Educators in professional degree programs are charged with multiple responsibilities in the classroom and in practice settings. We apply our professional knowledge in a variety of settings to serve our communities; we reflect on how to improve practice from our experiences in these settings; we observe our students engaging in learning experiences…

Many academic libraries have embraced the concept of the information commons or the learning commons. These library spaces consist of collections of tools, services and programs intended to enhance the student learning experience. According to Scott Bennett (2008), an information commons supports learning, while the learning commons…

This article describes a learning experience designed for teachers of children in primary classrooms (K-3) who are taking graduate courses. The learning experience offers new insights into the different ways young children encounter math in their natural, playful environment. Through a hands-on workshop approach, the students engaged in firsthand…

This study investigated second language metalinguistic knowledge, or explicit knowledge about the second language, in English-speaking university-level learners of German and Spanish. The status of metalinguistic knowledge in relation to the individual difference variables of language-learning aptitude, working memory for language, and…

Multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) like Second Life present unparalleled opportunities to help students connect knowledge by description to knowledge by experience; in a MUVE, students can experience phenomena rather than only reading about them. Baba Kofi Weusijana, Vanessa Svihla, Drue Gawel, and John Bransford describe their use of a maze…

Within a sociocultural frame, teacher knowledge finds its origin in the entirety of teachers' lived experiences, not just those experiences within teacher preparation. Teachers' biographies, including their experiences as language learners, shape their knowledge base for teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). This study…

Digital video is a growing and important presence in student learning. This paper reports the results of a survey of American educators in Michigan (n = 426) conducted in spring 2008. The survey included questions about educators' attitudes toward the streaming and downloadable video services available to them in their schools. The survey results…

By 2010, all children at Key Stage 2 in England will be entitled to learn primary foreign languages (PFL); indeed PFL is now set to become part of the core primary curriculum. This policy is not uncontroversial. A number of studies have established the high levels of motivation that can be engendered among younger learners of modern foreign…

All primary school children in England are to be entitled to learn a foreign language by 2010, based on the belief that an early start is beneficial for language learning in the long run. However, the evidence of the benefits of an early start is inconclusive, and it is also unclear what type of curriculum and pedagogy would be most appropriate…

Students participating in summer research internships at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park kept electronic journals to document their experiences. We used a combined content analysis to quantify the responses from the students in particular areas of interest and to understand the essence of experiences from the explanations provided in their…

Much geographical scholarship on teaching and learning details the intellectual, technical and personal benefits stemming from residential field course offerings, reflecting characteristics of constructivist active learning. With the sustainability of these offerings in question given logistical and political issues, there is greater demand for…

As schools in English-speaking countries become increasingly diverse, there are new and increasing opportunities for students to engage in intercultural conversations. Although such conversations have the potential to enrich the learning experience of all in the classroom, difficulties of understanding are likely to arise. The challenge is to…

Classroom exercises and role-playing activities that culminate in performance are invaluable instructional tools that stimulate active student responses to the aesthetic, emotional or intellectual content of literary texts and, ultimately, enrich a student's learning experience. The basic principles of classroom performance are to provide a…

This Field Note presents a follow-up to a pilot study that explored pre-field placement anxiety for 1st-year MSW students. Previous studies report that students experience significant anxiety as they anticipate their field placement, and research indicates that anxiety has the potential to affect learning. A sample of 204 students reported…

Is the short-term study abroad experience, particularly when undertaken with a self-contained group of international students such as on a "semester abroad programme" accredited by a US university, little more than glorified tourism? This study investigates some of the ways in which a group of American students developed their…