The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) reaffirms that an excellent education in social studies is essential to civic competence and the maintenance and enhancement of a free and democratic society. Thus, NCSS advocates that students should be provided with a social studies experience at all grade levels PK-12. In grades PK-5, every…

The author, who teaches the English Methods class in the credential program, knew from entries in students' Writer's Reader's Notebooks (Rief) that they were struggling with the articles assigned about a five-paragraph essay. Following a discussion of form-first instruction and CCSS assessments, this article provides concrete suggestions for…

In the course of a typical week of graduate study, which interactions with faculty are meaningful to students? Having previously studied meaningful academic relationships, we wanted to focus specifically on the incident level of interactions between students and faculty. We wanted to record not only the obviously significant conversations but also…

Teachers routinely report that they feel pressured to teach to standardized assessments. Narrowing the curriculum may help students succeed on standardized assessments, but it rarely leads to long-lasting academic success. Authentic, relevant, and rigorous instruction in newcomer English learner (EL) classrooms, however, can create long-term…

This paper explores the value of writing journals for both students and teachers beyond English lessons and without insistence on evidencing writing progress. Keeping a journal or undertaking regular reflective writing is an unfamiliar experience for some students, and schools may offer limited privacy for writing. Used in a comprehensive school…

This article explores three ways a teacher incorporated text sets into her seventh-grade classroom to foster authentic inquiry. Student reflections suggest this approach helped them cultivate questioning, researching, and cooperative learning skills that became lasting habits of inquiry and helped them succeed on core tests.

This article, based on an 18-month study of effective writing instruction amongst Year 5 to 8 students, concludes that effective implementation of three dimensions of effective practice (learning tasks; direct instruction; self-regulation) are probable key levers in generating greater than expected learner gains in writing. It further concludes…

The present study investigates the use of authentic texts (fiction and non-fiction) in 180 video-recorded language arts lessons across 46 secondary classrooms in Norway. It assesses how the texts are used and what kind of language arts-related activities and discourses students are engaging in. The study finds that a majority of the lessons do not…

The aim of this applied dissertation was to examine changes in the self-efficacy of preservice teachers on completion of a special needs course and to determine whether there is a correlation between self-efficacy and several demographic variables. Studies conducted in several countries revealed that, despite participation in a special needs…

This activity report describes two cases of Language teaching for degree students in the University of Oulu with new pedagogical approaches aiming towards authentic working life skills. Co-creation, collaborative learning and cooperation across borders are the building blocks for these innovative language teaching projects. Case 1 describes…

Purpose: Early Achievements for Education Settings (EA-ES) is a teacher-implemented naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) targeting core social communication impairments. The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) was to examine promise of efficacy of this…

Task-based language assessment (TBLA) is a way of providing information about language learning in authentic settings. Not only does it present language learners with a meaningful and embedded context of assessment but also promotes communication in the target language. Within the framework of TBLA, this study aims to integrate the 4th grade…

The purpose of this study was to explore award-winning instructors' insights on elements of their course design that were award-winning and the differences between expert and novice online instructors. Interviews were conducted with eight award-winning online faculty members from across the United States who had received online teaching awards…

In this paper, we describe the use of ePortfolios at a public, land-grant university and document how the ePortfolio has been used to develop more authentic learning experiences. We discuss the best practices for ePortfolios and its varied use as a teaching and learning tool. In addition, we discuss the challenges of implementing ePortfolios. For…

Educational simulations provide students authentic contexts. These authentic contexts require situated and complex real-world arguments. Such writing scenarios help students recognize why there are often multiple interpretations of evidence, who their audience is, what they want, and what kind of genre is needed. Playable Case Studies help…