What does informal formative assessment look like in the context of scientific inquiry teaching? Is it possible to identify different levels of informal assessment practices? Can different levels of informal assessment practices be related to levels of student learning? This study addresses these issues by exploring how 4 middle school science…

This paper argues that the widespread approach to enhancing student learning through separate study skills courses is ineffective, and that the term "study skills" itself has misleading implications, which are counterproductive to learning. The main argument is that learning how to study effectively at university cannot be separated from…

This article describes how Everyday Mathematics, a new program that is being used for kids at all levels across the US, is now a part of a curriculum change in the New York City school system. Instead of teaching standard ways to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and long division and then drilling students with worksheets, teachers…

In this article, the author discusses how to stop running out of time for writing across the curriculum and features the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory that helps low-performing schools improve writing by incorporating writing instruction across the curriculum. The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's systemic work to…

In authoritative teaching methods, whereby the teacher controls the social interaction and other classroom activities, the actions of many children are often in response to what they perceive to be the teacher's expectations and the requirements of traditional school evaluation practices, such as examinations and tests. In this kind of school…

I created a newsgroup with Yahoo Groups and invited all male and female colleagues at the College of Languages and Translation to register. The aims of the newsgroup were to share college news, discuss academic issues and student and faculty problems, learn about each other's publications and academic activities. Although messages were sent to the…

This paper reports a small-scale investigation into the differences in learning behaviour exhibited by members of an intercultural group undertaking an online course on educational enquiry in support of doctoral research in education. Differences in learning behaviour can be attributed in part to the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds…

One hundred thirty-seven students in 12th grade physics classes participated in a quasi-experimental study comparing the jigsaw classroom method of cooperative instruction with traditional direct instruction. While no differences were found between the two conditions for physics achievement gains, the results revealed differences in students'…

This book provides a comprehensive review of teaching-learning models used in the development and implementation of a curriculum for gifted students. The models described were selected for their demonstrated or potential success with gifted children and their widespread use. For each model, the following types of information are provided:…

The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of teachers' implicit in-action mental models about children's minds and learning, as inferred through the ways they teach. The work was based on the theoretical works of D. Schon, L. Shulman, and P. N. Johnson-Laird. Study participants included 24 student, novice, and experienced teachers. All…

An analysis of literature on second language learning identifies four approaches in the literature, each of which can make a unique contribution to the understanding of the second language learning process, particularly as it pertains to limited-English-proficient students. The four approaches are explained and illustrated with examples from the…

This collection of 18 essays are based on sessions and keynote speeches at the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Conference held at Dyffrwn House, Cardiff (Wales) in November 1993. They represent the reworked and distilled thoughts of the presenters after they had had the experience of leading a workshop on a related topic. The…

This newsletter issue focuses on the role of parents in monitoring their children's television viewing habits. The newsletter first discusses the current status of parental concerns about the content of television programming, noting the industry's increased willingness to provide more information, and the advent of a rating system and…

This paper outlines 22 principles of practice that serve as criteria by which to judge the developmental appropriateness of an early childhood curriculum. The principles lead to the assertion that young children as learners are greatly supported when a "project approach" is used--e.g., when their early childhood education experience…

In teaching, instruction can focus on literary works as storehouses of emotion that can serve as models of how to communicate emotions to the self and others. To help students identify and articulate what they feel as they read Victorian novels, one instructor asked students to record their emotions in a journal divided with quotes on one side of…