Given the important role of the affective variables in the process of learning, this paper examines ways of overcoming negative effects (i.e. anxiety, boredom) of the contextual factors. Exemplifying the uses of humor through context-specific, purpose-driven jokes, it maintains that humor can be utilized to produce a resourceful, encouraging and…

Just-in-Time Teaching (ITT) is a teaching and learning approach that combines the best features of traditional in-class instruction with the communication and resource potential available via the Web. We describe here how ITT can be used to teach biology to undergraduate and graduate level students, both science majors as well as non science…

Objective: The overall aim of the research was to investigate the approaches taken to tobacco education by primary school teachers. Setting: Research was conducted in four diverse areas of Scotland. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with primary 6 and primary 7 teachers. Questions explored the classroom issues…

As online learning continues to be utilised in diverse ways from courses being delivered fully online through to class websites used to supplement face-to-face classes, and as the technologies continue to develop, research into the effectiveness of this mode of online delivery needs to be an ongoing process. These research findings need to be fed…

Early childhood teachers may express positive views about inclusive practices but are the practices implemented in their classrooms? This study examined preservice and inservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusive practices as reflected in the teachers' behaviors. This qualitative study utilized open-ended initial interviews, observations with…

The benefits of play in the learning and development of young children has long been recognized by researchers and early childhood educators. As new teachers face the challenges of increasingly diverse classrooms, in an increasingly demanding political climate, the potential of play has implications for teacher educators who prepare those new…

The article is a report on a development project arising from collaboration between the Department of Education in the University of Oulu, the university training school in Oulu, and some secondary schools in Northern Finland. The key aims of the project have been to promote the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teacher…

Drawing inspiration from Shulman's (1986) construct of pedagogical content knowledge, we propose that leadership content knowledge is a missing paradigm in the analysis of school and district leadership. After defining leadership content knowledge as that knowledge of academic subjects that is used by administrators when they function as…

The experiences of a chemistry professor and a physics professor at a regional branch campus of Penn State University are described. In both instances, the faculty members had previously served as teaching assistants at a research intensive institution, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The unique pedagogical struggles involved in…

Online teaching and learning has been in transition for its entire existence. The number of courses offered at a distance has grown rapidly. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (Waits & Lewis, 2003), in 2000-2001 more than 56% of four-year colleges and universities in the United States offered distance education degree…

According to the Committee on the Foundations of Educational Assessment, traditional educational assessment does a reasonable job of measuring knowledge of basic facts, procedures and proficiency of an area of the curriculum. However, the traditional approach fails to capture the breadth and richness of knowledge and cognition. Such a concern…

Sixteen seventh and eighth graders previously identified as having behavioral problems earned significantly higher post-test scores on a test of REBT concepts immediately after participation in a Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) training program, and this knowledge was retained after an 8-week follow-up period (p less than 0.01).…

This paper reports on an early childhood technology project that has been conducted in Australia since 2000. The background to the project is that IBM extended their international KidSmart Early Learning program to the Asia-Pacific region. A partnership with the Australian National Schools Network was formed to implement the program in Australia.…

Background: Coaching, as related to improving others' sporting experience and/or performance, at any level is unquestionably a complex business. General agreement exists that the dynamic and intricate nature of the work in teaching, guiding and managing others in this regard precludes any paint-by-number plans that practitioners can easily follow.…

This article reports on findings from "action research" pilot projects in four Tasmanian primary schools. The projects focused on the provision of professional learning to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. These pilot projects used an approach developed from observations of…