Direct instruction teaching methods have been found to promote the acquisition of literacy in developing readers. Equally important, learning strategies that allow children to construct knowledge through active participation increase their motivation for reading and writing. This action research was designed to explore the effectiveness of direct…

Within the framework of MIT's course 1.00: Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving, this paper describes an innovative project entitled: "Studio 1.00" that integrates lectures with in-class demonstrations, active learning sessions, and on-task feedback, through the use of wireless laptop computers. This paper also describes a…

Active-learning strategies are increasingly being integrated into college-level science courses to make material more accessible to all students and to improve learning outcomes. One active-learning pedagogy, case-based learning (CBL), was developed as a way to both enhance engagement in the material and to accommodate diverse learning styles.…

This paper encourages readers to experiment with inquiry-based learning (IBL) in their courses in the interest of identifying more diverse styles of instruction, and developing a wider understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology. The aims of the paper are to unpack the meanings of IBL, describe some uses of IBL in…

This article examines Mary Budd Rowe's groundbreaking and far-reaching contributions to science education. Rowe is best known for her research on wait-time: the idea that teachers can improve the quality and length of classroom discussions by waiting at least 3 s before and after student responses. Her wait-time research grew from and helped…

A semester-long ethnography study was carried out to investigate project-based learning in a graduate software engineering course through the implementation of an Open-Source Software Development (OSSD) learning environment, which featured authentic projects, learning community, cognitive apprenticeship, and technology affordances. The study…

With the research of the relationship between inter-culture and language teaching development, people are well aware of the necessity of integrating inter-culture into language teaching. While providing the opportunity for the students to improve their intercultural communication competence, here, the research presented on the integration of…

As in many professions, elementary and secondary school teachers are expected to participate regularly in professional development activities. These activities may be intended to help teachers to learn new teaching methods, broaden their subject matter content knowledge, or stay informed of changing policies, among other purposes. Researchers have…

Discipline problems, limited resources, crowded classrooms. Teachers face many issues each day that can wear down their love of education. How can they stay focused and energized day in and day out? In this book, Joseph Ciaccio shares an approach that transformed him from a burned-out veteran teacher struggling joylessly through each day to a…

This report examines the problem of a lack of motivation in secondary mathematics students. A large percentage of our students view upper level math courses as only a means to an end. They lack self motivation and are driven by either parental concerns or the desire to score well on college entrance exams. They see very little transfer from the…

Presents a weather forecasting activity in which students experience the original view and style of weather forecasting. (YDS)

Presents a course designed to effectively utilize active learning techniques to accent a more traditional style of presenting scientific information. Uses research-based principles and techniques to facilitate active learning. (SAH)

As the pieces by Di Chiro, Plevin, and Sze in this issue have illustrated, feminist pedagogy offers a productive framework through which to explore environmental justice issues. Environmental justice issues, in turn, offer invaluable sites for feminist praxis. The mutually enriching relationship between the two fields results from their similar…

Surveys at a university in Hong Kong indicated that graduates of discrete part-time programmes perceived significantly higher development in eight out of nine graduate capabilities than their counterparts in full-time programmes. Several possible explanations are considered and rejected. The conventional view that capabilities are nurtured through…

This paper explores the use of the educational pilgrimage as an active learning strategy in the introductory world religions course. As we study pilgrimages from different religious traditions throughout the semester using Victor Turner as our theoretical guide, students also plan their own campus pilgrimage, paying homage to sites that help them…