A teaching philosophy statement (TPS) is a brief, deeply personal narrative that gives insight into an educator's perspective on the teaching enterprise. A TPS is typically comprised of a reflection on the educator's values and beliefs, a description of what happens during the learning process, and statements about how teachers and learners…

For the over 25 million students enrolled in America's colleges and universities, postsecondary writing instruction is critical for success in college and beyond. In writing courses, students gain experience analyzing expectations for writing held by different audiences and practice meeting those expectations. This experience contributes…

This document first identifies multiple assets student veterans often bring to writing classrooms and then acknowledges some of the special considerations that writing instructors and writing program administrators (WPAs) should take into account when working with student veterans. After presenting these generalizations, the document offers…

Despite now long-standing recognition of the value and importance of the scholarship of teaching and learning, questions continue to be raised about how to satisfy the hybrid responsibilities of teaching and research. The key message of this paper is that instructor-researchers, educational developers, and research ethics personnel should consider…

The purpose of this statement is to help beginning faculty members, particularly at the assistant professor rank and in non-tenure-track positions, to succeed in their new institutions. These recommendations are intended for early-career faculty members themselves as well as administrators and other faculty in the hiring departments, to ensure…

This article describes a project that includes a two-week series of researching, essay writing, and speaking lessons exploring the broader implications of using ethanol as a fuel. The author, a chemistry teacher, describes how she uses a senate hearing discussion of ethanol fuel subsidies as the forum for a role-play. The four components of the…

Over the last 20 years, independent filmmakers have produced insightful documentaries of high profile political campaigns with behind-the-scenes footage. These documentaries offer inside looks and unique perspectives on electoral politics. This campaign season, consider "The War Room"; "A Perfect Candidate"; "Journeys With George;" "Chisholm '72";…

The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board has just celebrated 30 Years of Fully Inclusive Education for All. Their mission statement: "EACH BELONGS". This remarkable book by Jim Hansen collects the history--including an extensive collection of documents and letters from teachers and families--that tell the stories of the…

This article features two documents which can serve as a starting point for a lesson on public service while students debate the amount of pay that public servants should receive. These are: (1) the printed draft of the Constitution showing George Washington's handwritten corrections that eliminated state payments and included the phrase "to be…

Technological change has proven one of the few constants of the early 21st century, providing social studies educators with the challenge and opportunity of preparing digital citizens in a global setting. This requires rethinking the type of social studies learning necessary in the 21st century. As the National Academies concluded in the…

In the 21st century, media literacy is an imperative for participatory democracy because new information/communication technologies and a market-based media culture have significantly reshaped the world. The better prepared students are to critically question the information and media they are seeing, hearing, and using, the more likely they are…

This position paper proposes the enhancement of teacher and student learning in science classrooms by tapping the enormous potential of information communication and technologies (ICTs) as cognitive tools for engaging students in scientific inquiry. This paper serves to challenge teacher-held assumptions about students learning science "from…

The last decade of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first have seen a marginalization of social studies curriculum, instruction, and assessment at all grade levels. In many state houses, in departments of education, and in school districts across this great nation, education for citizenship has taken a back seat to…

This is a must-have resource for busy educators involved in creating, improving, or reevaluating their school mission statements. The authors provide numerous examples of mission statements from a diverse range of preK-12 schools, offering readers an extremely valuable resource for developing an understanding of various themes and ideas in…

In this article, the author addresses classroom teachers, department heads, and supervisors who have direct contact with students and what they learn. They need to tell students, parents, policymakers, and everyone else that social studies is critical and that the NCSS mission statement is not just a nice set of words, but absolutely crucial to…