This article suggests that philosophy courses could play a key role in teacher education courses as a means of developing the critical thinking skills teachers need in the 21st-century classroom. The authors focus on: (1) Shifts in Education Standards; (2) The Value of Philosophy; and (3) Paths to Implementation. Five paths to implementation…

Rigorous and responsive science teaching is based on supporting all students in making progress in their understanding of important science ideas over time. In this article, we explore how did classroom talk patterns of funneling and focusing support student sensemaking. We share how talk, tasks, and tools within classroom activity work together…

In this paper, we discuss how we attempt to build classroom environments that are conducive to positive civil discourse. Utilizing the framework of cultural proficiency (Lindsey, Robins, and Terrell, 2009), we argue for an inside-out approach through self-exploration to help deconstruct worldviews we develop through the years. In coupling this…

A key component of interteaching, as described by Boyce and Hineline (2002), is the opportunity for students to participate in "dyadic" or pair discussions. Although the rationale for pair discussions is evident, only one study involving interteaching, to date, has evaluated the relative effectiveness of student performance when group…

Over the past seven years, we have offered a psychology book club to undergraduate and graduate students in our department. We suggest the book club provides an informal opportunity for student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction, and offers a way to engage students in critical thinking about popular psychological issues. In this…

Many students are choosing the hollow promise of a trophy at the expense of learning. At a time when students are expecting the grade of "A" for simply "checking the boxes" required of them, there is a need for an explanation for why this is not a mindset for best-practice in the professional arena. This paper describes an…

One way to recognize how mathematical lessons can be stimulating for children is to interpret them as stories. If mathematical lessons follow a structure similar to that of a story, they can build anticipation, create surprise, and even generate intrigue (Egan 1988). To support the design of mathematical lessons with these types of aesthetic…

The authors represent the life cycle of the butterfly through writing, drawing, dance, and math. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States 2013) emphasize college and career readiness as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students must develop a deep understanding of science concepts and engage in scientific…

The problem of police brutality in Black and Brown communities has become a very frustrating issue. Part of the reason for exasperation lies with the fact that the country is divided when it comes to the notion of responsible policing. This became apparent when the "Black Lives Matter" movement was quickly met by obstinate supporters of…

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the use of ePortfolio as context for discussion and reflection in improving students' scientific explanation after laboratory activities. Method: This action research study aimed to solve the limitation of the undergraduate laboratory course in fundamental biology course by using available free source of…

This paper describes the experiences of four diverse faculty, representing chemistry, education, faculty development, and entrepreneurship, who participated in a voluntary reading circle to discuss teaching and learning in higher education. We provide examples of how our circle shared pedagogical ideas, engaged in collaborative scholarly projects,…

This article describes the results of a study that investigated the effect of features of talk that appear to foster higher levels of interaction, within the scope of a larger study (Davies and Meissel in Br Educ Res J 42:342-365, 2016). Students were recruited from seven classrooms across three secondary schools of varying socioeconomic levels…

Language, which plays a special role for the learning of mathematics, is investigated in this article for the specific discourse practice of explaining during whole-class discussions: On the one hand, explaining is a medium for learning since school cannot be thought of without communication. On the other hand, students at the beginning of…

This research investigates various purposes of teacher discourse moves essential to orchestrate dialogic discourse in secondary science classrooms. Data collected includes classroom observations and teacher interviews of two teachers teaching in an Indian school setting, whose classroom practices subscribed to a dialogic framework. A discursive…

Drawing on research from online, knowledge-building, and discussion-based learning, this design-based experiment captures the instructional moves theorized to develop student capacity in progressive, literary discourse. The experiment employed Knowledge Forum and its unique capacity to scaffold student learning of progressive discourse that…