Engaging emotion is essential to effective history instruction. This may strike some as a banal observation, as we have long known that student enthusiasm and engagement are key elements of learning. If asked, many teachers would use emotionally-laden vocabulary to describe their commitment to the profession: love of history, passion about student…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deflate some of the pressure-orienting teachers toward following a curricular script. Design/methodology/approach: The authors connect effective classroom teaching and learning practices to a dialogic instructional stance that values local resources and student perspectives and contributions. The authors…

"Teaching Bad Apples" is a game developed in 2014 for current and future teachers. It plays much like "Apples to Apples" or "Cards Against Humanity," with each player in turn reading a situation card, followed by the other players choosing their response cards. Each situation, however dramatic or bizarre, is…

One concern about teaching online or in large, lecturestyle classes is the inability to see students' reactions to course material. These visual cues give instructors feedback on student comprehension, material clarity, and effective delivery modes. Instructors have to see the results of student assignments and exams or end-of-semester evaluations…

This study was designed to examine the use and perception of selected teaching behaviors of high school band directors. Videotaped rehearsals of six band directors' top-performing ensembles were analyzed for conductor magnitude, sequential pattern components, and instructional pacing. Directors and students rated video excerpts of their…

Research shows that introductory courses in college provide an opportunity to invoke transformative learning, enhance students' ability to take the role of the "other," and encourage an authentic learning experience (Mezirow 1997). Few studies, however, have examined transformative approaches wherein students examine heterosexist ideologies. This…

The premise underlying this article is that identifying and using the "five practices model" can make discussions of cognitively challenging tasks more manageable for teachers. By giving teachers a roadmap that they can follow before and during whole-class discussions, these practices have the potential for helping teachers more effectively…

This study examined the effects of five types of teacher directions (verbal, nonverbal, verbal with physical assistance, nonverbal with physical assistance, and physical assistance) on student responses. Seven elementary school teachers and their students participated. Although the most common type of direction was verbal, the most effective type…

The first days of any teacher's career leave indelible memories of trials and errors, successes and failures, and efforts to get to know one's students. No matter how many years one teaches, those first students in those first classes stand apart in a teacher's mind. In this article, the author shares his insights and realizations regarding his…

A 44 item questionnaire and free response instrument was given to 280 students selected from two different kinds of educational psychology courses: (1) a "module" approach involving selection of three 5-week modules from a list of such courses; and (2) a specially prepared composite learning and development course covering 1 semester. The purpose…

Teachers' attitudes, whether positive or negative, toward their subject and their work have an impact on student learning. (JD)

A study investigated the effectiveness of various combinations of teacher expertise and teacher-audience similarity in improving the nutrition knowledge and attitudes of high school students in Kenya, East Africa. Both teacher-audience similarity and teacher expertise were found to be important. (CJ)