It's well known that slicing a cone with a plane and then allowing the plane to rotate through all possible angles of inclination yields the conic sections. What paths then do the foci of these conics trace out as this cutting plane passes through the different angles? In this article, we derive formulae for these trajectories and generate the…

As I read the latest issue of the "Learning Disability Quarterly", I was appreciative of the essay by King-Sears (2009) highlighting the value of universal design for learning (UDL) to the learning disability community. The allure of UDL has captured the imagination of many educators and policy makers. The recent reauthorization of the…

This article provides a summary of selected research conducted on the sexuality, as well as sexual knowledge and behaviors of individuals with autism over the past 20 years. The discussion section reviews the research according to the following recurrent themes: the importance of sexuality in the lives of individuals with autism, the discourse of…

In the postmodern conceptual framework that informs this commentary, both teacher and student are seen as scholar-practitioners. To meet the scholar-practitioner's goal of connecting theory and practice, teaching and learning are considered to be necessary and inseparable acts. Teacher and student are mutually engaged as "bricoleurs"…

How does one move graduate candidates into "advocates"? The journey started with researching study groups to build collaboration, then to an understanding of "advocacy" and its uses, finally the act of becoming advocates for a cause. The ultimate gain was the professional growth observed in the graduate candidates and a…

This essay introduces readers to the work of Jacques Ranciere and demonstrates how his thinking on art and politics can help alleviate certain impasses within contemporary aesthetic and political theory. Exploiting untranslated sources, I present Ranciere's recent work as responding to predispositions within the theory and practice of art that…

This paper argues that current child and childhood research is problematical in as much as there is a discrepancy between theory and research practice. Although in theory, children are conceptualised as active agents in the social world, the type of research that children are typically involved in implies that children are competent, knowledgeable…

This quantitative study examined the beliefs of middle grades education faculty from universities across the United States about the purpose of education. The results of a survey of 144 respondents who identified themselves as university faculty that taught middle level courses as a specialty will be discussed. The survey included 23 statements,…

This article addresses the challenging task of preparing baccalaureate social work students to master proficiency as first responders in stress and trauma situations. We begin with a brief description of the context, goals, admission procedure, structure, and process of a stress and trauma studies (STS) program. We then compare the development of…

Despite extensive critique, the teaching of Health and Physical Education (HPE) continues to be characterised by individualised and performative ideologies which are reflected in part by a continued focus upon fitness testing. There has been little attempt, however, to explore Australian HPE teachers' thoughts and reasoning for its privileged…

Mobile devices have become attractive learning devices for education. While the majority of the existing research has focused primarily on the value of mobile learning for students, researchers have recently started exploring its potentials within teacher development. The present qualitative synthesis of quantitative and qualitative research aimed…

This paper presents an approach to preservice science teacher education coupling video analysis with dialogue as tools for fostering teachers' ability to notice and reflexively interpret events captured during teaching practicum with the intent of transforming classroom practice. In this approach, video becomes a tool with which teachers connect…

This overview identifies some common features of macro-level language planning and briefly summarises the changing approaches to the analysis of macro-planning in the field. It previews six cases of language-in-education planning in response to linguistic diversity presented by the contributors to this issue. The cases show how macro-planning can…

This article reviews empirical studies of the role of college roommate relationships in students' mental health and college adjustment. We propose a systemic conceptualization of roommate relationships that highlights roommates' interdependence and origins of roommate relationship dynamics. We discuss practice implications for student…

In response to a request from a campus student organization, faculty from three fields came together to develop and teach an integrated interdisciplinary course on water issues and social activism. This course, "Water as Life, Death, and Power," brought together issues from the fields of anthropology, biology and chemistry to explore…