Outlines a case study of how one teacher attempted to incorporate strategy training into his secondary school English reading classes. The teacher attempted strategy training in questioning, clarifying, and predicting strategies and vocabulary recognition techniques for less proficient English students with mixed success. The teacher was…

Explores how the physical condition and design of school facilities can shape a child's learning experience. Discusses school environments' connection to asthma, heating and ventilation problems, noise problems, full-spectrum lighting, trends in teaching methods requiring different building designs, optimum school size, portable classrooms, and…

Examines the history of the homeschooling movement in the United States, the reasons parents choose to homeschool their children, the general profile of homeschoolers, and the responsibility that public libraries and librarians have in serving the homeschooling population. Suggests ways librarians can better serve homeschoolers. (AEF)

Profiles the activities of a third-grade class that used role playing to understand the functions and components of the federal government. Describes learning activities simulating (1) representatives of the people, (2) the legislative branch, (3) the judicial branch, (4) the executive branch, (5) political parties, and (6) political campaigns.…

Finds that the life and writings of Thomas Merton can be quite appealing to high school and college students because he embodies and articulates the dynamic activity of God's call in his life. Merton gives voice to students' struggles to find meaning and to their difficulties in expressing their experiences of grace in their lives. (VWC)

Gifted elementary students need exposure to advanced concepts and materials without being segregated from classmates. Educators should avoid labeling students as gifted; assign independent projects, real-world problems, and high-quality literature; promote guided exploration and self-discovery; consider alternative settings; and find suitable…

Because most language teaching in China is focused on national tests, language is treated as a knowledge subject and development of communicative abilities is often ignored. This article describes activities that one English-as-a-Foreign-Language teacher used to teach oral English to university students in China. (Author/VWL)

Describes the pedagogical approaches of 4 Grade 9 core French teachers and compares students' results on tests of general French proficiency and achievement tests, based on the objectives of a multidimensional project-based instructional unit used by all 4 teachers. Observation data suggest that the teachers were implementing this approach in very…

Reports a study that describes and classifies actual teaching practices used by 18 English-as-Second-Language teachers in Australian classrooms. Data were collected through observations of three lessons and subsequent interviews with the teacher. Almost 300 individual practices were identified. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the contribution that joint instruction by a native-speaking teacher and a nonnative-speaking teacher can make to classroom language learning. Reviews the last decade's team-teaching practice in Japanese secondary English-as-Foreign-language classrooms to explore how two teachers with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds can…

Presents case studies of four college students applying new study strategies, taught and demonstrated in class during one semester, to improve reading and learning. Finds that students need to see a correlation between a study strategy and their final grade before they will utilize deep-level study strategies in place of surface-level strategies.…

The use of experiential approaches to teach social welfare policy suggests that such methods may increase undergraduate social work students' knowledge of and skill in working on social and economic justice issues. This article compares 2 such methods using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first teaches social welfare policy as a…

The particulate nature of matter is identified in science education standards as one of the fundamental concepts that students should understand at the middle school level. However, science education research in indicates that secondary school students have difficulties understanding the structure of matter. The purpose of the study is to describe…

Language and literacy are situated in specific classroom contexts and are acquired as students engage with the subject matter and tasks of these courses. Therefore, all faculty--not just those who teach courses devoted to teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL)--are responsible for contributing to multilingual students' acquisition…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in the sciences are a common feature of U.S. universities that have a prominent mission of research. During the past 2 decades, increased attention has been paid to the professional development of GTAs as instructors. As a result, universities have created training programs to assist GTAs in selecting…