In a recent vote, members of the EDUCAUSE community selected the "Top Teaching and Learning Challenges" for 2009. The overlap among these challenges testifies to an emerging consensus in the thinking about learning environments in higher education. On the other hand, the fact that they remain "challenges" hints at a larger…

Over the last eight years, the primary focus in schools has been on passing standardized tests based on a core curriculum. The emphasis on learning content is in direct contrast to the world outside the school walls where the technological capability to provide access to content, i.e., information at lightning speed, already exists. In fact,…

For many years, publications such as the "National Science Education Standards" (NRC 1996) and "The Science Teacher" (TST) have encouraged teachers to focus science classes more heavily on inquiry-based instructional practice. One way to improve our teaching practice is to use a benchmark assessment to obtain a solid point of reference that…

Throughout the United States, many middle and high school students struggle to comprehend science texts for a variety of reasons. Science texts are frequently boring, focused on isolated facts, present too many new concepts at once, and lack the clarity and organization known to improve comprehension. Compounding the problem is that many…

In this volume, Joe L. Kincheloe and Randall Hewitt have gathered an impressive and scholarly group of authors who argue for the continuing importance of the philosophy of education. Reviving the notion that philosophy is an essential foundation in the study and research of education, contributors to this volume directly confront the evisceration…

Drawing from 30 years of teaching and professional development experience, this book offers a roadmap for using children's literature to provide authentic learning. Featuring a "storyteller's voice," each chapter includes a case study about how a particular fiction or nonfiction work can be used in an early childhood classroom; a series of…

The purpose of this study was to examine how five African American middle school students, who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina represent their literacy experiences before, during, and after their displacement. Specifically, the two research questions were: (a) What are the stories that these middle school students tell about their lives,…

There are many types of inquiry activities out there: Demonstrations, guided or scaffolded inquiry labs, open- or free-inquiry labs, and problem-based or project-based learning activities are all staples in science education. The importance of inquiry is highlighted in such documents as the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996) and the…

The necessity of examination of every case within its peculiar conditions in social sciences requires different approaches complying with the spirit and nature of social sciences. Multiple realities require different and various perceptual interpretations. In modern world and social sciences, interpretation of perception of valued and multi-valued…

The author discusses the Learning Futures programme, a partnership set up between the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Innovation Unit. The two organisations had previously worked together on the Musical Futures project that had involved radical new approaches to teaching and learning in secondary school music. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)

Fifty-five teacher candidates explained their ideas about the purpose of education, controversy, and balanced instruction. In a quarter-long course that focused on effective teaching methods, these future teachers experienced a civic engagement project based on Socratic discussion about the Pledge of Allegiance. This qualitative study argues that…

This paper seeks to contribute new insight to the process of learning during idea generation (i.e., brainstorming) by proposing and evaluating two alternative operationalizations for learning, which we refer to as connection-based learning and multi-perspective learning, during a carefully designed idea-generation task in the earth-sciences…

Those people involved in the professional development school (PDS) effort have arrived at a time in their brief history when PDS partnerships can break the status quo and become contemporary laboratories of innovation for ushering in change and a new era of PK-12 education integrated with teacher education. In this chapter, the author appreciates…

The purpose of this study was to examine how participation in an inquiry-based science program impacts kindergarten students' science learning and motivation. The study was implemented as part of a larger, federally funded research project, the Scientific Literacy Project or SLP (Mantzicopoulos, Patrick, & Samarapungavan, 2005). The study…

The last two decades have witnessed the gradual implementation of integrated science curriculum at the junior secondary level in China. However, in most provinces of China, the implementation is not as successful as expected. Challenges were reported, yet without fine-grained investigation, with respect to science teachers' instruction on…