Student-centered classrooms, where the focus is on the way students learn concepts and skills rather than the way a teacher delivers the lessons, is a popular theme in current classrooms at all levels. A clear distinction must be made between student-centered teaching as a philosophy and student-centered teaching as a specific set of instructional…

Knowledge development, application, and refinement are essential parts of students' reading. One way to observe how students use their knowledge as they read is through talk. Studies routinely indicate that though reading is a social endeavor, teachers spend most of the allotted instructional time talking or using discourse patterns that do not…

While visual literacy pedagogy in teacher preparation programs has been a recognized body of knowledge the past few decades, limited research centers upon secondary teachers who are responsible for integrating visual literacy into content instruction. This study explored how 32 secondary English language arts and social studies pre-service…

In light of an increased focus on the importance of soft skills to academic achievement and success later in life, educators are looking towards social-emotional learning (SEL) as a means for addressing the diverse needs of students. This qualitative study was aimed at understanding how secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers use literary…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how teachers' choice of text, centering of student voices and collaboration with the community around a language arts curriculum impacted the engagement and learning experiences of 85 11th and 12th-grade refugee background students designated as English language learners. Design/methodology/approach: A…

This study centers on one early-career English language arts (ELA) teacher's development of his critical pedagogical discourses (CPD) within the contextual discourses of collaboration and data informed instruction. These contextual discourses circulated assumptions of teaching and learning that are privileged by the political ideologies of the…

The narrow teaching of writing that had been common in schools for hundreds of years was challenged in the 1980s by 'one of the most seductive writers in the history of writing pedagogy'. Donald Graves's process approach to writing, as it came to be known, was popular in Australia, New Zealand, USA and the UK. At the heart of Graves's approach was…

This article examines how elementary public school teachers in South Texas are implementing a balanced literacy approach in light of the expectations of accountability for student performance. For more than three decades, Texas schools have felt, and continue to feel, the pressure of accountability. Therefore, it becomes essential to investigate…

This case study examines features and processes of a sixth grade teacher (Jane) utilizing text sets as a tool for facilitating critical thinking. Jane's strong vision and student-centered beliefs informed her use of various texts to teach language arts as she worked to address demands of the Common Core State Standards. Text sets promoted multiple…

The English Language Learner student population is on the rise in the United States. There are more students than ever entering school with a language other than English as their primary language. There is an inconsistency in the delivery service (pull-out or push-in) as well as a variety of pedagogical practices used to instruct students in…

Teacher inquiry holds promise in teacher education, but only if student teachers take up inquiry practices as they leave preservice and transition to teaching. As they learn to conduct inquiry during preservice, student teachers may begin to internalize dispositions that promote ongoing inquiry experiences. Through analysis of questionnaires…

In recent years, professional influences on all sides have pressed the author to put students in the driver's seat, making them more active in their own learning, giving them more voice and choice in their work, and developing skills that will benefit them well beyond the classroom. This article suggests how to introduce literary theory in high…

The success of each nation will depend on the agility (see www.edgility.net) of its citizens to acquire and utilize knowledge. In response to this imperative governments have crafted and followed rigorous educational strategies. For example, the European Union's Lisbon Agreement outlines an agenda for education and training focusing on educational…