While nature journaling with elementary age children has recently increased in popularity, journaling with children of ages 2-6 is often overlooked. This article focuses specifically on why journaling is a valid practice in early childhood and the practitioner application of journaling techniques modified for the young child. Young children have…

Teaching design to middle and high school students can be challenging. One of the first procedures in teaching design is to help students gather information that will be useful in the design phase. An early stage of engineering design as described by Lewis (2005), calls for the designer to establish the state of the art of the problem. During this…

With crosscutting concepts such as stability and change in the "Next Generation Science Standards," this article was written for those who have wondered how to teach these concepts in a way that is relevant to students. In this investigation, students ask the question, "Why is the pond dirty?" As students investigate the health…

This article, the second of a two-part series, features 11 teaching innovations presented at the 2014 Association for Business Communication annual conference. These 11 assignments included leadership and other-focused communication--detecting communication style, adaptive communication, personality type, delivering feedback, problem solving, and…

What is contemplative pedagogy and how is it practiced in Religious Studies classrooms? Contemplative pedagogy cultivates inner awareness through first-person investigations, often called "contemplative practices." Contemplative teaching practices range widely: silent sitting meditation, compassion practices, walking meditation, deep listening,…

Preservice educators engaged in experiential, place-based learning through a semester-long assignment in which they observed a specific place in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, and kept a nature journal. The assignment was organized around two pivotal elements: direct, sensory experience and time in place. Both elements added vital dimensions…

Meeting the needs of children with disabilities requires strategies for engaging each and every child as an individual and facilitating their participation as a member of a group. The use of the project approach meets the needs of individual children by building on an awareness of children's interests and high expectations. All early childhood…

Naturalistic teaching methods are often used to facilitate explicit child-directed instruction within early childhood environments. They are designed to promote opportunities for instruction within the context of daily routines. The teacher's role is to design the environment and select materials, activities, and routines that will promote…

Children with autism often have difficulty successfully applying newly acquired skills to novel situations. Naturalistic teaching procedures have been developed to help address this problem with generalization. These naturalistic procedures promote generalization through the use of natural consequences, diverse training, and the incorporation of…

A description is given of how an art teacher increased childrens' observational skills by teaching them to focus on the subtle visual details of natural objects. A brief list of helpful books is provided. (JD)

We have been exploring the potential of a web-supported professional development system, the Inquiry Learning Forum (ILF), that integrates videotaped classrooms and discussion forums for use in preservice science methods classrooms. This article examines pre- and inservice teachers' perceptions about using the ILF and how their participation in…

Application of the natural science-technical research model to the study and development of teaching has had a distorting and disintegrating effect on education. Teachers must be encouraged to participate in the study and development of their profession, and learning environments must be studied singly and in their full context. (JC)

In an attempt to explore the type of classroom environment that contributes to the development of critical thinking, and the questioning techniques and strategies employed there, prolonged observation was conducted in a fourth grade gifted classroom. The teacher of this classroom attempted to relate all her questioning strategies to the…

The transition to adult life for students with reading and writing challenges is an area that is not often addressed. The purpose of this article is to relate the informal assessment process to the broader context of high stakes assessment, high school exit exams, diploma options, and transition planning; identify the competencies needed for a…

Explores the relationship between teaching and socialization through a case study report of the classrooms of three junior-high science teachers. Provides a brief characterization of socialization and the substance of science teaching and discusses the factors which appear to be relevant to these characterizations. (ML)