A study of Head Start preschoolers and families suggests emergent literacy is supported by the Home Based Reading Project, but only when teachers teach parents strategies in simple language, offer a library of quality books, and provide materials highlighting reading practices and effective literacy interactions. Parents play a crucial role in…

Advances in information and communication technologies give us the ability to reach out beyond the time and place limitations of the traditional classroom. However, effective online teaching is more than just transferring traditional courses to the World Wide Web (WWW). We describe how we have used "off the shelf" software and the infrastructure…

This article describes a process called "Photovoice," originally developed by Carolyn Wang and Mary Ann Burris (1997) in the field of public health, and illustrates how thirteen students with disabilities in three high schools used cameras and text to show and tell how they engage or fail to engage in their education. This article indicates a…

This paper describes an experimental study aimed at investigating the learning effectiveness of a Web-based course called "Academic English" (EAP) for Japanese learners of English. The main focus of the study was to examine the form, function, and impact of interaction in the course. Twenty university-level EFL students participated in…

Hybrid learning, or blended learning, has become an interesting learning delivery method in recent years. Many universities have sought to develop their own hybrid learning courses as another option for students and instructors who prefer to replace some portion of traditional face-to-face meeting time with online instruction. This paper provides…

This document gives anecdotal stories of child art making along with philosophical interpretations for art teaching application. Art making is seen as experimental. It progresses from action to intentional mark making, naming, symbolic representation, and finally to "presence", an aesthetic creation experience that combines seeing and…

This paper argues that collaborative learning is possible within graduate education and examines the process whereby a classroom can develop into a unified learning community of shared experiences. Using excerpts of student writings and dialogue, three aspects surrounding the creation of a learning community are explored: (1) the risk of trust,…

Few studies have explored the work of successful beginning teachers in diverse settings. This investigation follows one promising young, white elementary teacher through her student teaching in the inner city of Washington, D.C. and into her first year of teaching in a suburban, diverse Virginia school. Seven themes articulate her journey into…

Discussion focuses on teachers' beliefs and values as they relate to working with young children. Specific attention is given to (1) whether the reported blurring of the boundaries between child-life and adult-life has affected the education of young children; (2) parental pressure to provide very young children with persistently optimal…

This paper focuses on the philosophical implications of assessment methodologies by describing problems that occurred during internship programs for school administrators in Louisiana. A state conference internship's guidelines lacked a formalized learning contract for participants. At the time, more teachers sought access to administrative…

The premises, methodologies, and applications of synergogy, a new approach to education and training, are discussed. The synergogic approach allows members of small teams to learn from one another through structured interactions. After examining education within the context of human relationships, consideration is given to the way that the…

This paper is the result of a research project that set out to document a group of adolescent musicians in a rural Australian secondary school as they wrote and performed their own music. The processes they developed are reflective of a cooperative approach to group composition where upwards of 21 students composed and "jammed" their way…

The design of computer-­based learning environments has undergone a paradigm shift; moving students away from instruction that was considered to promote technical rationality grounded in objectivism, to the application of computers to create cognitive tools utilized in constructivist environments. The goal of the resulting computer-­based learning…

Youth programs that meet during the out-of-school hours, particularly those offered by organizations that have historically collaborated with their community members to support their interests and meet their needs, are in a unique position. These programs have the potential for and a history of engaging young people in experiences that can…

This fourth in a series of ten learning modules on school-community relations is designed to give secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers skills in making decisions concerning the audience to be served, the phase of the vocational program to be featured, the promotional approach to be utilized, and in planning, designing, organizing, and…