Embedding discipline-specific literacy instruction within social studies content can assist a variety of students, including those with reading difficulties, to build higher-level reading abilities, increase knowledge acquisition, and improve their overall content learning. Moreover, many state learning standards already address the need for…

This article shares the experience of three teachers, who teach and learn at thriving community schools in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Their experiences challenge traditional ideas about what it means to learn and be a teacher. In their schools, teaching is a community effort where all the adults--teachers, social workers, parents,…

Just as social media created a new language that causes a rift in understanding between many adults and adolescents, so too has the use of technology in classrooms. The author, Ana Homayoun, an educational consultant, spends much of her time helping young people harness the power of technology to improve their organization and time-management…

In this study the authors set out to better understand the relationship between teacher knowledge of science and student learning. The authors administered identical multiple-choice assessment items both to teachers of middle school physical science and to their students throughout the school year. The authors found that teachers who have strong…

Together, a school district and a local union are working to ensure that educators are trained in restorative practices in order to improve school climates and keep students in school and learning. This article describes how, in recent years, administrators and teachers have shifted from traditional school punishments, such as suspension, to…

In 2007, Walter P. Webb Middle School faced a crisis. One evening in January, the superintendent at the time held a meeting at the school in Austin, Texas, to let students, parents, teachers, and community members know that at the end of the academic year, their school would close. Thanks to a new state law focused on accountability, the…

Diana Senechal teaches philosophy at Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, and Engineering in New York City; in addition, she serves on the faculty of the Sue Rose Summer Institute for Teachers at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. In this article she states that if someone had told her five years ago that she would be a high…