How educators define and study school effectiveness is shaped by "policy mechanics" who attempt to define inputs that raise student achievement and by classroom culturalists who focus on implicitly modeled norms in the classroom. This article reviews how these two paths are informed by research in developing countries. (SLD)

Argues that understanding teachers' conceptions of discussion is a neglected and important issue. Reviews new insights from literacy research on text discussion; suggests how that literature provides a broader context for understanding social studies teachers' conceptions of classroom talk. Reflects on the relationship of open-forum discussion to…

Considers issues related to teachers' conceptions, the nature of classroom discussion, and future research on these topics. Addresses the role of discussion as a method of instruction and a goal of instruction. Argues that classroom discussion promotes civic competence and integration of knowledge and skills across disciplines. (DSK)

Argues that inclusion of children with disabilities into various preschool settings presents opportunities for early childhood educators to address issues of differences through the use of effective tools and teaching strategies. Suggests that a journal-type portfolio is a tool early-childhood educators can use to enhance the acceptance of…

Students' conceptions of three major artificial intelligence concepts used in the modeling of systems in science, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms were investigated before and after a higher education science course. Students initially explored their prior ideas related to the three concepts through active tasks. Then,…

This case study documents an example of inquiry learning and teaching during a summer institute for elementary and middle school teachers. A small group constructed an explanatory model for an intriguing optical phenomenon that they were observing. Research questions included: What physics thinking did the learners express? What aspects of…

Students with special learning problems, like all children, need to learn social studies. The challenge, however, is how to provide access to social studies content in a general education setting to children with mild disabilities. For at least 20 years the traditional textbook-based instructional approach has been found to be ineffective. The…

We discuss the development of an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities), based on socio-constructivist and sociocultural learning philosophies and distance education principles for the development of online wisdom communities, and the application and evaluation of the model in an online graduate course in the USA. The WisCom model…

The number of people who experience a brain injury increases every year, and 40 percent of all cases involve children (Hill, 1999). In fact, this high rate has led brain injury to become the most commonly acquired disability among children (Bigge, Best, & Heller, 2001), leading to a variety of primary disabilities that affect cognition,…

This article explores the relationship between student engagement and student self-assessment. It reports on research that has reconceptualised ways of understanding levels of student engagement among primary school learners who live in poor communities. These ways of understanding have been influential in the development of a student…

The effect of the teaching and learning environment on the development of generic capabilities was examined through a survey of 1756 undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. The survey assessed students' perceptions of the development of the six capabilities of critical thinking, self-managed learning, adaptability, problem solving,…

When elementary students collaborate in active learning projects that integrate the social studies they greatly advance their literacy skills and civic awareness. They can improve their analysis and ability to solve social problems by using reading and writing to construct knowledge about historical events. In the lessons described in this…

In the past two years, three graduate students and a senior faculty member have co-taught a participatory action research (PAR) course to undergraduate and graduate students. In this article the co-teachers advocate a set of pedagogical principles and practices in a PAR-oriented classroom that establishes congruency with community PAR projects in…

Drawing conclusions from the comparison of datasets using informal statistical inference is a challenging task since the nature and type of reasoning expected is not fully understood. In this paper a secondary teacher's reasoning from the comparison of box plot distributions during the teaching of a Year 11 (15-year-old) class is analyzed. From…

The authors present a model for teaching group at the master's level that integrates classroom with experiential group practice. The basis for this adult learning model is an understanding of addiction, a model of how people change, and an appreciation of the stages of group development. The components of the model are didactic presentation, class…