Reading is an essential part of science literacy, yet teachers often face challenges in incorporating reading in science classrooms. In this article, the authors share how they brought reading back into their science classrooms. They designed four quarterly reading projects with yearlong literacy routines that they used successfully with their…

This chapter argues that liberal learning can be transformative and foster students' intellectual and ethical development only if we consider its development underpinnings and pedagogic strategies that illustrate that the skills of academic inquiry are the skills of personal development. (Contains 1 note.)

To explore issue-specific barriers to teaching environmental issues, the authors investigated secondary science teachers' perceived current and preferred teaching levels for 23 environmental issues and perceived barriers to teaching the selected issues. Subjects in this graduate project were 41 secondary science teachers self-selected to answer a…

The science achievement of 226 5th graders from districts that have a kit-based inquiry science curriculum supported by intensive professional development (PD) is compared with data from a group of 173 5th graders from other districts that use nonkit science materials and do not have systematic science PD for teachers. Within the kit-based…

This study investigated whether there was a significant difference between multiple intelligence instruction (MII) and traditionally designed science instruction (TDSI) on fourth grade students' understanding of concepts associated with the "Diversity of Living Things" unit. Students' intelligence types were also examined. There were two…

This paper describes the outcomes of a two-day Higher Education focus group meeting at Blencathra Field Centre, Cumbria, in November 2003. A review of the current status of fieldwork in undergraduate courses was undertaken. The data available indicates that although the number of students enrolling in Biological Science courses has increased, in…

This study quantitatively analyzed the structure of Reading Recovery lessons for children with hearing loss by examining and comparing the supportive interactions of three Reading Recovery teachers of 12 children with hearing loss and three Reading Recovery teachers of 12 hearing children. All of the children were in the second year of primary…

This paper is the latest installment in a series that is designed to bridge the gap between teaching and practice by developing classroom applications based on a current research article from the "American Sociological Review". We discuss the ways in which a recent "ASR" paper on child care fatalities can be used to help students explore Burawoy's…

This is a study of a reform effort to improve mathematics achievement in an elementary school through a partnership with a university. The partnership involved collaborating with university faculty to provide and plan research based professional development. The purposes of the study were to determine if the instructional practices of the teachers…

The purpose of this study was to examine how a Web-based software program impacted lower elementary students' composition of personal narratives when using a supported paragraph activity. The subjects in this experiment were first and second grade students in a multi-age classroom in a low socio-economic urban community. The participants were…

Purpose: Policymakers and administrators are increasingly focusing on professional development as a means to improve teaching quality. In this study, the authors examine whether professional development in mathematics is primarily performing an educative function by addressing weak teacher preparation, or a catalytic function by serving mainly…

To undertake rigorous research in biology and ecology, students must be able to pose testable hypotheses, design decisive studies, and analyse results using suitable statistics. Yet, few biology students excel in topics involving statistics and most attempt to evade optional courses in research methods. Over the last few years, we have developed…

The effect of educational technologies on learning is an area of active interest. We conducted an experiment to compare the impact of instructional software on student performance. We hypothesize that some of the impact on student performance may reflect the influence of the technology on student subject-related beliefs and that those beliefs may…

This study investigated the impact of cognitive organizers, with the integration of technology, Inspiration 6 software, compared to a traditional textbook instruction format on content-area learning in high school inclusive social studies classes. Twenty-nine tenth-grade students in general education and 20 students with mild disabilities were…

This paper reports the results of two interventions involving the integrated study of mathematics and technology practice to girls in Years 6 and 7. The focus of the study was to look at factors that contributed to girls' disengagement with mathematics study and seek pedagogical solutions for this. The key mathematics concepts embedded in the two…