This chapter focuses on the instruction of diverse students in mainstream classrooms. The first part summarizes academic achievement of diverse students from different ethnicity, gender, language and social class. The second part discusses the characteristics of different diverse instruction. The third part suggests specific instructional…

Many general education and special education teachers report being unprepared for the challenges of serving students with disabilities in the general education classroom (Kloo & Zigmond, 2008; Rea & Connell, 2005) and lacking skills necessary for co-teaching and collaborating within the school community (Grant & Gillette, 2006; Little…

The quality of relationships between teachers and students has been associated with academic achievement and performance outcomes for students at all levels of their education. Extensive literature examining characteristics of positive relationships between teachers and their elementary age students exists, but is less abundant in regard to…

A case is described of the development of a lesson plan for 10th grade (age range 15-16) chemistry classes on the chemistry of shower gels. The lesson plan follows a socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching. This means that, aside from learning about the basic chemistry of the components making up modern shower gels in…

Research shows teacher collaborative learning to be a powerful vehicle to mobilise teacher instructional change and pedagogical practices, and to improve student achievement. For such undertakings to have positive impact, understanding the visible features of collaborative structures may not be sufficient to ensure sustainable practice. Instead,…

Emotions are important aspects in/for the pedagogy of environmental education (EE). However, the literature on the relationship between emotions and EE has not explored how emotion talk furnishes teaching identity claims and mediates instruction in/about the environment. Therefore, the present study draws on two ethnographic case studies to…

The emphasis on the importance of collaborative skill is evident at nearly all levels of education. In higher education, teamwork and group skills are critical elements in a business student's training. To be successful in the business world, students must be able to work well in teams. Group work can be a successful learning experience if…

Research has shown that when Merrill's First Principles of Instruction are used as part of an instructional strategy, student learning increases. Several articles describe these principles of instruction, including specific methods for implementing this theory. However, because teachers and designers often have little time to design instruction,…

Individualism is the dominant value system in Western cultures and, as such, it affects the conduct of every aspect of human endeavour, including education. One of the most enduring effects on education has been the search for individual differences that can explain and predict variation in student achievement, with the hope that pedagogical…

Digital storytelling is a dynamic and beautiful marriage of narrative and technology that is proving to be a potent force in educational practice. Interest in the multiple applications of digital storytelling has burgeoned in recent years. A growing body of literature has explored the ways in which digital storytelling is being employed in various…

Based upon the models of differentiated instruction (Tomlinson and Edison 2003) and Layered Curriculum (Nunley 2004), the author created the Unit Pages strategy. Just like Layered Curriculum, the pages can be handed directly to students, allowing them to take charge of their own learning rather than requiring the teacher to individually monitor…

Yes, it's true that today's students have tons of distractions that take their attention away from the hard work of learning. That's why it's more important than ever to establish a teaching relationship with students that makes academic learning relevant to their lives. Here's a book that explains how to do that by changing teaching practices…

Classroom teachers draw upon a variety of discourses to understand and make decisions about the students they teach. This case study investigation explored the discourses at work in inclusion classrooms, with particular attention paid to the way in which discourses may impact the problem of overrepresentation in special education. Frameworks that…

Cooperative learning is a process through which students with various abilities, gender, nationalities and different level of social skills carry out their learning process by working in small groups and helping each other. Cooperative learning is a pedagogical use of small groups which enable students to maximize both their own and others'…

This article explores the work and findings of the Praxis Project: a group of university educators who worked with elementary and secondary school teachers in a professional development setting to reinvigorate their civil rights pedagogy. The Praxis group created a "Six Category Model for Teaching Civil Rights" and used that model as a…