This activity challenges students to establish media usage rules for a 30-day digital declutter, during which time they challenge themselves to disengage from distracting digital media. Students write self-assessments about their media habits and relationship to media before beginning the declutter and after they have finished the 30-day…

Procrastination is common in the collegiate sphere. However, procrastination is often stigmatized as causing college students to be unsuccessful. Most students have been told not to procrastinate, but they continue to do so, implying that student procrastination will not stop. Yet, significant discontinuities exist between emerging procrastination…

Simulations that combine real world components with interactive digital media provide a rich setting for students with the potential to assist knowledge building and understanding of complex physical processes. This paper addresses the problem of modeling the effects of multiple students' simultaneous interactions on the complex and exploratory…

In "Rethinking Recess," sociologist Rebecca A. London argues that recess has been overlooked as an essential part of the elementary school experience, with major implications for how well schools serve all students equitably and responsively. Given its potential to support students' social and emotional learning and physical activity,…

Our students consistently hand in assignments late, or complete them at the last minute. Why is it that they know about assignments all term long yet only begin them the night before the assignment is due? Based on a career-focused learning community at Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York, this article looks at ways…

This article offers interpretations of play, in a school playground, where adult regulation and surveillance framed its enactment. Children, well aware of being watched, negotiated this through various forms of play, circumscribed by, but also playing with, adult supervision. The children were also subject to the rules governing particular age…

Easy-to-use progress-monitoring and intervention techniques are attractive because most teachers are crunched for time and teacher instructional time is often consumed with paperwork, especially for progress monitoring and discipline. Some studies indicate up to 50% of a special educator's time may be spent on paperwork. Methods that serve a dual…

This article introduces a tool to help students learn to better manage their energy. The tool asks students to assess their energy levels for each waking hour over at least 2 days in order to identify patterns of activities associated with high energy and with depleted energy. The article describes how to use the tool in the classroom by…

Research has demonstrated a strong positive correlation between behavior problems and low academic achievement. Student success and/or failures are in large part determined by how well teachers provide effective instruction to their students. This article overviews key behavior-management approaches related to academic and behavioral success that…

Transitions are the "interval between any two activities." Therefore, transitions occur between classes (before and after a class) and within class periods (between activities). Using transition time effectively is a cost-free way of maximizing instructional time. Therefore, it becomes imperative that transitions occur smoothly throughout the…

The learning curve is high for novice special education teachers. They must assume full teaching responsibilities while at the same time becoming familiar with district and school policies, curriculum, and assessment policies and procedures. They are expected to build relationships with administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, families, and…

A growing body of evidence suggests teachers first experiences in the classroom have an impact on their effectiveness, their students' achievement, and the teaching practices they will use for many years. New special educators experience many of the same challenges as other new teachers. Both general and special educators struggle with addressing …

Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion resulting from chronic stress. It is characterized by feelings of alienation, indifference, and low self-regard, a loss of interest in work, and an inability to perform one's day-to-day job duties. Burnout within the teaching profession has been recognized as a serious problem.…

Students with learning and behavioral disorders often lack the requisite academic skills and behavioral self-control to remain engaged during passive seatwork activities. Because independent seatwork composes a large portion of the instructional time in general education classrooms and teachers expect students to demonstrate self-control in these…

Describes a study on time management that involved 57 third-year university students who first estimated, then recorded how they allocated weekly time between work, maintenance (sleep, meals, etc.) and leisure. Finds that students spent a mean of 40 hours per week on schoolwork. Offers suggestions on allocating student time. (Contains 19…