Science is a social process--one that involves particular ways of talking, reasoning, observing, analyzing, and writing, which often have meaning only when shared within the scientific community. Discussions are one of the best ways to help students learn to "talk science" and construct understanding in a social context. Since inquiry is an…

We describe the development and implementation of an instructional design that focused on bringing multiple forms of active learning and student-centered pedagogies to a one-semester, undergraduate introductory biology course for both majors and nonmajors. Our course redesign consisted of three major elements: 1) reordering the presentation of the…

This paper presents a study of behavioural variables implied in the working dynamics of student groups undertaking their first project. The study was carried out in two phases. During the first phase, the participants answered a survey of open questions regarding their own behaviour and that of their teammates, questions related to: the quality of…

As Jackson and Davis noted, "the main purpose of middle grades education is to promote young adolescents' intellectual development. It is to enable every student to think creatively, to identify and solve meaningful problems, to communicate and work well with others, and to develop the base of factual knowledge and skills that is the essential…

Despite the widely-held acknowledgment of the great potential of the Internet for improving social studies instruction, the available research tells us that most social studies teachers who use the Internet in their classroom do so without changing much in their traditional approach to teaching. This article suggests using the NCSS Position…

Background: The last two decades have witnessed an increase in interest in education for citizenship in a number of westernised democracies. In England, citizenship education has been a statutory subject within the secondary National Curriculum since August 2002. As a relatively new subject within the curriculum, practice in citizenship education…

Games are widely recognized for their potential to enhance students' learning. Yet they are only rarely used in classrooms because they cannot be modified to meet the needs of a particular class. This article describes a novel approach to creating educational software that addresses this problem: provide an interface specifically for teachers that…

The most effective pedagogies are those that foster students' metacognition and their learning effectiveness. This paper presents a new model of activity-based learning in which students construct knowledge using practices that include constructs of engagement, motivation, and affect that drive deeper processing and higher levels of metacognitive…

This study examines the reflections of preservice teachers in relation to their experiential knowledge gained through active learning of African American culture and their perceptions and beliefs concerning the home life of these students and their lives in the community. This action research study presents the results of a qualitative analysis of…

Many schools are in the transition stage from passive learning environments into active ones. Teachers, librarians and administrators are forced to rethink the curriculum in terms of content and teaching methodology because of advancement of technology and competitions. The paper will demonstrate the need of collaborative work of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the instructional use of GPS through instructional geocaching activities engages students and promotes achievement in a middle school social studies classroom. The impact of instructional geocaching on addressing the needs of students with various learning styles was also examined. In addition, the…

Background: Expeditionary Learning Schools opens and transforms K-12 schools. Through engaging, long-term interdisciplinary projects designed to achieve academic standards and an emphasis on a healthy school culture, Expeditionary Learning aims to develop students who are not only high-achieving but also highly motivated to do challenging…

The teaching of mathematics, which arguably is so abstract as to transcend place and community and even culture (according at least to a Platonic view of mathematics), will seem to some observers particularly ill-suited to instruction in place- or community- or culture-based approaches. Nevertheless, current thinking in mathematics education,…

This seven to eight week hands-on Marine Debris Clean-up Project used a service project to provide an introduction of marine science ecology, watershed interrelationships, the scientific method, and environmental stewardship to 8th grade middle school students. It utilized inquiry based learning to introduce marine debris sources and impacts to…

The focus of research into the use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) in the classroom has been largely in relation to teacher-pupil interaction, with very little consideration of its possible use as a tool for pupils' collaborative endeavour. This paper is based upon an ESRC-funded project, which considers how pupils use the interactive…