As each school year starts, teachers are faced with teaching and building relationships with students from diverse backgrounds. To effectively teach students, science teachers (and teachers in general) must develop an understanding of students' culture, background, and language. Knowing these factors, as well as students' learning needs,…

Every day school administrators and classroom teachers deal with behavior issues that sometimes result in office discipline referrals (ODRs) and other times in-school suspension. Interestingly, the top 5 percent of elementary students with the most disciplinary referrals account for 59 percent of all ODRs; similarly, the top 5 percent of middle…

This article describes an action research project conducted by the first author that examined the influence of class meetings on student-to-student as well as student-to-teacher relationships. Her action research project addressed the following overarching question: What influence do class meetings have on relationships in a first-grade classroom?…

The purpose of this study was to examine how the infusion of theatre arts into the language arts and social studies curricula in grades 4 and 5 impacted the cognitive and prosocial development of special populations, as well as the students' attitudes toward learning. An experimental/control group design was employed. Various instruments were used…

Classroom Web sites have the potential to support and enhance student learning by targeting 21st century skills, such as collaboration among teachers, students, parents, and other teachers, media literacy, and interpersonal and self-directional skills, as well as thinking and problem-solving skills. Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, vokis, and podcasts…

The topic of innovative curriculum planning piqued the interest of teacher educators at a public southeastern university, where it is commonplace to grapple with such concepts. In this paper, the authors describe a study of curriculum integration focusing on social studies and visual arts. The study participants were university level students…

In June 2009, the U.S. Department of Education released a meta-analysis of online learning studies that detailed strong support for online learning. The authors of this report, however, cautioned that online students' increased interaction--as well as differences in curriculum and pedagogy--did not allow a direct comparison between online and…

Well-known historical accounts of questioning used in the education process trace back to Socrates. One of the best examples of his use of questioning is found in Plato's classic work "The Republic" (2003). Today, teachers still use questions as one way to help students develop productive thinking skills and to understand concepts and topics.…

In this article, the authors describe how and why the use of electronic portfolios is emerging as a way to engage and assess students in both university and high school settings. Here, they offer details of their study of e-portfolios in action. The purpose of the study is to observe the technological advances teacher education candidates make as…

Teacher education programs in Vietnam, like their counterparts in most multicultural societies, struggle to address the issues of access, equity, and excellence. The nation's minority groups, about 13 percent of the population, traditionally have not gained admission to educational opportunities on a par with members of the majority group,…

Bullying is a widespread problem that permeates our society. It occurs not only on school playgrounds, but also throughout society--at the workplace, in the media, and on the Internet. Moreover, bullying is associated with criminal behavior, school dropout, poor psychosocial adjustment, and other problems with long-term negative effects on …

This article summarizes findings from the author's study of the characteristics and use of high-quality materials designed to support classroom instruction of elementary-aged children before, during, and after field trips. It also expands on the implications of this research for classroom teachers' effective use of field trip support materials.

This article presents a case study of the Roskilde Integration Project designed to enhance the school-readiness of ethnic minority preschool children. The process of implementing the Roskilde Integration Project involved linking a community of practice--consisting of the integration team, educators, and other professionals--with the immigrant…

The authors report on a teacher survey that was conducted in North Carolina to determine the wants and needs of teachers in North Carolina. The survey had Likert-scaled quesitons about administrative support and professional development needs as well as information about professional and personal characteristics. The research was conducted to give…

Presents results by grade levels of a 1975 survey on sex education practices in New York City school districts, including instructional format (separate class or integrated subject matter), time allotment, topics discussed, teaching methods, and single-sex or coeducational presentation. Study recommendations include city-wide program coordination.…