Describes the cooperative learning activities and writing process techniques used in writing classes that include students from 14 different countries. Most students report greater confidence and comfort learning writing through group work. Teaching the process of writing helps the majority of students to recognize and appreciate the value of…

Presents a lesson plan that uses cases to teach students about three types of torts: intentional wrongs, negligence, and strict liability. Torts are wrongful actions (not involving a breech of contract) that may result in a civic action. Includes lesson procedures, objectives, and student handouts on torts and negligence cases. (MJP)

Discusses engagement theory (students meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks) and the three components, collaboration, project orientation, and authentic focus, and outlines research questions to establish its efficacy. (PEN)

Presents an activity of students hunting for dirt in the classroom to launch a study of the environment and to provide children with an exercise in which they learn and use the skills of collecting, labeling, organizing, observational drawing, classifying, hypothesizing, and summarizing. (PR)

Students explore the workings of the lever, wheel and axle, and the inclined plane as they build simple toys--a bulldozer and a road grader. The project takes four weeks. Diagrams and procedures are included. (PR)

An English instructor notes that educators must re-examine their methodology and allow for students to be engaged as full partners in the learning process. She provides examples of activities and projects from a course about the intersection of language and culture and suggests that self-directed learning will equip students for college level…

Describes characteristics of effective and enjoyable learning activities, that can be grouped into these categories: (1) Assignments that Matter; (2) Activities that Involve the Researcher; (3) Assessments that Help By Promoting Growth and Showing Care; and (4) (Teacher) Attitude is Everything. A sidebar presents a four-level research question…

A resource vision teacher describes activities to develop skills in solving mathematical word problems by three seventh graders with severe visual impairments. Students kept portfolios of problems they actually experienced in their daily lives. Success was achieved through providing an optimal environment, active involvement, self-assessment, and…

Games are one of the easiest ways to capitalize on students' learning strengths. Offers an example of how to develop games for the library. Presents ideas for teaching students the parts of a book through: cards; a board game; a dice game; a simulation game; an action game; a question-and-answer game; and a bingo game. (AEF)

This article discusses how creative thinking can be encouraged in students through such classic tools as brainstorming and the productive thinking elements of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. It describes how fairy tales can be used to foster these thinking skills and suggests classroom activities. (Contains two references.) (CR)

This article describes how, by comparing multiple perspectives of the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, students can experience first-hand how different published accounts of the same event may contain different information. The author relates the lesson plan of Jennifer Morrow, a third-grade teacher at Coral Ridge Elementary…

A classroom activity analyzes the mathematics found in Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, the true story of Ernest Shackleton and the 27-man crew who all survived a shipwreck at the South Pole. (Contains 3 figures.)

This article describes three engaging introductions for topics on a Cartesian graph and the distributive property. (Contains 3 figures.)

This article focuses on a qualitative teacher research project with a fourth-semester university Spanish class that emphasized inquiry-based learning. One of the primary objectives of the class was to increase learner autonomy through self-selected inquiries, self-directed learning activities, and curricular negotiation. Multiple data sources were…

The curriculum is packed with so much content that teachers resort to telling students what they know and students simply commit facts to memory. The packed curriculum leaves little time for students to acquire a deep understanding of the subject or to develop life-long skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. However,…