This study explored the instructional reading practices of four elementary teachers, all graduates of a small branch campus of a large Midwestern University, who obtained their Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and have been employed in public elementary schools for nearly three years. The four individuals were former university students of…

The purpose of this study was to explore how critical pedagogy, culturally relevant curriculum, and student centered instruction impacted student engagement in reading for struggling high school readers, including first- and second-generation immigrants. The researcher/practitioner (r/p) chose to highlight Latinas in the study to understand the…

The focus of the article is on Phase I of an American-Slovenian collaborative research project that was aimed at investigating effective classroom teaching-learning performances. The international project involved Dowling College and its first Professional Development School (PDS)--the Belmont Elementary PDS--and the University of Primorska at…

In search of strategies for increasing their pre-service teachers' thoughtful engagement with content and in an effort to model connection between choice of technology and pedagogical goals, the authors utilized collaborative software during class time. Collaborative software allows all students to write simultaneously on a single collective…

The iQUEST (investigations for Quality Understanding and Engagement for Students and Teachers) project is designed to promote student interest and attitudes toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project targets seventh- and eighth-grade science classrooms that serve high percentages of Hispanic students.…

Educational researchers are accustomed to institutional review board (IRB) requirements (e.g., protecting participants) with students often identified as the only "vulnerable population" for IRB purposes. However, as practitioner research has gained more prominence, the vulnerability of teacher-researchers themselves has begun to…

This article describes an outreach program to broaden participation in computing to include more students with visual impairments. The precollege workshops target students in grades 7-12 and engage students with robotics programming. The use of robotics at the precollege level has become popular in part due to the availability of Lego Mindstorm…

The use of multimodal learning techniques is becoming more widespread, however, the pedagogical discourse surrounding its implementation into classroom and course design is complicated as these technologies are either demonized or viewed as the panacea for curriculum ills. Educators are faced with unique challenges when investigating how to…

This training guide is intended to enhance the skills of Head Start education staff so they can accurately and objectively observe, record, and interpret young children's behavior and make thoughtful decisions about program planning for each child. Each of the modules in the guide details module outcomes, key concepts, and background information.…

This list consists of 89 descriptions of methods for coding or describing activities as an observer. Included are systems for use in measuring general activity in classrooms and others for collecting data on specific events. The bibliography covers infants, grades K-12 and teacher behaviors, marital interaction, parent and child behavior, and…

An assignment was developed that requires each student in a communication class to observe the dynamic of classroom communication. In this way, both the students and the professor receive feedback about various communication roles both can take. Systematic observation systems can be defined as part of classificatory systems that record certain…

A description is given of the Descriptive Review Process, a method of analyzing a teacher's personal style in order to promote teacher development and improvement. The process combines teacher self-evaluation with evaluation by an observer and a chairperson. The emphasis of the process is on the teacher. The teacher's role in the process involves:…

The study evaluated the reliability and validity of SCAN, a measurement technique for assessing class involvement in the learning process (classroom climate for learning). Concurrent validity was investigated by comparing SCAN ratings to a point-sampling of on-task performance behaviors. The Engaged Time Observation Instrument (ETOI) was used to…

The first, theoretical section of this investigation of the dramatic process examines the function of imagination and spontaneity. This section notes that the imaginative process occurs in the preconscious and need not be limited by the external world or by memory and suggests that spontaneity, like imagination, is an intuitive response dependent…

This guide suggests an observation strategy to be used by principals or administrators to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the kindergarten program in their schools. The observation strategy is based on description and analyses of four dimensions of a learning environment: space, time, people and things. Section I contains a series of…