The purpose of this study was to provide guidance to policy-makers about the standards that might be appropriate for accrediting teacher education programmes. The study was commissioned by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), a statutory body established in 2001 by the Victorian state government with responsibility for the registration…

Field experiences are critical to teacher learning and enhance the effectiveness of methods courses; however, when methods courses are offered in the summer, traditional school-based field experiences are not possible. This article describes an alternative campus-based experience created as part of an elementary science methods course. The Summer…

Poetry should be an integral part of children's learning in elementary school. This article explains the classroom structures and routines through which third-grade students in an inner-city school became familiar with poetic language and learned to appreciate the artistry of poetry. Most of the students were struggling readers. Reading poetry…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using concept mapping to promote reflective instructional decision-making among junior level education preservice teachers when planning lessons for elementary and secondary students. The researchers were interested in determining if there was a connection between the use of concept mapping…

This is an investigation into the accelerated acquisition of English among young ESL learners in an International School. It employed an ethnographic case study approach where data were gathered through non-participant observations, unstructured interviews, relevant documents, students' portfolios, field notes and biographical details. The sample…

This paper reports on the reality of classroom-based inquiry learning in science, from the perspectives of high school students and their teachers, under a national curriculum attempting to encourage authentic scientific inquiry (as practiced by scientists). A multiple case study approach was taken, utilising qualitative research methods of…

This guide will provide the reader with the tools needed to plan a successful Cree language experience in the classroom. As a teacher, you will choose appropriate activities with your students from the Sample Teaching and Learning Activities. The activities and assessment strategies are samples you can add to and adapt to fit your classroom…

Long Island Sound is an estuary of national significance and provides important economic, recreational, and aesthetic value to the citizens of Connecticut and New York. Investigations have been conducted regarding living marine resources and nutrient loading. However, Long Island Sound is often overlooked as an educational resource. This guide is…

This paper details one institution's experience developing post disaster online instructional capability without access to the institution's courseware platform and help desk services. In turn, the post disaster distance education lessons learned include the possible need for all institutions to: prearrange an interruption of service agreement…

This article focuses on teaching students specific disability related self-determination skills, rather than activities that can be used with non-specified populations. In this design, lesson plans are used and suggested as a systematic means of instruction for students with deficits in learning (i.e., learning disabilities, mild mental…

In 1860, 226,000 (47 percent) of the US' 478,000 free blacks lived in free states, and thus totaled over five percent of the black population in America. Though oppressed by popular prejudice and a range of legal and institutional constraints--in 1847, blacks at a convention labeled themselves "slaves of the community"--African Americans outside…

Although most teachers agree that a field trip is an important educational experience for their students, many struggle with finding a way to make it connect with their classroom curriculum. Creating an effective field trip involves creating an effective lesson plan and using the resources of the museum, zoo, or aquarium to foster inquiry and…

Educators have been wrestling with copyright issues for some time. In fact, in developing the S.O.S. for Information Literacy site, the project team had to face the issue with respect to how to handle all those lesson plans in the database and all the images, clipart, and materials that educators upload to the database as support materials for…

Cognizant of the difficulty teachers face in attempting to integrate computers into instructional settings, the authors propose a new technology integration assessment strategy that can guide individual development or be used to track programmatic change. The Technology Integration Assessment Instrument (TIAI) explores seven dimensions of planning…

Laptop computers and Type II applications can provide powerful tools for elementary classrooms, especially if they are combined with authentic instruction. This article provides information and lessons learned from a laptop initiative in an urban elementary school. The goal of the initiative was to develop lesson plans and document techniques that…