As schools work to meet the ambitious Common Core State Standards in writing in the US, instructional approaches are likely to be examined (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). However, there is little research on the current state of instruction. This study was designed to…

This research aimed to investigate the use of picture books by preschool teachers to instruct environmental concepts and their influence on resource saving by children. The study adopted qualitative research as a method to investigate 11 children aged 5-6 years in Taiwan. In addition, we used "the environmental protector" as a main…

This study examined siblings' knowledge about the teaching concept during naturalistic teaching contexts, wherein children's communicative interactions were used as a gateway to their social understanding (Turnbull, Carpendale, & Racine, 2009). Participants included 39 sibling dyads (older age group, M[subscript age] = 6;4; younger age group,…

Drawing upon research into a case study of teacher inquiry in one school in Queensland, Australia, recent theorising into professional practice, and relevant literature on teachers' learning, this article reveals the complexity and particularity of teacher inquiry processes in support of teachers' learning. Specifically, the research reveals how…

In this study, we aimed to evaluate further the functioning and structuring of the semantic system in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We analyzed the performance of 19 high-functioning young adults with ASD and a group of 20 age-, verbal IQ- and education-matched individuals with the Proactive Interference (PI) Paradigm to evaluate semantic…

Research Findings: This case study of an experienced toddler teacher resulted in the identification of 4 roles that the teacher played in mediating a culture of respect and participation in the classroom. These 4 roles contrast the roles discussed in Leavitt's (1994) ethnographic study "Power and Emotion in Infant-Toddler Day Care." I…

The combination of mathematics and reading in family reading time can positively impact children's ability to make sense of representations in both mathematics and reading. Four families volunteered to participate in this field based inquiry to learn how to integrate mathematics and reading in parent-supported activities. Four parents and their…

In this article, Betsy Potash shares the frustration she experienced as a student when working on group projects. She struggled with being a good listener and with a tendency to dominate the group projects. Teachers had not taught her how to work well in a group. During her first year as a teacher, Betsy attended a faculty retreat where she…

There are strong classroom ties between mathematics and the sciences of physics and chemistry, but those ties seem weaker between mathematics and biology. Practicing biologists realize both that there are interesting mathematics problems in biology, and that viewing classroom biology in the context of another discipline could support students'…

The prevailing discourse of quality in early childhood education in Australia and internationally supports the idea that everyone, from families to educators, policymakers, researchers and politicians, wants high-quality early childhood education programs for all young children. This dominance is so pervasive that it becomes difficult to think…

The objective of the article is to determine the importance of students' identity development and self-development in the course of vocational training and identification of opportunities that the educational environment of a university for humanities may provide to develop the identity of subjects of vocational training. The leading methods of…

In this article, Mann and Pynes describe a five-day mini-project-based learning (PBL) unit about organisms and their environments that addresses the "Next Generation Science Standards" (3-LS4-3). Third-grade students were asked how they could determine which animals live in their neighborhoods. In teacher-determined collaborative groups,…

In this article we describe and interpret how two distinct layers of critical friendship were used to support a pedagogical innovation in pre-service teacher education. The innovation, "Learning about Meaningful Physical Education" (LAMPE), focuses on ways to teach future teachers to foster meaningful experiences for learners in physical…

The over-arching aim of this study was to elucidate and interpret topics that are relevant to how we understand children's experiences and creation of meaning in natural landscapes and places within these landscapes. Following two nature-kindergarten groups regularly over ten months, the data for this ethnographic study consist of constructed…

Our understanding of the transition from school to work has traditionally been underpinned by a three-stage model. This is one in which the first stage is a preparatory one, where the focus is on school, followed by a second transition stage and ending in a third stage, the successful entry to work. This is a model that has been challenged by work…