant model for teacher development, starts with the identification of a problem (Cardno 2003). It would appear that the vocabulary for a hope-filled discourse which captures the imagination and influences our future educational…

This study investigated informal learning activities among low-education adults, using data from the 2005 National Household Education Survey. Survey respondents were asked about their participation in six types of informal learning activities, from reading books to using computers to attending conventions. Respondents with the lowest educational…

Although there is evidence that the use of picture books affects young children's achievement scores in mathematics, little is known about the cognitive engagement and, in particular, the mathematical thinking that is evoked when young children are read a picture book. The focus of the case study reported in this article is on the cognitive…

To guide problem-solving activities in the classroom, this article presents a strategy similar to the reading model found in literature circles. The goal of mathematics circles is to provide guidance and structure to problem-solving activities so that students can internalize the strategies needed for them to develop into mathematicians. (Contains…