This article reports on an Australian project involving preschool and kindergarten children learning about 'giving' and the environment. Teachers designed learning modules based on the Learning by Design framework, which views pedagogies as knowledge processes, and conducted action research to explore the impact of learning about 'giving' on…

As of the writing of this report, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are being implemented in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Approaches to implementing the standards, however, are highly varied. For the past 3 years, Research For Action (RFA) has been tracking how one approach to implementing the literacy standards--the Literacy…

This study aims at exploring how the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework can be used to improve the effectiveness of integrating IDEA '04 and Research for Inclusive Settings (IRIS) modules in preservice teacher education. The purposes of this study were to maximize the potential of TPACK at the college and university…

This newsletter of best practices in implementing the High Schools That Work (HSTW), Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Technology Centers That Work (TCTW) school improvement models is based on presentations at the 27th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the summer of 2013. The newsletter is divided up into…

Information Literacy (IL) competencies are defined as "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively" and are considered essential for students in their academic lives and future careers (ALA, 1989). IL plays an important role in developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, and improving academic…

The inaugural column in the "Content Literacy" department discusses the importance of teachers' assisting students in grades 4-6 to develop content literacy skills. The discussion centers on levels of literacy and diversity issues facing teachers and then identifies three fundamental elements that should be a part of every teacher's content…

Developed by educators from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School, this teacher's guide was developed for a 4-hour workshop to teach employees how to read the charts and graphs they need in the workplace. The unit covers four types of graphs: pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs, and circle graphs. The guide is divided into four sections: reading…

Developed by educators from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School, this teacher's guide presents a course in health care vocabulary for secretaries, medical records personnel, laboratory assistants, shipping personnel, and patient relations personnel in health care facilities. The course, which should require 10-14 hours of instruction, contains…

Developed by educators from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School, this teacher's guide presents an 8-hour course in writing for police officers. The course is designed to help officers improve the accuracy and appearances of their reports and to help them take responsibility for becoming more independent writers. Each of the four lessons in the…

This kit explores Australia's National Training Framework, training packages, industry standards and assessment, and the implications of these changes for language, literacy, and numeracy practitioners. Four sections in Part 1 present a series of answers to four frequently asked questions about training packages posed by practitioners in…

Developed as part of the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, this instructional module contains materials designed to help students develop study and test-taking skills. Presented first are 10 strategies for preparing for tests. Discussed next are test-taking strategies and the importance of self-talk in successful test…

Developed as part of the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, this instructional module teaches general, specialized, and technical terms encountered by persons employed in the occupation of millwright. Included in the module are the following: a discussion of the difference between general, specialized, and technical…

Developed as part of the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, this instructional module is designed to help persons preparing for the occupation of millwright develop strategies for finding the meanings of compound words used in technical writing and the workplace. Presented in the first section is a method for deducing the…

A project designed an operational system and develop a skilled pool of trainers, in conjunction with Pennsylvania's Regional Professional Development Centers (PDCs), to deliver high-quality, uniform training modules in needed content areas to adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) staff throughout Pennsylvania. Procedures for identifying,…

Describes the use of a polyfunctional system, partially based on modular learning, in developing educational methods aimed to improve the living conditions of people in depressed areas of the world. Notes that the system should consist of series of preconstituted constant learning elements, echoing typical situations and open to adaptations…