Investigated what physical education (PE) student teachers observed and responded to during secondary PE instruction. Videotapes of eight PE student teachers in the classroom and audiotapes of discussions with their university supervisors about teaching events indicated that they had developed observational and analysis skills in three areas:…

Presents a lesson plan for grade 5 social studies in which small groups of students use computers and three software programs to develop geography skills (latitude, longitude, compass reading, plotting courses on maps), create their own continents, and keep a five-day journal of exploration. Includes examples of student work. (PEN)

Presents a lesson plan in which students use an encyclopedia to research a famous person. Identifies library media skills objectives, curriculum (subject area objectives), grade levels (4 and 5), resources, instructional roles, activity and procedures for completion, evaluation guidelines, and follow-up activities. Includes a sample worksheet.…

A best practices checklist is provided to assist special education teachers in self-evaluation and peer evaluation, and assist administrators in providing feedback to teachers. The checklist covers introducing the lesson, presenting the lesson, encouraging student participation, and providing corrective feedback. Each area identifies specific…

A study of 43 student teachers of science studying lesson planning found that students working in partnership with a supervising teacher achieved 12% higher gains than teachers working entirely at a university and that teachers using computer-mediated delivery achieved 15% higher gains than those using traditional delivery methods. (PEN)

This instructional design looks at momentum in physics through railroading, to assist students in developing appropriate mental models that will enable them to solve problems relevant to the process or principle being taught. A PEAnet (process, entity, activity network) relationship enables an instructional visualization (simulation) in which…

Describes the Web-based database project developed by school library media specialists (SLMSs) in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The database houses lessons created by more than 30 elementary SLMSs in the district, and is accessible online. The database project is composed of two sections: Literature Appreciation and Information Skills. (AEF)

In order for students to understand genetics and evolution, they must first understand the structure of the DNA molecule. The function of DNA proceeds from its unique structure, a structure beautifully adapted for information storage, transcription, translation into amino acid sequences, replication, and time travel. The activity described in this…

This article describes a lesson in which students construct Bohr's planetary model of the atom. Niels Bohr's atomic model provides a framework for discussing with middle and high school students the historical development of our understanding of the structure of the atom. The model constructed in this activity will enable students to visualize the…

Business students are typically introduced to the concept of process management in their introductory course on operations management. A very important learning outcome here is an appreciation that the management of processes is a key to the management of quality. Some of the related concepts are qualitative, such as strategic and behavioral…

This paper traces the professional growth of science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago through their involvement in the production of context-based resource materials relevant to the lives of their students during workshop sessions. Grounded theory methods were used to analyse pre- and post-workshop questionnaire responses, tape-recorded group…

For more than 20 years, the American public has grown accustomed to the drumbeat of bad news about their schools. Poor performance on standardized tests, gaps in achievement between minority and white students, and high student drop-out rates have become part of the modern lexicon. Although college- and university-level science educators are not…

This paper reports the design and evaluation of small-scale teaching interventions addressing the epistemology of science as part of the regular high school science courses followed by English students. Although there is a growing consensus that the curriculum should include aspects of the nature of science, there is a limited body of knowledge…

This qualitative study examined the formidable and unanticipated challenges encountered by teachers at a new urban charter school during the first year. These teachers--who largely were novices to urban education--worked diligently to motivate and teach the children--many of whom resisted classroom learning because of their frustrations in schools…

We present an automated system that allows students to replay both audio and video from a large nonmajors' organic chemistry class as streaming RealMedia. Once established, this system requires no technical intervention and is virtually transparent to the instructor. This gives students access to online class review at any time. Assessment has…