In order for teachers to create child-centered and emergent curriculum for their classrooms it is important for them to observe children to discover their interests and then develop investigations around these interests by using the enthusiasm, knowledge, and curiosity of the other children in the classroom. It is equally as important to allow…

In this paper I deploy a synthesis of methods I term virtual literacy ethnography to investigate the diverse literacy practices of the project Schome Park. Participants have been engaging over a 15-month period in an innovative out-of-school project centred on use of the "(Teen) Second Life" three-dimensional virtual world. Some ethical…

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…

Despite the central role of assessment in special education, there is a paucity of current research on instruments and methods used in schools. Special education directors (N = 164) in five northeastern states responded to an electronic survey related to the use of assessment instruments and methods in their districts. Data are presented regarding…

This study investigated students' motives for participating in a short-term study abroad program in Germany, their expectations about learning progress at the beginning of the program, and their perceived progress in various language skills at the end of the program. Findings indicated that students' expectations were higher than their perceived…

This paper presents situated learning as a theoretical framework for conceptualising new ways to approach science education. Key constructs associated with this framework, including communities of practice, Discourse and identity, are introduced. I advance an argument to develop classroom communities of practice based on engaged citizenship…

Lesion studies have demonstrated impairments of specific types of phonological processes. However, results from neuropsychological studies of speech sound processing have been inconclusive as to the role of specific brain regions because of a lack of a one-to-one correspondence between behavioural patterns and lesion location. Functional…

The purpose of this article is to present and investigate the current situation in Greece regarding the management of primary schools and to underline the need for reforms in the field of school administration. The coordination of the relationship between the state and schools is an issue vital for both: primarily for schools, as they require a…

In a geographical area of Stockholm, with a relatively large Somali immigrant population, parents as well as teachers in special schools and staff at habilitation centres have raised concerns over whether children with a Somali background are over-represented in the total group of children with autism. The aim of the study was, therefore, to…

Purpose: The paper seeks to examine the health risks faced when using computer-based systems by library staff in Nigerian libraries. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a survey research approach to carry out this investigation. Findings: The investigation reveals that the perceived health risk does not predict perceived ease of use of…

One of the best known numbers in mathematics is the number denoted by the symbol [pi]. This column describes activities that teachers can utilize to encourage students to explore the use of [pi] in one of the simplest of geometric figures: the circle.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate voice loudness and gender effects on jitter and shimmer in healthy young adults because previous descriptions have been inconsistent. Method: Fifty-seven healthy adults (28 women, 29 men) aged 20-40 years were included in this cross-sectional single-cohort study. Three phonations of /a/ at soft,…

In the end, six months of management reforms and the hiring of an experienced urban superintendent failed to keep the Clayton County, Georgia, school district from becoming the nation's first district in nearly four decades to have its accreditation stripped. Last week's decision by the Atlanta-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools…

As educators, we are always deciding what experiences we want to give students in order to achieve our goals of developing science process skills. One of the best ways of teaching about observation is described here. Using a hand lens and an illuminated pocket microscope, students observe an object at three different levels of…

Students enter university with ideas about their future professions. In some disciplines, the profession and the nature of professional work are well understood, while in other areas, they are more opaque. The authors investigate the ways in which students develop a sense of identity with their profession, how the nature of the profession impacts…