One possible approach students can cope with abstract algebra concepts is reducing abstraction. This notion occurs when learners are unable to adopt mental strategies as they deal with abstraction level of a given task. To make these concepts mentally accessible for themselves, learners unconsciously reduce the level of the abstraction of the…

Time on task, with its twin elements of purposeful use of "time" and rededication to ensuring the quality of the "task," presents educators at all levels with the opportunity to effect change through relatively straightforward means. The purpose of this article is to highlight several aspects of using time effectively through a series of…

The importance of digital and media literacies to literacy instruction and learning for today's elementary students is shared in this article. A student's routine literacy activities are documented to provide a view into how digital and media literacies are woven into a fourth-grade classroom. This example brings the use of technology as a tool to…

Are your students engaged and motivated to read and write but hesitant during math instruction? Do you want your students to be as excited about math as they are about literacy? This unique resource explores how best practices for teaching reading and writing can help you become a better math teacher. Drawing on the work of such educators as…

Overcome budget cuts, lack of leadership, top-down mandates, and other obstacles to professional development by using this book's take-charge approach. Joseph H. Semadeni guides you through a systemic method to professional development that: (1) Motivates teachers to continuously learn and apply best practices; (2) Makes adult learning activities…

This qualitative research study investigated four adolescent English Language Learners' (ELLs) perceptions of READ 180. READ 180 is a reading program designed for both struggling readers and English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students (Scholastic, 2009a). Although there have been a number of research studies on the benefits of READ 180 for…

The purpose of this study is to incorporate adaptive ontology into ubiquitous learning grid to achieve seamless learning environment. Ubiquitous learning grid uses ubiquitous computing environment to infer and determine the most adaptive learning contents and procedures in anytime, any place and with any device. To achieve the goal, an…

This paper addresses prospective policy relationships between health and physical education (HPE) and contemporary education policies. It specifically explores the opportunities and challenges that contemporary education discourses present for policy and curriculum development in HPE. Contemporary education discourses of lifelong learning,…

This historical account is told as a narrative from the authors' perspectives of Project Giant Step, which might be one of the most successful teaching-of-reading projects in history. There are a few purposes in telling this story. First, it is in times of chaos that real innovation can be made. It is then that people take chances and it is not…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of professional development on teachers' use of sheltered instruction. The participants included 23 teachers from the same elementary school who participated in all components of the study over a span of two years. Teachers demonstrated increased knowledge of sheltered instruction as measured…

School improvement demands focus. Staff members at James Cashman Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada, believe that student achievement comes from challenging every student and ensuring that no student is overlooked. Adopting this belief could not have come at a better time for the school. Cashman's students were struggling. The school was in the…

Taking advantage of the continuously improving, web-based learning systems plays an important role for self-learning, especially in the case of working people. Nevertheless, learning systems do not generally adapt to learners' profiles. Learners have to spend a lot of time before reaching the learning goal that is compatible with their knowledge…

How to Differentiate Learning provides guidance for schools and districts to start or improve the effort to differentiate instruction. Based on what educators know about the differences among children they teach, and based on what is known of brain research, teachers must find and embrace ways to differentiate curriculum, assessment and entry…

Drawing on his personal experience applying to an elite university and working with low-income students at Smith College, the author outlines the assets and challenges low-income students bring to these schools. He discusses the conditions necessary for such students to achieve in an elite environment, focusing on the following four…

Testing students once a year, with data reported many months later, is like using an autopsy to determine how to help a patient, says Cindy Ambrose, chief academic officer of the Horry County Schools in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In Horry County and many other districts around the country, assessment that monitors vital signs on an ongoing…