In "Death in the Classroom", Jeffrey Berman writes about Love and Loss, the course that he designed and taught two years after his wife's death, in which he explored with his students the literature of bereavement. Berman, building on his previous courses that emphasized self-disclosing writing, shows how his students wrote about their…

Lack of class preparation by students is an impediment to establishing an active-learning classroom community. Participation Preparation Assignments encourage students to complete assigned reading and to work with relevant concepts in active ways even before arriving in class. The author presents empirical data (both objective and attitudinal)…

Assigned textbook readings are a common requirement in undergraduate courses, but students often do not complete reading assignments or do not do so until immediately before an exam. This may have detrimental effects on learning and course performance. Regularly scheduled quizzes on reading material may increase completion of reading assignments…

Using a data set specifically tailored to homework research, with a sample of 1275 students from 70 classes in Switzerland, the association between homework and achievement in French as a second language was tested at three levels (class level, between-student level, and within-student level). The strength and direction of the homework-achievement…

This research investigated how student social interactions within two approaches to an inquiry-based science curriculum could be related to student motivation and achievement outcomes. This qualitative case study consisted of two cases, Off-Campus and On-Campus, and used ethnographic techniques of participant observation. Research participants…

This study evaluated the effects of a short-term professional development session. Forty volunteer high school biology teachers were randomly assigned to one of two professional development conditions: (a) developing deep content knowledge (i.e., control condition) or (b) evaluating student errors and understanding in writing samples (i.e.,…

There has been an exponential growth in online courses offered at the high school level but little evidence as to whether they are as effective as face-to-face courses. It has become critical to understand and evaluate the effectiveness of online education in order to reap the benefits and reduce the drawbacks of contrasting learning modes. The…

A study was carried out to assess the assessment procedures used at one Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution in Zimbabwe. The study focused on the views and perceptions of current and former students of the university. The study also analyzed some documents on assessment procedures at the university. The study used the qualitative…

Students learn mathematics more effectively and more deeply when reading and writing is directed at learning mathematics. Although reading and writing in mathematics may necessitate more skills and practice to master, the mathematical learning derived from reading and writing mathematics far outweighs the burden it places on teachers and students.…

Effective teaching in schools requires flexibility, energy and commitment. Successful teaching also requires that teachers are able to address learner's needs and understand the variations in learner's styles and approaches. Teachers can accomplish these requirements while creating an optimal teaching-learning environment by utilizing a variety of…

Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR), a web-based instructional tool developed as part of the National Science Foundation reform initiatives in undergraduate science education, allows instructors to incorporate multiple writing assignments in large courses without overwhelming the instructor. This study reports successful implementation of CPR in a…

(Purpose) The purpose of this study was to describe secondary preservice teachers' (N = 113) past favorite writing experiences and its implications for including writing in their future instruction. (Methodology) Data was collected through a survey and drawings. (Results) Preservice teachers' written answers were helpful to inform specifically…

Use formative assessment to dramatically improve your students' writing. In "Successful Student Writing Through Formative Assessment", educator and international speaker Harry G. Tuttle shows you how to guide middle and high school students through the prewriting, writing, and revision processes using formative assessment techniques that work.…

I have submitted a paper about the course work I learned in the spring semester of my graduate course. The title of the class is Using the Internet in the Classroom. Throughout the semester we learned about various tools and the technology students have been using to help strengthen their learning experience. My paper discusses the specific…

The characteristics of written comments on assignments as well as the process of writing them were studied. Interviews to three case-study middle school students, observation of lessons and content analysis of their assignments show that features that promote learning are: comments located next to what needs revision must be reviewed; use of…