This research project is a qualitative study of 4 White female elementary school teachers working in an urban school district populated by primarily Mexican American students. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documents. This study examines the perceptions, beliefs, and life experiences of White female teachers…

Background: School-based interventions are critical for enhancing the health of youth. The "Goals for Health (GFH)" school-based project was a goal-setting and life-skills intervention conducted in rural areas to increase self-efficacy, knowledge, and positive behaviors related to healthy eating. The intervention was peer-led with high…

The Community of Inquiry Framework is based on the premise that online learning is a collaborative constructivist activity. However, not all courses are similarly oriented. In general, courses can be divided into constructivist and objectivist. In constructivist courses, learners develop solutions to problems through sustained discourse and…

Because diversity is a fact of life in our rapidly changing, complex, and interdependent world, appreciating diversity is essential. This resource goes beyond teaching tolerance and understanding of diversity. It gives educators the tools for teaching children to value the differences between people. Using literature as a springboard, educators…

Contributors to this collection of essays describe how they address issues of race, gender, and class in their college courses as they attempt to ensure that their curricula and class discussions represent the perspectives of all students. Essays include: (1) "Introduction" (Kathryn Giesmar and Guitele Nicoleau); (2) "Dialogue…

Reviews theory and research on various aspects of prosocial development, discusses curricula designed to increase the ability of young children to behave in prosocial ways, and lists six factors that can be used to facilitate children's prosocial development. (RH)

Literature on children's drawing was reviewed for the purpose of illuminating issues of developmental stages, differences in development, perceptual problems, and instructional methods that influence learning in children's drawings. A glossary of terms used in the literature was compiled. Conclusions were drawn from the studies reviewed with a…

Examined effects of teacher-imposed structure versus child-initiated structure on the writing of children in kindergarten through third-grade. While females favored child structure, males showed more developmentally advanced characteristics when writing with teacher structure. (Author/BB)

As dropout and student disengagement rates reach alarmingly high levels, learning styles theory offers one way to expand teaching methods and curricula to reach more students. Although accommodating individual differences is appealing, nagging doubts and murky research results (detailed in a sidebar) persist. Another sidebar explores culture/style…

The introductory Interpersonal Communication course is designed to increase student understanding of the communication process and the personal variables that affect that process in relationships. Understanding differences, be they cultural, gender, racial, and ethnic, will greatly enhance students' abilities for successful interaction. Of…

Mother Tongue Instruction has been a debatable issue since long. There may be two options in the medium of instruction: either to teach especially primary and preprimary schoolchildren in their own mother tongue or continue using second or foreign language as the medium of instruction. Both of the approaches bear some pros and cons. This article…

There are many factors influence the level of students' achievement in education. Studies show that one of these factors is "learning approach of a student". Research findings generally have identified two approaches of learning: deep and surface. When a student uses the deep approach, he/she has an intrinsic interest in subject matter and is…

This working paper explores contemporary research related to methods for teaching reading in Spanish and English in bilingual, foreign language, and English as a second language (ESL) classrooms. Changes stemming from innovations in research and learning are identified and a table is provided to compare methods of teaching reading in Spanish and…

We examine the argument that teaching will be more effective if adapted to individuals--what we call the interaction/adaptation hypothesis. What is likely correct about this hypothesis (but needs more research) is that modality of instruction may need to be adapted to certain types of content (e.g., geometry vs. literature) or to domain of…