As a flexible instructional tool, cue cards offer support for students with and without disabilities. By providing different amounts of support, they also can be used to differentiate instruction in a variety of subject areas and grade levels. This article describes various strategies for using cue cards and includes examples from K-12 classrooms.

This is the story of a teacher leader who helped lead change in an urban elementary school by creating a new culture of support for beginning teachers. Specifically, she led focused, collaborative inquiry around discussion-based teaching to improve teaching effectiveness, and she created a school-wide coalition of support for beginning teachers to…

When students experience reading difficulties--or even before they do--teachers can use specialized knowledge to help them achieve success. This overview of the International Dyslexia Association's "Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading" describes those reading and literacy standards and provides resources for…

For 21st century learning, students need to be well versed in techniques for inquiry using new literacies. Developing these skills also will meet the rigorous expectations of the Common Core State Standards.

Building a culturally responsive learning community begins with global awareness and cultural responsiveness. Preservice and PreK-12 practicing teachers can use the interactive questions showcased here to enhance their intercultural competence by drawing on the knowledge, skills, and experiences of international faculty and colleagues.

State and national standards, taken as is, can limit the potential of the curriculum and skilled teachers. The ideas presented here suggest ways in which we might better scrutinize standards for their potential richness and limitations in order to enrich our instruction.

Co-teaching is a common practice in many P-12 schools today. An emerging trend, however, is the use of this practice in teacher preparation as one way of enhancing the development of student teachers. With the increase in teacher accountability and the heightened scrutiny of teacher evaluation, co-teaching is a strategy that can be incorporated…

New accreditation standards for teacher preparation programs call for more seamless and effective connections between methods courses, clinical experiences, and school-based mentoring. Intentional clinical experiences and intermediate instructional strategies can foster collaboration between teacher preparation programs and teacher leaders in K-12…

Do school uniforms make a difference in student academic performance, school spirit, discipline, and safety? What are the legal restrictions that bear on the school uniform decision in public schools? Do uniform policies lead to less school violence? Do they impose an economic hardship, outweighing the advantages, on low-income families? The…

In this article, the authors advocate the practice of reflection and reflective thinking skill development. More specifically, they offer definitions of reflection, identify reasons that may inhibit preservice teachers' reflection, and suggest practices that specifically encourage reflection on teaching among preservice and inservice…

Secretary of Education Duncan (2010) lamented the state of U.S. education in 2010 after the release of the results from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). He wrote: "Unfortunately, the 2009 PISA results show that American students are poorly prepared to compete in today's knowledge economy. President Obama…

The use of assessments in public schools in the United States to link student test scores to school performance has arguably transformed assessments into accountability tools. Dennis S. Rosemartin, a former elementary classroom teacher, is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona. His area of specialization is teacher preparation and…

In this article, the author's share some ways that voters--and specifically educators--can advocate for their views on an ongoing basis and make those views known to the elected officials who make decisions that directly affect teachers. These policymakers generally are not educators by training and, consequently, lack the in-depth knowledge…

What are acute poverty challenges for culturally disadvantaged school communities across the United States? How do practicing teacher-researchers, pursuing advanced degrees, view this issue and the 21st century skills and dispositions classroom teachers need to foster change? Curious about this topic from the viewpoints of teachers who are…

The English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards ([CCSS], 2010) could have a transformational effect on American education. Though the process seems daunting, one can begin immediately integrating the essence of the ELA Common Core in every subject area. This article shows how one could implement the Common Core and create coherent,…