This study investigated student engagement in class discussions in a university-level, literature-based writing class. The research questions were 1) Does multiple-source learning provide a new lens for the observation of reflective teaching and learning practices? 2) Is there evidence that shows that the practices adopted by one teacher actually…

Applying concepts from lower grades, the author applies whole-group differentiation concepts to middle and high school, showing teachers how it is possible to differentiate within the whole-group setting in which many educators are comfortable. By allowing everyone to participate in the same activities at different levels of complexity or mastery,…

Assessment for learning is any assessment for which the first priority is the promotion of pupils' learning. The purpose of this current study was to explore the extent to which science teachers use assessment for learning when they teach biology in secondary classes. A year-long study with nine secondary science teachers in four schools in the…

Background: There is much support for using cooperative methods, since important instructional aspects, such as elaboration of new information, can easily be realized by methods like "jigsaw." However, the impact of providing students with additional help like a questioning training and potential limitations of the method concerning the (minimum)…

Students rarely ask questions related to course content in large-format introductory classes. The use of a Web-based forum devoted to student-generated questions was explored in a second-semester introductory biology course. Approximately 80% of the enrolled students asked at least one question about course content during each of three semesters…

Research suggests that children's understanding of text can be improved by the explicit teaching of those comprehension strategies that are used implicitly by skilled readers, particularly the use of self-regulating strategies to generate questions about text. This study of the teaching of comprehension in 51 London Key Stage 2 classrooms explores…

The structure of the national numeracy strategy (1999) has ensured that whole-class teaching has become a significant feature of the primary mathematics lesson. It is the section of the lesson where children are introduced to new mathematics and therefore there is a need to make it effective. In this article, the author describes her small-scale…

In an investigation of discourse sensitivity, Catalan-speaking children aged 4 to 8 years were asked two different questions in a picture description task. One was a wide-focus question ("What is happening?"); the other was a narrow-focus question ("What is happening to 'the patient'?"). Children of all age groups displayed sensitivity to the…

This study investigated the link between college students' perceptions of instructors' aggressive communication and students' involvement in and out of the classroom. Participants were 218 students enrolled in introductory communication courses. Results indicated that students' reports of instructor argumentativeness were not positively associated…

This study examined the effectiveness of a Question Exploration Routine and associated graphic organizer for enhancing the performance of students of diverse abilities when assessed on knowledge and comprehension of content and quality of written responses. Participants were 36 students with and without learning disabilities (LD) in Grades 9…

Pedagogical strategies have been experimentally applied in large-enrollment biology courses in an attempt to amplify what teachers do best in effecting deep learning, thus more closely approximating a one-on-one interaction with students. Carefully orchestrated in-class formative assessments were conducted to provide frequent, high-quality…

The purpose of this study was to determine parent perceptions of the efficacy of the use of three forms of electronic school-home communication used by faculty and staff in a rural high school in southern Georgia--e-mail, PowerSchool, and School Messenger. An anonymous survey instrument containing Likert scale questions, yes/no questions, and…

A study determined the levels of comprehension generated by questions accompanying the stories in new basal readers. A sample of 200 questions, 100 randomly selected from each of the 2 most widely used third-grade series (the Scott Foresman series "Celebrate Reading" and the McGraw-Hill series "A New View"), were analyzed for…

The ideas presented in this brochure are for teachers interested in creating opportunities for students to pose questions during literature-based discussions, in heterogeneous whole group and peer-only discussions. The brochure notes that the method is a highly motivating way to conduct discussions because students of all reading abilities can…

Previous research has suggested that many elementary school teachers have a firmer understanding of addition and subtraction concepts than they have of more complex topics in elementary mathematics, such as division. In this study, (n=24) prospective elementary teachers' understanding of aspects of division involving remainders was explored by…