Mapping Science in Discourse-based Inquiry Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeneayhu, Demeke Gesesse

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate how discourse-based inquiry science lessons provided opportunities for students to develop a network of semantic relations among core ideas and concepts in science. It was a naturalistic inquiry classroom lessons observation study on three science teachers--- a middle school science teacher and two high school physics teachers in an urban school district located in the Western New York region. Discourse and thematic analysis drawn from the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics were utilized as guiding framework and analysis tools. Analysis of the pre-observation and post-observation interviews of the participant teachers revealed that all of the three teachers participated in at least one inquiry-based science teaching teacher professional development program and they all thought their classroom teaching practice was inquiry-based. Analysis of their classroom lesson videos that each participant teacher taught on a specific science topic revealed that the middle school teacher was found to be a traditional teacher-dominated classroom whereas the two high school physics teachers' classroom teaching approach was found to be discourse-based inquiry. One of the physics teachers who taught on a topic of Magnetic Interaction used relatively structured and guided-inquiry classroom investigations. The other physics teacher who taught on a topic of Color Mixing utilized open-ended classroom investigations where the students planned and executed the series of classroom science investigations with minimal guidance from the teacher. The traditional teacher-based classroom communicative pattern was found to be dominated by Triadic Dialogue and most of the science thematics were jointly developed by the teacher and the students, but the students' role was limited to providing responses to the teacher's series questions. In the guided-inquiry classroom, the common communicative pattern was found to be True Dialogue and most of the science thematic patterns in the lessons were not only developed by the students but also resemble the standard thematics. Similarly, in the open-ended inquiry classroom, True Dialogue and Cross-discussion were the two most common communicative patterns and students did most of the science thematic patterns in the lessons but most of the student thematics were commonsense than resembling the standard thematics on the topic. This research showed that if teachers are to help students participate in classroom discourse that would enable them meaningfully connects core ideas and concepts in science, teachers could use various discourse tools and pedagogic resources that could fit into their particular classroom realities and contexts. This study demonstrated that when given the opportunity, students in challenging contexts such in typical inner city schools are able to engage in scientific processes and develop nuanced understandings of scientific phenomena.

Student Recognition of Visual Affordances: Supporting Use of Physics Simulations in Whole Class and Small Group Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, A. Lynn

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate student interactions with simulations, and teacher support of those interactions, within naturalistic high school physics classroom settings. This study focuses on data from two lesson sequences that were conducted in several physics classrooms. The lesson sequences were conducted in a whole class…

Mathematical Micro-Identities: Moment-to-Moment Positioning and Learning in a Fourth-Grade Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Marcy B.

2013-01-01

Identity is an important tool for understanding students' participation in mathematics lessons. Researchers usually examine identity at a macro-scale: across typical classroom activity and in students' self-reports. However, learning occurs on a micro-scale: in moments during a lesson. To capture identity in these moments, I used positioning…

Construction of Tasks in Order to Develop and Promote Classroom Communication in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olteanu, Lucian

2015-01-01

In this article, the focus is on task construction and the importance of this process to develop and promote classroom communication in mathematics. The students' tests, examination of students' mathematical work, the teachers' lesson plans, and reports of the lessons' instructions are the basic data for this article. The analysis indicated that…

Designing and Applying Web Assisted Activities to Be Used in Flipped Classroom Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çetinkaya, Murat

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop personalized web assisted activities for the flipped classroom model applied in the "Human and Environment Interactions" unit of science lesson and to research its effect on students' achievement. The study was conducted with the 74 participation of 7th grade science lesson students within a period…

Arctic research in the classroom: A teacher's experiences translated into data driven lesson plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendrick, E. O.; Deegan, L.

2011-12-01

Incorporating research into high school science classrooms can promote critical thinking skills and provide a link between students and the scientific community. Basic science concepts become more relevant to students when taught in the context of research. A vital component of incorporating current research into classroom lessons is involving high school teachers in authentic research. The National Science Foundation sponsored Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program has inspired me to bring research to my classroom, communicate the importance of research in the classroom to other teachers and create lasting connections between students and the research community. Through my experiences as an RET at Toolik Field Station in Alaska, I have created several hands-on lessons and laboratory activities that are based on current arctic research and climate change. Each lesson uses arctic research as a theme for exemplifying basic biology concepts as well as increasing awareness of current topics such as climate change. For instance, data collected on the Kuparuk River will be incorporated into classroom activities that teach concepts such as primary production, trophic levels in a food chain and nutrient cycling within an ecosystem. Students will not only understand the biological concepts but also recognize the ecological implications of the research being conducted in the arctic. By using my experience in arctic research as a template, my students will gain a deeper understanding of the scientific process. I hope to create a crucial link of information between the science community and science education in public schools.

Exploring Pedagogical Reasoning: Reading Strategy Instruction from Two Teachers' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Hua; Wilhelm, Kim Hughes

2008-01-01

This study compares reading lessons given by two teachers in senior middle school classrooms on China's mainland. Classroom observation focused on lesson stages and activities as well as student responses. Follow-up interviews with the teachers aimed to discover the decision-making processes and choices made when teaching the lessons. Most notable…

Health Education in Practice. Taking the Quilt to the Classroom: A Lesson about the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voss, Victoria; Frauenknecht, Marianne

1996-01-01

Presents ideas for a lesson that allows elementary and secondary students to experience an iconic representation of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in the classroom. By visualizing the quilt exhibit through pictures of individual panels, students can develop a greater appreciation of the human toll taken by the AIDS epidemic. (SM)

Flipping the Classroom: Homework in Class, Lessons at Home

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alvarez, Brenda

2012-01-01

One way to create more class time and not lose education time is to have students take notes at home and do the work in class. This article describes "flipping the classroom," a new instructional model that allows an educator to record a lesson plan on video in the same fashion it would be presented to students. The structure of the…

Teacher and student perspectives on motivation within the high school science classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pickens, Melanie Turnure

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher and student perspectives on the motivation of high school science students and to explore specific motivational strategies used by teachers as they attempt to enhance student motivation. Four science teachers took part in an initial audio-taped interview, classroom observations with debriefing conversations, and a final audio-taped interview to discuss findings and allow member checking for data triangulation and interpretation. Participating teachers also took part in a final focus group interview. Student participants from each teacher's class were given a Likert style anonymous survey on their views about motivation and learning, motivation in science class, and specific motivational strategies that emerged in their current science class. This study focused on effective teaching strategies for motivation commonly used by the four teachers and on specific teaching strategies used by two of these four teachers in different tracks of science classes. The intent was to determine not only what strategies worked well for all types of science classes, but also what specific motivational approaches were being used in high and low tracked science classes and the similarities and differences between them. This approach provided insight into the differences in motivating tracked students, with the hope that other educators in specific tracks might use such pedagogies to improve motivation in their own science classrooms. Results from this study showed that science teachers effectively motivate their students in the following ways: Questioning students to engage them in the lesson, exhibiting enthusiasm in lesson presentations, promoting a non-threatening environment, incorporating hands-on activities to help learn the lesson concepts, using a variety of activities, believing that students can achieve, and building caring relationships in the classroom. Specific to the higher tracked classroom, effective motivational strategies included: Use of teacher enthusiasm, promoting a non-threatening class atmosphere, and connecting the adolescent world to science. In the lower tracked classroom, specific effective strategies were: Encouraging student-student dialogue, making lessons relevant using practical applications, building student self-confidence, and using hands-on inquiry activities. Teachers who incorporate such strategies into their classrooms regardless of the track will likely increase motivation and also enhance learning for all students.

Classrooms with Growing Room. Playing Smart: Enrichment in the Home. Lessons without Limits.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kanevsky, Lannie

Three papers by the same author address: (1) educational methods for gifted children in the regular classroom; (2) principles of enriching the gifted child's development in the home; and (3) modifying lessons to optimally challenge gifted students. The first paper is titled, "Classrooms with Growing Room." It stresses the need for gifted children…

Creative Activities for String Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stabley, Nola Campbell

2001-01-01

Discusses how to teach improvisation, creativity, and movement to beginning music classroom students. Includes background information on teaching each concept and lesson plans to be used with beginning string students. Provides rhythm patterns, exercises, and an assignment used in the lessons. (CMK)

Physically active academic lessons and time on task: the moderating effect of body mass index.

PubMed

Grieco, Lauren A; Jowers, Esbelle M; Bartholomew, John B

2009-10-01

Physically active classroom lessons have been found to increase on-task behavior in children. Given that physical activity has been associated with an increased time on task (TOT) and that overweight children take fewer steps than normal weight children do, it was expected that benefits of the physical activity would differentially impact those children of higher weight status. To examine the effects of a physically active classroom lesson and body mass index (BMI) category on TOT in a sample of elementary-aged children (N = 97). Behavior was assessed through direct observations before and after a physically active classroom lesson and before and after a traditional inactive classroom lesson. TOT was calculated through momentary time sampling for each student by dividing the number of on-task observations by the total number of observations per student (interrater reliability = 94%). TOT decreased significantly from before to after the lesson for all BMI categories in the inactive control condition, with no change for the active condition. Post hoc analyses found a significant linear effect for the reduction in TOT with each level of BMI in the inactive condition, with the greatest magnitude of effect for the overweight group. Physically active classroom lessons provide a buffer to prevent the steep reduction in TOT experienced after a period of inactivity in all children, especially those who are overweight.

Instructional Accommodations for Students with Asperger Syndrome in the General High School Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baylis, Myrna

2011-01-01

General education teachers in the secondary sector are held responsible for adapting their lessons and classroom environment for students with Asperger Syndrome. With the growing number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder being placed in general education classrooms, teachers are faced with yet another challenge in making their curriculum…

Learning to Estimate Slide Comprehension in Classrooms with Support Vector Machines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pattanasri, N.; Mukunoki, M.; Minoh, M.

2012-01-01

Comprehension assessment is an essential tool in classroom learning. However, the judgment often relies on experience of an instructor who makes observation of students' behavior during the lessons. We argue that students should report their own comprehension explicitly in a classroom. With students' comprehension made available at the slide…

EnviroAtlas in the Classroom: New K-16 Lesson Plans that Empower Tomorrow’s Decision-Makers

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA’s new suite of educational materials aims to address that knowledge gap with classroom-ready lessons that teach students about the environment’s effects on their daily lives, including their health and well-being.

An elective course to engage student pharmacists in elementary school science education.

PubMed

Woodard, Lisa J; Wilson, Judith S; Blankenship, James; Quock, Raymond M; Lindsey, Marti; Kinsler, Janni J

2011-12-15

To develop and assess the impact of an elective course (HealthWISE) on student pharmacists' skills in communication and health promotion and elementary school students' knowledge of and attitudes toward science. Three colleges and schools of pharmacy collaborated to develop a 1-credit elective course that used online and classroom teaching and learning techniques to prepare student pharmacists to teach science in elementary school classrooms. Student pharmacists delivered 6 science lessons to elementary students over the course of 2 months. In weekly journal reflections and a final paper, student pharmacists reported improved communication and health promotion skills. Elementary teachers reported they were satisfied with student pharmacists' performance in the classroom. On pretest and posttest evaluations, elementary students demonstrated increased science knowledge and enhanced enthusiasm for science following the lessons taught by student pharmacists. The HealthWISE elective course provided positive benefit for student pharmacists, elementary school teachers, and elementary students.

Graduate students teaching elementary earth science through interactive classroom lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caswell, T. E.; Goudge, T. A.; Jawin, E. R.; Robinson, F.

2014-12-01

Since 2005, graduate students in the Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Studies have volunteered to teach science to second-grade students at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School in Providence, RI. Initially developed to bring science into classrooms where it was not explicitly included in the curriculum, the graduate student-run program today incorporates the Providence Public Schools Grade 2 science curriculum into weekly, interactive sessions that engage the students in hypothesis-driven science. We will describe the program structure, its integration into the Providence Public Schools curriculum, and 3 example lessons relevant to geology. Lessons are structured to develop the students' ability to share and incorporate others' ideas through written and oral communication. The volunteers explain the basics of the topic and engage the students with introductory questions. The students use this knowledge to develop a hypothesis about the upcoming experiment, recording it in their "Science Notebooks." The students record their observations during the demonstration and discuss the results as a group. The process culminates in the students using their own words to summarize what they learned. Activities of particular interest to educators in geoscience are called "Volcanoes!", "The "Liquid Race," and "Phases of the Moon." The "Volcanoes!" lesson explores explosive vs. effusive volcanism using two simulated volcanoes: one explosive, using Mentos and Diet Coke, and one effusive, using vinegar and baking soda (in model volcanoes that the students construct in teams). In "Liquid Race," which explores viscosity and can be integrated into the "Volcanoes!" lesson, the students connect viscosity to flow speed by racing liquids down a ramp. "Phases of the Moon" teaches the students why the Moon has phases, using ball and stick models, and the terminology of the lunar phases using cream-filled cookies (e.g., Oreos). These lessons, among many others, bring basic science to life in second grade classrooms. We will be happy to share their story and to make our lesson plans available to a broader audience.

Differentiated Instruction for K-8 Math and Science: Activities and Lesson Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamm, Mary; Adams, Dennis

2008-01-01

This book offers practical recommendations to reach every student in a K-8 classroom. Research-based and written in a teacher-friendly style, it will help teachers with classroom organization and lesson planning in math and science. Included are math and science games, activities, ideas, and lesson plans based on the math and science standards.…

Preliminary Lessons about Supporting Participation and Learning in Inclusive Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morningstar, Mary E.; Shogren, Karrie A.; Lee, Hyunjoo; Born, Kiara

2015-01-01

This descriptive study examined observational data collected in inclusive classrooms from six schools that were operating schoolwide inclusive policies and practices. Illustrative evidence of classroom practices supporting learning and participation of all students, including students with significant disabilities, adds to an understanding of…

Classroom Interaction in Kenyan Primary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ackers, Jim; Hardman, Frank

2001-01-01

Reports on a study of classroom interaction in Kenyan primary schools. Analyzes video recordings of 102 lessons in English, mathematics, and science using systematic observation, discourse analysis, and a time-line analysis. Reveals the preponderance of teacher dominated lessons with little opportunity for student interaction. Considers…

Use of Digital Videos in New Zealand Science Classrooms: Opportunities for Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Junjun; Cowie, Bronwen

2016-01-01

This paper reports how New Zealand teachers used digital videos from an educational website in science classrooms and how teachers and students viewed the use of videos. The study involved lesson observations in nine different classrooms, student and teacher interviews, and teacher focus group discussions. Multiple qualitative data were analysed…

Exploration of instruction, assessment, and equity in the middle school science classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szpyrka, Donna A.

2001-07-01

In order to determine equitable practices of middle school science teachers questionnaire responses, classroom observations, teacher interviews, and assessment artifacts were examined to discover relationships between classroom instruction, assessment practices, and equity. Teachers in middle school science classrooms in six different schools completed a National Center for Education Statistics questionnaire, offered assessment artifacts, and participated in interviews. Observers using a classroom observation protocol and an equity profile rated 22 lessons. The study found that a distinction could be made between teachers who were more equitable and those who were less equitable. Careful planning and organization; the incorporation of tasks, roles, and interactions consistent with investigative science; a collaborative approach to learning; and instruction that takes into account what transpired in previous lessons---appear to be characteristics of lesson design of the more equitable teachers. In addition, instructional strategies and activities that addressed access, equity, and diversity as well as, a classroom climate that was respectful of students' contributions were found to a greater extent in the more equitable teachers' classrooms. While all teachers used multiple methods of assessment, the more equitable teachers used assessment differently. They also provided written feedback to students, relied on more than one aspect of student performance for determining grades, and explicated clear and specific assessment practices.

Infrared astronomy in science and education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayeur, Paul Anthony

This dissertation looks at the effects of an educator-scientist partnership on the creation of an inquiry based science lesson for the middle school classroom. The lesson was initially created by a scientist following their science research, but changed as the scientist began working with teachers. The changes in the lesson show that scientists and educators may not agree on what is considered appropriate for a science lesson because of time commitment and grade level. However, by working together the partnership is able to reach a compromise of the lesson that allows for the students to get the best possible outcome. This dissertation also shows that science research is a method of inquiry, which can be brought to the classroom through inquiry education. The science research the lesson followed looks at the interstellar dust cloud DC 314.8-5.1, which is unique because of the cloud's proximity to a B-type star with no known association. This thesis did a survey of the area looking for background sources that can be used for future spectroscopical studies. Further, the survey led to the discovery of two possible young stellar objects. In order to fuel educator-scientist interaction and to bring inquiry education into the middle school classroom a scientist created a web-based science lesson that incorporated real NASA data into the middle-school classroom. This lesson was based on the scientist's research in infrared astronomy within the broader context of astrobiology. The lesson includes students plotting real data; in the process the students learn about infrared radiation, star color, and the wavelength/temperature relationship. These are all topics that were studied in the scientist's research, which led the scientist to the idea of creating a lesson for the middle-school classroom. This lesson is based on the principles of inquiry-based learning. Inquiry lessons can bring together these ideas into one place and hopefully inspire new generations to explore the world and universe through science. The scientist then worked with five teachers to edit the lesson for each teacher's classroom. For four of five teachers the lesson changed from an online based lesson that used Excel to a PowerPoint presentation and paper graphing. It is shown here that partnerships between scientists and educators are beneficial for both parties as it allows scientists to understand how to communicate their scientific findings to the general public, while allowing teachers to stay updated with the most advanced science research.

Rethinking Online Discourse: Improving Learning through Discussions in the Online Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Cass M.

2016-01-01

As colleges continue to expand online offerings, student participation within courses should be assessed to ensure that teachers can best implement effective, responsible lesson plans. This study examined discourse in an online classroom in order to gauge student participation by observing student-to-student and student-to-instructor exchanges…

Strategic Lesson Planning in Online Courses: Suggestions for Counselor Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cicco, Gina

2013-01-01

This article presents instructors with a myriad of strategies for lesson planning in online courses. There are many inherent differences between the traditional classroom and the virtual classroom. Factors such as student experience with online courses, instructor availability, and the compatibility between instructor teaching style and student…

Does the Modality Principle for Multimedia Learning Apply to Science Classrooms?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harskamp, Egbert G.; Mayer, Richard E.; Suhre, Cor

2007-01-01

This study demonstrated that the modality principle applies to multimedia learning of regular science lessons in school settings. In the first field experiment, 27 Dutch secondary school students (age 16-17) received a self-paced, web-based multimedia lesson in biology. Students who received lessons containing illustrations and narration performed…

The Paper Airplane Challenge: A Market Economy Simulation. Lesson Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Kimberly

This lesson plan features a classroom simulation that helps students understand the characteristics of a market economic system. The lesson plan states a purpose; cites student objectives; suggests a time duration; lists materials needed; and details a step-by-step teaching procedure. The "Paper Airplane Challenge" handout is attached. (BT)

`Just Be Quiet and Listen to Exactly What He's Saying': Conceptualising power relations in inquiry-oriented classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donnelly, Dermot Francis; McGarr, Oliver; O'Reilly, John

2014-08-01

Interest in inquiry-based science education (IBSE) often pays little heed to the complex power relations that exist within classrooms. A common obstacle to inquiry is that it strongly diverges from current classroom culture and hence, is outside the sphere of teachers' and students' experiences. Teachers and students bring expectations to the classroom that are entrenched in traditional practices and influenced by dynamics of power that exist within all teacher-student relationships. This study, which emerged during a wider study of the use of a Virtual Chemistry Lab in supporting IBSE, explores how classroom discourse constructs and maintains power relations that either stifle or facilitate inquiry-based approaches in two science lessons. Research methods included teacher interviews, student focus groups, video-recorded lessons, and student self-assessments. Findings indicate distinctive features of power inside the classroom that impact on inquiry-based instruction, such as predominant teacher monitoring on task completion over task understanding, lack of student engagement in ownership of scientific ideas, and prevailing norms of what effective teacher questioning is. We discuss implications for IBSE change efforts, highlighting that well-established power relations currently represent an important limiting factor in the capacity of teachers' IBSE implementation.

SciNews: Incorporating Science Current Events in 21st Century Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiMaggio, E.

2011-12-01

Middle school students are instructed with the aid of textbooks, lectures, and activities to teach topics that satisfy state standards. However, teaching materials created to convey standard-aligned science concepts often leave students asking how the content relates to their lives and why they should be learning it. Conveying relevance is important for student learning and retention, especially in science where abstract concepts can often be incorrectly perceived as irrelevant. One way to create an educational link between classroom content and everyday life is through the use of scientific current events. Students read, hear, and watch media coverage of natural events (such as the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan), but do not necessarily relate the scientific information from media sources to classroom studies. Taking advantage of these brief 'teachable moments'--when student interest is high--provides a valuable opportunity to make classroom-to-everyday life associations and to incorporate inquiry based learning. To address this need, I create pre-packaged current event materials for middle to high school teachers that align to state standards, and which are short, effective, and easy to implement in the classroom. Each lesson takes approximately 15-30 minutes to implement, allowing teachers time to facilitate brief but meaningful discussions. I assemble materials within approximately one week of the regional or global science event, consisting of short slide shows, maps, videos, pictures, and real-time data. I use a listserv to send biweekly emails to subscribed instructors containing the current event topic and a link to download the materials. All materials are hosted on the Arizona State University Education Outreach SciNews website (http://sese.asu.edu/teacher-resources) and are archived. Currently, 285 educators subscribe to the SciNews listserv, representing 36 states and 19 countries. In order to assess the effectiveness and usefulness of SciNews materials, each lesson links to a brief online survey. I ask educators for basic information (grade level, number of students) as well as feedback on lesson content, accessibility of media types used, agreement with standards, and general comments on how to improve SciNews. Survey results show that SciNews lessons have been implemented in elementary through college classrooms. Comments express an overall agreement that Scinews lessons facilitate classroom discussion, heighten student interest in the topic, and that lessons are easy to use and modify. Current events help demonstrate to students that, unlike fact-filled textbooks suggest, science is not static and scientists are actively investigating many 'textbook' concepts. Showing students the process and progressive nature of scientific information reinforces critical thinking rather than pure memorization.

Characterization of mathematics instructional practises for prospective elementary teachers with varying levels of self-efficacy in classroom management and mathematics teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Carrie W.; Walkowiak, Temple A.; Nietfeld, John L.

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between prospective teachers' (PTs) instructional practises and their efficacy beliefs in classroom management and mathematics teaching. A sequential, explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Results from efficacy surveys, implemented with 54 PTs were linked to a sample of teachers' instructional practises during the qualitative phase. In this phase, video-recorded lessons were analysed based on tasks, representations, discourse, and classroom management. Findings indicate that PTs with higher levels of mathematics teaching efficacy taught lessons characterised by tasks of higher cognitive demand, extended student explanations, student-to-student discourse, and explicit connections between representations. Classroom management efficacy seems to bear influence on the utilised grouping structures. These findings support explicit attention to PTs' mathematics teaching and classroom management efficacy throughout teacher preparation and a need for formative feedback to inform development of beliefs about teaching practises.

Effective Lesson Planning: Field Trips in the Science Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rieger, C. R.

2010-10-01

Science field trips can positively impact and motivate students. However, if a field trip is not executed properly, with appropriate preparation and follow-up reinforcement, it can result in a loss of valuable educational time and promote misconceptions in the students. This study was undertaken to determine if a classroom lesson before an out-of-the-classroom activity would affect learner gain more or less than a lesson after the activity. The study was based on the immersive theater movie ``Earth's Wild Ride'' coupled with a teacher-led Power Point lesson. The participants in the study were students in a sixth grade physical science class. The order of lessons showed no detectable effect on final learner outcomes. Based on pre- and post-testing, improvement in mean learning gain came from the teacher-led lesson independent of the movie. The visit to the immersive theater, however, had significant positive effects that did not show up in the quantitative results of the testing.

Student Views of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenkraft, Arthur

2011-01-01

Current instructional and learning models insist that when teachers prepare lessons for their technology and engineering classes, they must begin with a sense of what students already know. In preparing lessons, many teachers use their years of classroom experience as data to inform them about students' prior knowledge and about student…

Assessing Students' Understanding through Conversations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanderhye, Cecilia M.; Zmijewski Demers, Cynthia M.

2008-01-01

This article describes how teachers can use students' conversations to assess their mathematical understanding. The authors draw on their own classroom experiences to show what they learned about planning for future lessons based on discussions in their own classrooms.

Authentic Assessment in the Geometry Classroom: Calculating the Classroom Air-Exchange Rate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erich, David J.

2002-01-01

Introduces a room air-exchange activity designed to assess student understanding of the concept of volume. Lists materials for the activity and its procedures. Includes the lesson plan and a student worksheet. (KHR)

How to Use Backchanneling in Your Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarrett, Kevin; Devine, Mary Ann

2010-01-01

Student engagement--it's what every educator strives for. When a lesson includes showing a movie and involving students in a discussion about it, it's even harder to get--and keep--students engaged. What if there was a free, easy way to engage one's students during lessons like this, meeting them "where they live" with technology, effortlessly…

Gender Inequality in Biology Classes in China and Its Effects on Students' Short-Term Outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ning; Neuhaus, Birgit

2014-07-01

This study investigated gender inequality in biology lessons and analysed the effects of the observed inequality on students' short-term knowledge achievement, situational interest and students' evaluation of teaching (SET). Twenty-two biology teachers and 803 7th-grade students from rural and urban classrooms in China participated in the study. Each teacher was videotaped for 1 lesson on the topic blood and circulatory system. Before and after the lessons, the students completed tests and questionnaires. Chi-square analysis was conducted to compare the boys' and girls' participation rates of answering teachers' questions in the lessons. The findings revealed that in the urban classrooms the boys had a significantly higher rate of participation than did the girls, and hence also a higher situational interest. However, no such gender inequity was found among the rural students. The study also revealed that urban students answered more complicated questions compared with the rural students in general. The findings of this study suggest that the teachers should try to balance boys' and girls' participation and involve more students in answering questions in their lessons. The study also raises questions about long-term effects of students' participation in answering teachers' questions on their outcomes-knowledge achievement, situational interest and SET.

Swedish Upper Secondary Students' Perspectives on the Typical Mathematics Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Paul; Larson, Niclas

2017-01-01

This paper presents a group interview study of Swedish upper secondary students' perspectives on the typical mathematics lesson. Students, from four demographically different schools, constructed a collective synthesis of their many years' experience of mathematics classrooms. Transcriptions were subjected to a constant comparison analysis, which…

Using Civilization IV to Engage Students in World History Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagnotti, John; Russell, William B., III

2012-01-01

How can teachers utilize video games in the classroom, harnessing a technology that is gaining "market share" in the lives of our students? This article will provide classroom teachers with a research-based rationale for using video games along with a viable, classroom-tested lesson to teach social studies content using a widely…

Students Taking Charge: Inside the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulla, Nancy

2011-01-01

Teachers and administrators who recognize the needs of today's society and students, and their impact on teaching and learning, can use this book to create student-centered classrooms that make technology a vital part of their lessons. Filled with practical examples and step-by-step guidelines, "Students Taking Charge" will help educators design…

An Elective Course to Engage Student Pharmacists in Elementary School Science Education

PubMed Central

Wilson, Judith S.; Blankenship, James; Quock, Raymond M.; Lindsey, Marti; Kinsler, Janni J.

2011-01-01

Objective. To develop and assess the impact of an elective course (HealthWISE) on student pharmacists’ skills in communication and health promotion and elementary school students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward science. Design. Three colleges and schools of pharmacy collaborated to develop a 1-credit elective course that used online and classroom teaching and learning techniques to prepare student pharmacists to teach science in elementary school classrooms. Student pharmacists delivered 6 science lessons to elementary students over the course of 2 months. Assessment. In weekly journal reflections and a final paper, student pharmacists reported improved communication and health promotion skills. Elementary teachers reported they were satisfied with student pharmacists’ performance in the classroom. On pretest and posttest evaluations, elementary students demonstrated increased science knowledge and enhanced enthusiasm for science following the lessons taught by student pharmacists. Conclusions. The HealthWISE elective course provided positive benefit for student pharmacists, elementary school teachers, and elementary students. PMID:22345722

A Relevant Lesson: Hitler Goes to the Mall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerwin, David

2003-01-01

A "Motivation" eliciting the "Aim" of each lesson initiates each lesson in the orthodox "developmental lesson-plan" that has dominated classroom instruction in NYC public schools for at least the past half-century. An action-research study of 38 lesson-plans (over 5 each from 5 teachers) drawn from student-teaching…

Doing the lesson or doing science: Argument in high school genetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez-Aleixandre, M. Pilar; Bugallo Rodríguez, Anxela; Duschl, Richard A.

2000-11-01

This article focuses on the capacity of students to develop and assess arguments during a high school genetics instructional sequence. The research focused on the locating distinction in argumentation discourse between doing science vs. doing school or doing the lesson (Bloome, Puro, & Theodorou, 1989). Participants in this classroom case study were high school (9th grade) students in Galicia (Spain). Students were observed, videotaped, and audiotaped while working in groups over six class sessions. Toulmin's argument pattern was used as a tool for the analysis of students' conversation and other frames were used for analyzing other dimensions of students' dialogue; (e.g., epistemic operations, use of analogies, appeal to consistency, and causal relations). Instances of doing science and instances of doing the lesson are identified and discussed as moments when the classroom discourse is dominated either by talking science or displaying the roles of students. The different arguments constructed and co-constructed by students, the elements of the arguments, and the sequence are also discussed, showing a dominance of claims and a lesser frequence of justifications or warrants. Implications for developing effective contexts to promote argumentation and science dialogue in the classroom are discussed.

Social Studies Classroom Activities for Secondary Schools. Schools in an Aging Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goranson, Donald G., Ed.

Designed for secondary students, the 20 lessons in this volume promote education for, with, and about older adults and prepare students to participate in the changing world. Lessons 1-3 explore attitudes about aging through word association, confront the aging process, and examine values regarding time. Lessons 4-6 study aging in different times…

Becoming Informed Citizens: Lessons on the Constitution for Junior High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Kenneth A.; And Others

This document consists of lesson plans for teaching junior high school students about the U.S. Constitution. Lessons are derived from teaching methods that instructors have found useful and appropriate for the actual condition of the ordinary classroom, and account for the characteristics and needs of the early adolescent. The document includes a…

Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers to Classroom Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferlazzo, Larry

2011-01-01

Give your students the tools they need to motivate themselves with tips from award-winning educator Larry Ferlazzo. A comprehensive outline of common classroom challenges, this book presents immediately applicable steps and lesson plans for all middle and high school teachers looking to help students motivate themselves. With coverage of…

Opportunities to Write: An Exploration of Student Writing during Language Arts Lessons in Norwegian Lower Secondary Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blikstad-Balas, Marte; Roe, Astrid; Klette, Kirsti

2018-01-01

Research suggests that student development as writers requires a supportive environment in which they receive sustained opportunities to write. However, writing researchers in general know relatively little about the actual writing opportunities embedded in students' language arts lessons and how students' production of texts in class is framed.…

Resolving Conflicts Peacefully.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CRADLE: Center for Research and Development in Law-Related Education, Winston-Salem, NC.

Focusing on the theme of conflict resolution, this booklet contains 22 lessons developed and used by classroom teachers at all grade levels. The lessons generally contain a brief overview, goals and objectives, student activities, and corresponding handouts or materials useful in implementing the lessons. Each lesson contains insights into methods…

An Assessment of Need for Instructional Professional Development for Middle School Science Teachers Using Interactive Lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, Amanda

Numerous studies on the impact of interactive lessons on student learning have been conducted, but there has been a lack of professional development (PD) programs at a middle school focusing on ways to incorporate interactive lessons into the science classroom setting. The purpose of this case study was to examine the instructional practices of science teachers to determine whether the need for an interactive lessons approach to teaching students exists. This qualitative case study focused on teachers' perceptions and pedagogy to determine whether the need to use interactive lessons to meet the needs of all students is present. The research question focused on identifying current practices and determining whether a need for interactive lessons is present. Qualitative data were gathered from science teachers at the school through interviews, lesson plans, and observations, all of which were subsequently coded using an interpretative analysis. The results indicated the need for a professional development (PD) program centered on interactive science lessons. Upon completion of the qualitative study, a detailed PD program has been proposed to increase the instructional practices of science teachers to incorporate interactive lessons within the science classroom. Implications for positive social change include improved teaching strategies and lessons that are more student-centered resulting in better understanding and comprehension, as well as performance on state-mandated tests.

Implementation of Project Students Are Sun Safe (SASS) in Rural High Schools Along the Arizona-Mexico Border.

PubMed

Loescher, Lois J; Rawdin, Sarah; Machain, Tashina; Emrick, Gail; Pasvogel, Alice; Spartonos, Denise; Johnson, Riley E; Campas, David

2017-11-04

The incidence of skin cancer is raising in Hispanics/Latinos, which is a concern for Hispanics/Latinos living in Arizona, a state with a high amount of ultraviolet radiation exposure. There is a dearth of research on skin cancer prevention education for Hispanic/Latino adolescents in high school. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework, academic and community partners conducted a project to adapt an existing efficacious skin cancer prevention program, Project Students are Sun Safe (SASS) and the current SASS online training model, for dissemination to predominantly Hispanic/Latino students attending high schools in rural southeastern Arizona, located along the Arizona-Mexico border. We assessed the feasibility of training some of these students as peer educators (n = 16) to implement the "Border SASS" lesson to their peers in high school classrooms (n = 198). Border SASS training and the classroom lesson were feasible for, and highly acceptable to, peer educators and classroom students. These students significantly improved skin cancer prevention knowledge scores and self-reported skin cancer prevention behaviors over a 3- to 4-month period post training and the intervention implementation. Here we report on the following: (1) academic-community partnership and adaptation of the SASS training model for rural Hispanic high school students, (2) training of the high school peer educators, (3) administration of the SASS lesson by the trained peer educators to high school students, and (4) further evaluation of peer educator training and classroom student outcomes.

Teaching science in museums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Lynn Uyen

Museums are free-choice, non-threatening, non-evaluative learning and teaching environments. They enable learners to revisit contents, authentic objects, and experiences at their own leisure as they continually build an understanding and appreciation of the concepts. Schools in America have used museums as resources to supplement their curriculum since the 19 th century. Field trip research is predominantly from the teachers' and students' perspectives, and draws attention to the importance for classroom teachers and students to prepare prior to field trips, have tasks, goals, and objectives during their time at the museum, and follow up afterwards. Meanwhile, museum educators' contributions to field trip experiences have been scantily addressed. These educators develop and implement programs intended to help students' explore science concepts and make sense of their experiences, and despite their limited time with students, studies show they can be memorable. First, field trips are a break in the usual routine, and thus have curiosity and attention attracting power. Second, classroom science teaching literature suggests teachers' teaching knowledge and goals can affect their behaviors, and in turn influence student learning. Third, classroom teachers are novices at planning and implementing field trip planners, and museum educators can share this responsibility. But little is reported on how the educators teach, what guides their instruction, how classroom teachers use these lessons, and what is gained from these lessons. This study investigates two of these inquiries. The following research questions guided this investigation. (1) How do educators teaching one-hour, one-time lessons in museums adapt their instruction to the students that they teach? (2) How do time limitations affect instruction? (3) How does perceived variability in entering student knowledge affect instruction? Four educators from two museums took part in this participant observation study to examine one aspect of the teaching culture in museums, that is instruction during one-time science lessons. The researcher remained a passive participant in all 23 lessons observed. Data included observations, interviews, and researcher field notes. An inductive analysis model incorporating constant comparison and domain analysis methods was adopted to analyze the data. Five major findings emerged from this analysis. (1) Repeating lessons develop comfort and insight to compensate one-time nature of lessons. (2) Details within science lessons can vary according to the students. (3) A lifelong learning perspective forms the foundation for educators' choices. (4) Refine teaching to use time efficiently. (5) Educators designate roles to teachers and chaperones to maximize time. These findings had implications for museum educators, classroom teachers, and all those involved in school field trips. Recommendations for action and future research emerging from this study were listed and discussed.

Making a Difference in the Classroom: Strategies that Connect with Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balli, Sandra J.

2009-01-01

This book is about the energy, substance, hope, and determination that excellent teachers bring to the rhythm of classrooms every day, year in and year out. Balli offers experiences and important lessons about teaching and classroom life at all grade levels, illuminating the perspective of both teachers and students. Knitting teacher and student…

Lessons Learned the Hard Way but Learned Well

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dirksen, Debra J.

2014-01-01

The author spins a tale of how she learned classroom management largely by trial and error and by making a commitment to never give up on her students. Classroom management done well provides the signposts that give students direction and enables them to reach their destination as learners and human beings. Classroom management is one of the most…

Literacy Lessons in One Language Arts Sixth-Grade Classroom: The Year of the Guinea Pigs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radcliffe, Barbara J.

2015-01-01

All classrooms are active social systems; the middle school classroom involves complex interactions between and among peers as well as between students and teachers. In the elementary years, attention is often given to nurturing students and fostering relationships, yet when young adolescents transition to the middle school, a focus on control and…

The High Trust Classroom: Raising Achievement from the Inside Out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Lonnie

2009-01-01

This book provides a roadmap to developing a high-trust classroom, a classroom: (1) With increased student achievement; (2) With few discipline problems; (3) Where students are intrinsically motivated; and (4) Where the teacher can confidently use creative lesson planning. The author presents a simple step by step approach to earning the trust of…

Where Are the Women?: A Classroom Inquiry into Social Studies Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brugar, Kristy; Halvorsen, Anne-Lise; Hernandez, Sunshine

2014-01-01

This article describes a two-day, upper elementary social scientific inquiry lesson in which students investigate the representation of women in their textbooks by critically analyzing them. In the lesson, students are asked whether they think women and men get equal coverage in their textbook. The authors conclude that the students demonstrated…

Nuclear Forensics for High School Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mader, Catherine; Doss, Heide; Plisch, Monica; Isola, Drew; Mirakovitz, Kathy

2011-04-01

We developed an education module on nuclear forensics, designed for high school science classrooms. The lessons include a mix of hands-on activities, computer simulations, and written exercises. Students are presented with realistic scenarios designed to develop their knowledge of nuclear science and its application to nuclear forensics. A two-day teacher workshop offered at Hope College attracted 20 teachers. They were loaned kits to implement activities with their students, and each teacher spent 3--7 days on the lessons. All who reported back said they would do it again and would share the lessons with colleagues. Many said that access to equipment and ready-made lessons enabled them to expand what they taught about nuclear science and introduce nuclear forensics. A few teachers invited guest speakers to their classroom, which provided an excellent opportunity to share career information with students. We acknowledge generous support from the Department of Homeland Security and the AIP Meggars Award.

"Boss of the United States" Kindergarteners' Concept of Voting: Five Scaffolded Lessons that Build Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulrey, Betty C.; Ackerman, Ann T.; Howson, Patricia H.

2012-01-01

In any U.S. presidential election year, classroom teachers integrate lessons into their curriculum that help students understand their privileges, responsibilities, and rights as good citizens. Teaching about the electoral process and voting in primary classrooms is one way to build a foundation that promotes civic engagement. In this article, the…

Mobile English Learning: An Evidence-Based Study with Fifth Graders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandberg, Jacobijn; Maris, Marinus; de Geus, Kaspar

2011-01-01

Three groups participated in a study on the added value of mobile technology for learning English as a second language for primary school students. The first group had classroom lessons in English about zoo animals and their characteristics. The second group took classroom lessons and worked with a mobile application on location in a public zoo.…

Technology Integration in Elementary Classrooms: Teaching Practices of Student Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ping

2016-01-01

This study examines how and why student teachers integrated technology to enhance instruction in elementary classrooms. The participants were 31 student teachers who completed an assignment of eight weeks. Multiple data sets including observation notes of 347 lessons were obtained from three key groups for data triangulation. Results reveal that…

Culturally Responsive Teaching in an Oglala Lakota Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stowe, Rebeka

2017-01-01

In response to the widening academic achievement gap between Native American students and other students in the United States, a culturally responsive approach was used in a Native American social studies class with positive results. Eighth-grade Oglala Lakota students in an American History classroom experienced a unit infused with lessons that…

Lessons in Culture: Oral Storytelling in a Literature Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Railton, Nikki

2015-01-01

This essay charts the experiences of a group of Year 10 students studying literature together. I challenge the current educational thinking that the literature classroom should consist exclusively of a set of canonised texts handed down from teacher to student. Instead I consider the importance of ensuring students have space to explore themselves…

Constructing Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Ethical Experiences of Classroom Lessons and Clinical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knowles, Amy J. B.

2014-01-01

Ethics is an integral component of the nursing profession. This phenomenological study aimed to describe how baccalaureate nursing students experience learning ethics both in the classroom and clinical setting. The interviews in this study were conducted with eight second semester senior nursing students. Four themes emerged from analyses of the…

Wheat for You.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrold, Maxine

This guide contains information and lesson plans for use in teaching students the importance of developing and maintaining a healthy diet. The lessons are primarily for use in fourth-grade classrooms, but portions of the lessons are appropriate for more advanced age groups. Each lesson plan is accompanied by worksheets and activities planned to…

Movement and Learning in Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindt, Suzanne F.; Miller, Stacia C.

2017-01-01

Incorporating movement into elementary school lessons in reading, math, and other subjects can boost students' interest and academic learning while also helping them meet recommendations for daily involvement in physical activity. In a recent study, researchers found that students in classrooms where movement was integrated into regular lessons,…

The value of storytelling in the science classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isabelle, Aaron David

The "traditional science classroom" asks students, "What do we know in science?," and ignores the question, "How do we know what we know?" The purpose of this research is to combine the powerful structure of narrative with the history of science in junior high school science classrooms. This study investigates whether history-of-science-based stories have advantages over traditional, lecture-style presentations. The storytelling approach aims to present science concepts in a meaningful and memorable context and in a coherent and connected manner. The research program employed parallel curricula: science concepts were taught through novel stories and through lectures, at different times, to eight different groups of seventh and eighth grade students at Holy Name Junior High School in Worcester, Massachusetts. Students were assessed with pre- and post-tests and through individual interviews: Before, immediately after, and two weeks after the lessons, students were given short-answer questionnaires. Two weeks after each lesson, individual interviews were also conducted with a sampling of the students. The questionnaires were coded according to a clear set of written standards and the interviews were transformed into concept maps. Student learning and retention levels, gender differences, and alternate conceptions were quantitatively analyzed. The results reveal that the students who were taught through stories learned the science concepts, on the average, 21% better and retained close to 48% more than the students who were taught through traditional lessons. Fewer alternate conceptions were expressed after story lessons than after lectures. Investigation of gender differences in learning science through the two methods revealed that boys profited more than girls did from the story lessons. The union of narrative with the history of science in the form of story lessons seems natural since the spatiotemporal structure of a narrative mirrors the unfolding of actions in the history of science. This combination proved to be an effective science teaching method with these junior high students. In general, the story lessons helped the students better understand and retain the science concept than the traditional lessons did. The reason for the girls' smaller story gains are not clear, but may include a lack of female characters in the stories used. The over-all results are quite convincing in the sample of students studied and suggest a more generalized applicability. This line of research is well worth pursuing further.

Integrating Ubunifu, informal science, and community innovations in science classrooms in East Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semali, Ladislaus M.; Hristova, Adelina; Owiny, Sylvia A.

2015-12-01

This study examines the relationship between informal science and indigenous innovations in local communities in which students matured. The discussion considers methods for bridging the gap that exists between parents' understanding of informal science ( Ubunifu) and what students learn in secondary schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. In an effort to reconcile the difference between students' lived experiences and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) taught in classrooms, this study presents an experiential iSPACES instructional model as an example of curriculum integration in science classrooms. The culmination is presentation of lessons learned from history, including Africa's unique contributions to science, theory, and indigenous innovations, in the hope that these lessons can spur the development of new instructional practices, standards, curriculum materials, professional and community development, and dialogue among nations.

A Comparative Study between Iranian and Japanese Students' Conceptions of "Ideal English Lesson"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jafari, Sakineh; Ketabi, Saeed

2014-01-01

With the shift in language teaching towards a more learner-centered approach, there is now an emphasis on considering learners' views on what goes on in the classroom. Involving learners in selecting and evaluating classroom activities as well as listening to their voices and preferences can be helpful for teachers in planning lesson and designing…

A Problem-Based Learning Approach to Civics Education: Exploring the Free Exercise Clause with Supreme Court Simulations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagnotti, John; Russell, William B., III

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to empower those interested in teaching students powerful and engaging social studies. Through the lens of Supreme Court simulations, this article provides educators with a viable, classroom-tested lesson plan to bring Problem-Based Learning into their classrooms. The specific aim of the lesson is to provide students…

Developing Student Autonomy in the One-to-One Music Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPhail, Graham J.

2013-01-01

As a practitioner in both the classroom and in the instrumental studio, I am interested in how one educational context might inform the other. Within an action research paradigm, I gave a violin lesson in front of colleagues as a means to gain feedback and to open up discussion on the concept of student autonomy within the one-to-one lesson. The…

Using stand/sit workstations in classrooms: lessons learned from a pilot study in Texas.

PubMed

Blake, Jamilia J; Benden, Mark E; Wendel, Monica L

2012-01-01

Childhood obesity has grown into a national epidemic since the 1980s. Many school-based intervention efforts that target childhood obesity involve curriculum and programming that demands instructional time, which disincentivizes school participation. Stand-biased classrooms are an environmental intervention that promotes standing rather than sitting by utilizing standing height desks that allow students to stand during normal classroom activities. The quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted in 5 first-grade classrooms in a Texas elementary school, with 2 control classrooms, 2 treatment classrooms, and 1 classroom that was a control in the fall and treatment in the spring (to allow for within-group comparisons). This intervention has been shown effective in significantly increasing caloric expenditure. In addition, the present study reveals potential behavioral effects from standing. This article presents lessons learned from the pilot study that may prove useful for others implementing similar interventions and calls for additional research on the academic benefits of standing for students.

KML-based teaching lessons developed by Google in partnership with the University of Alaska.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolb, E. J.; Bailey, J.; Bishop, A.; Cain, J.; Goddard, M.; Hurowitz, K.; Kennedy, K.; Ornduff, T.; Sfraga, M.; Wernecke, J.

2008-12-01

The focus of Google's Geo Education outreach efforts (http://www.google.com/educators/geo.html) is on helping primary, secondary, and post-secondary educators incorporate Google Earth and Sky, Google Maps, and SketchUp into their classroom lessons. In this poster and demonstration, we will show our KML-based science lessons that were developed in partnership with the University of Alaska and used in classroom teachings by our team to Alaskan high-school students.

One-Two Punch: Utilizing Teacher Research Experiences and Related Classroom Activities to Increase Student Interest in STEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wold-Brennon, R.; Cooper, S. K.

2014-12-01

Through collaborations between scientists and educators, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership developed a series of marine geosciences classroom activities and lesson plans -- including the Adopt-a-Microbe project, a collection of hands-on science lessons that use the sub-seafloor microbiology topics to provide engaging pathways for K-12 students to learn about the world around them. The goal of these activities has been to introduce youth to deep ocean exploration, inspire interest in microbial oceanography, and foster higher education goals and career paths in related sciences for our youth. From the beginning, these lessons were developed in close working relationships between scientists and educators, and the lessons geared towards middle school have been recently piloted with the intent to maximize sustained student interest in STEM topics. While teaching these units, educators used surveys, polls, group discussions, and interviews to shed light on correlations between student interest in STEM and their close proximity to exemplary and enthusiastic educators and student leaders who are active in STEM activities such as research projects and expeditions. Educators continue to use Adopt-a-Microbe and related expedition science-based lessons to explore the broader impacts of their professional development in the Geosciences on their students' professed interest in STEM.

Connecting polar research to NGSS STEM classroom lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brinker, R.; Kast, D.

2016-12-01

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are designed to bring consistent, rigorous science teaching across the United States. Topics are categorized as Performance Expectations (PE), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI), Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCC), and Science and Engineering Practices (SEP). NGSS includes a focus on environmental science and climate change across grade levels. Earth and planetary sciences are required at the high school level. Integrating polar science lessons into NGSS classrooms brings relevant, rigorous climate change curriculum across grade levels. Polar science provides opportunities for students to use current data during lessons, conduct their own field work, and collaborate with scientists. Polar science provides a framework of learning that is novel to most students. Inquiry and engagement are high with polar science lessons. Phenomenon related to polar science provide an excellent tool for science teachers to use to engage students in a lesson, stimulate inquiry, and promote critical thinking. When taught effectively, students see the connections between their community, polar regions and climate change, regardless of where on the planet students live. This presentation describes examples of how to effectively implement NGSS lessons by incorporating polar science lessons and field research. Examples of introductory phenomenon and aligned PEs, CCCs, DCIs, and SEPs are given. Suggested student activities, assessments, examples of student work, student research, labs, and PolarTREC fieldwork, use of current science data, and connections to scientists in the field are provided. The goals of the presentation are to give teachers a blueprint to follow when implementing NGSS lessons, and give scientists an understanding of the basics of NGSS so they may be better able to relate their work to U.S. science education and be more effective communicators of their science findings.

Student and Teacher Interventions: A Framework for Analysing Mathematical Discourse in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drageset, Ove Gunnar

2015-01-01

Mathematical discourse in the classroom has been conceptualised in several ways, from relatively general patterns such as initiation-response-evaluation (Cazden in "Classroom discourse: the language of teaching and learning," Heinemann, London, 1988; Mehan in "Learning lessons: social organization in the classroom." Cambridge,…

Teaching Strategy. Tort Law and the Civil Jury.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittman, Keith A.

1997-01-01

Presents a lesson plan that introduces students to the tort system of law and the responsibilities of the civil jury. The lesson involves student research and a mock jury trial establishing legal responsibility for a fatal automobile accident. Includes a list of objectives, classroom procedures, and handouts on jury deliberations. (MJP)

Teachers' Questioning Techniques in Advanced Level Chemistry Lessons: A Tanzanian Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kira, Ernest; Komba, Sotco; Kafanabo, Eugenia; Tilya, Frank

2013-01-01

This study investigated the extent to which teachers' questioning techniques and the way teachers handled students' responses facilitated students' learning and promoted their thinking skills. The study focused on three secondary schools in Dar es Salaam. The data collection process involved classroom observations during chemistry lessons and…

Tools for Getting Along. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2013

2013-01-01

"Tools for Getting Along" is a 26-lesson curriculum designed to help upper elementary school teachers establish a positive, cooperative classroom atmosphere. Lessons are intended to reduce disruptive and aggressive behavior by helping students develop anger management skills. Students use problem-solving steps to generate, implement, and…

Reducing the Risk, Increasing the Promise: Strategies for Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergmann, Sherrel; Brough, Judith Allen

2012-01-01

In their new book, Bergmann and Brough provide a clear path to follow for helping your at-risk students achieve success in and out of the classroom. Packed with classroom-tested, practical strategies and lesson plans for teaching respect, responsibility, resilience, reading, and other essential skills to at-risk students, this is a must-have book…

Building Bridges of Learning and Understanding: A Collection of Classroom Activities on Puerto Rican Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Selles, Marla E., Ed.; And Others

This collection of 35 self-contained teaching activities about Puerto Rican culture for elementary school students is designed for teachers who wish to incorporate multicultural concepts into their curriculum or make their teaching more relevant to Puerto Rican students. All lesson plans and student worksheets needed for immediate classroom use…

Assessment in the Private Studio Setting: Supporting Student Learning, Providing Effective Instruction, and Building Faculty-Student Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laubenthal, Jennifer

2018-01-01

A significant amount of literature exists about how to design and implement an effective assessment process for students in a music program, specifically in the classroom setting. This article suggests a framework for incorporating individualized assessment in the private-lesson setting based on effective classroom assessment practices. Many…

Argumentation and Equity in Inquiry-Based Science Instruction: Reasoning Patterns of Teachers and Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irish, Tobias E. L.

This multiple case study explores issues of equity in science education through an examination of how teachers' reasoning patterns compare with students' reasoning patterns during inquiry-based lessons. It also examines the ways in which teachers utilize students' cultural and linguistic resources, or funds of knowledge, during inquiry-based lessons and the ways in which students utilize their funds of knowledge, during inquiry-based lessons. Three middle school teachers and a total of 57 middle school students participated in this study. The data collection involved classroom observations and multiple interviews with each of the teachers individually and with small groups of students. The findings indicate that the students are capable of far more complex reasoning than what was elicited by the lessons observed or what was modeled and expected by the teachers, but that during the inquiry-based lessons they conformed to the more simplistic reasoning patterns they perceived as the expected norm of classroom dialogue. The findings also indicate that the students possess funds of knowledge that are relevant to science topics, but very seldom use these funds in the context of their inquiry-based lessons. In addition, the teachers in this study very seldom worked to elicit students' use of their funds in these contexts. The few attempts they did make involved the use of analogies, examples, or questions. The findings from this study have implications for both teachers and teacher educators in that they highlight similarities and differences in reasoning that can help teachers establish instructional congruence and facilitate more equitable science instruction. They also provide insight into how students' cultural and linguistic resources are utilized during inquiry-based science lessons.

Rotation Conversation: A Tip on How To Organize a Conversation Class; Amazing Sentences of Indian Students: A Simple Writing Activity that Triggered Profound Ideas; "Short and Sweet" in a Thai Classroom (A Lesson Plan Based on a Mini Literacy Text); A Pile of Pictures: Ten Practical Ideas for Your Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singleton, Pat; Dhanavel, P.; Lwin, Phyu Phyu; Yoel, Judith

2002-01-01

Techniques for teaching in the English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language classroom are included. They focus on planning a conversation class, teaching writing, a lesson plan based on a multiliteracy text, and how a pile of pictures can be used in different ways. (Author/VWL)

Best Practice Lesson Plans: A Lesson Plan in Cognitive Restructuring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sayre, Gary W.

2006-01-01

This particular lesson was developed for Cognitive Skills I, a central course in cognitive restructuring at the Mt. Olive Correctional Center. In this lesson the author developed a series of classroom activities to allow students to examine and assess current beliefs they possess, and to understand how these beliefs--whether judged rational or…

Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Lesson with Interdisciplinary Connections for Middle-Level Music Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Early, Mary Frances; Terry, Cynthia

This lesson begins with a very brief biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. The lesson identifies its educational objectives; addresses National Standards for Music Education; lists materials needed; details six step-by-step classroom procedures for lesson implementation; and provides curriculum connections for language arts, visual art, physical…

Lesson Plans: Road Maps for the Active Learning Classroom.

PubMed

Moore-Cox, Annie

2017-11-01

Lesson planning is a documentation process used extensively in education from kindergarten through 12th grade, but rarely in higher education, including undergraduate, prelicensure nursing education. Lesson plans help teachers plan what will happen during a class period from moment to moment. Trends in nursing education, such as the incorporation of active learning strategies in the classroom, make lesson plans a timely addition to the nurse educator's toolkit. This article describes the components of a lesson plan and offers an author-developed template for use in nursing education. Using the template helps nurse educators map out activities for all class participants, such as students, student pairs and teams, and faculty. The lesson plan enables faculty to plot out the many dynamic components of an active learning class period. It also serves as a road map for subsequent faculty, which is an important feature as the profession faces a wave of retirements in the coming decade. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(11):697-700.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Lessons Learned Going Back to School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wernet, Jamie L. W.

2016-01-01

When the author returned to teaching after several years in graduate school, she came armed with knowledge and visions of a student-centered classroom. Her experiences in a doctoral program taught her much about effective mathematics instruction and rekindled her desire to teach. However, a student-centered classroom reflected a major shift in…

A Sky-High Classroom Provides a New Perspective for Earth Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolb, Albert C.

1969-01-01

Describes an earth science program conducted from an airplane for 8th grade students of Carmel Middle School, Carmel, California. The steps involved in getting the program started, the classroom work and the preparatory field trips, as well as the airborne lesson itself, are described. (LC)

Scientists Talking to Students through Videos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Junjun; Cowie, Bronwen

2014-01-01

The benefits of connecting school students with scientists are well documented. This paper reports how New Zealand teachers brought scientists into the classrooms through the use of videos of New Zealand scientists talking about themselves and their research. Two researchers observed lessons in 9 different classrooms in which 23 educational videos…

Classroom Management Strategies for Difficult Students: Promoting Change through Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaty-O'Ferrall, Mary Ellen; Green, Alan; Hanna, Fred

2010-01-01

Teachers in middle level schools face overwhelming demands and challenges in their classrooms. They are expected to know content and pedagogy, develop engaging lessons that meet the needs of diverse learners, and use a variety of instructional strategies that will boost student achievement while they simultaneously develop positive relationships…

College Instructors' Experiences Transitioning to Inverted Classroom Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Glenda Maria

2017-01-01

Lecture methods in higher education continue to be the most often used form of lesson delivery, although they seem to be less effective in promoting adult students' learning and engagement. Many higher education instructors have incorporated inverted classroom (IC) methods to increase student engagement and learning. The purpose of this…

A Different Kind of Education Gap

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckert, Jonathan; Byrd, P. Ann

2012-01-01

Two former classroom teachers go back to the classroom to work, observe and discuss education. Their lessons learned include that grouping students according to ability is difficult, teachers are overworked, teachers must get to know each individual student, and most importantly, the separation between schools and the academic and policy…

"Question Moments": A Rolling Programme of Question Opportunities in Classroom Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pedrosa-de-Jesus, Helena; Leite, Sara; Watts, Mike

2016-01-01

This naturalistic study integrates specific "question moments" into lesson plans to increase pupils' classroom interactions. A range of tools explored students' ideas by providing students with opportunities to ask and write questions. Their oral and written outcomes provide data on individual and group misunderstandings. Changes to the…

Professional Vision of Classroom Management and Learning Support in Science Classrooms--Does Professional Vision Differ across General and Content-Specific Classroom Interactions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steffensky, Mirjam; Gold, Bernadette; Holdynski, Manfred; Möller, Kornelia

2015-01-01

The present study investigates the internal structure of professional vision of in-service teachers and student teachers with respect to classroom management and learning support in primary science lessons. Classroom management (including monitoring, managing momentum, and rules and routines) and learning support (including cognitive activation…

Empowering Students through History: "The Giver" as a Metaphor and Preparation for Studying History in the Secondary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brugar, Kristy A.

2012-01-01

Students sometimes resist the history lessons their teachers try to impart; challenging the purpose and relevance of the information being shared. However, reading "The Giver" can help to bridge the gap between students accepting and rejecting the lessons of history while learning to value the skills such as citizenship and awareness associated…

Understanding the Language Demands on Science Students from an Integrated Science and Language Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seah, Lay Hoon; Clarke, David John; Hart, Christina Eugene

2014-01-01

This case study of a science lesson, on the topic thermal expansion, examines the language demands on students from an integrated science and language perspective. The data were generated during a sequence of 9 lessons on the topic of "States of Matter" in a Grade 7 classroom (12-13 years old students). We identify the language demands…

Students' Learning Experiences When Using a Dynamic Geometry Software Tool in a Geometry Lesson at Secondary School in Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denbel, Dejene Girma

2015-01-01

Students learning experiences were investigated in geometry lesson when using Dynamic Geometry Software (DGS) tool in geometry learning in 25 Ethiopian secondary students. The research data were drawn from the used worksheets, classroom observations, results of pre- and post-test, a questionnaire and interview responses. I used GeoGebra as a DGS…

Capturing Student Mathematical Engagement through Differently Enacted Classroom Practices: Applying a Modification of Watson's Analytical Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patahuddin, Sitti Maesuri; Puteri, Indira; Lowrie, Tom; Logan, Tracy; Rika, Baiq

2018-01-01

This study examined student mathematical engagement through the intended and enacted lessons taught by two teachers in two different middle schools in Indonesia. The intended lesson was developed using the ELPSA learning design to promote mathematical engagement. Based on the premise that students will react to the mathematical tasks in the forms…

Less Is More--A Lesson in Global Arithmetic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pomar, Ana L.

1995-01-01

Describes classroom activities that integrate math concepts with environmental science, demography, and language arts. The lesson helps students understand the competition between natural resources and the law of supply and demand. (HTH)

The Effects of a Flipped Classroom Model of Instruction on Students' Performance and Attitudes Towards Chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olakanmi, Eunice Eyitayo

2017-02-01

This study establishes the effects of a flipped classroom model of instruction on academic performance and attitudes of 66 first-year secondary school students towards chemistry. A pre-test and post-test experimental design was employed to assign students randomly into either the experimental or control group. In order to assess the suitability of using flipped model of instruction, students were divided in two groups. For the first group called the experimental group, a "flipped classroom" was used in which the students were given video lessons and reading materials, before the class to be revised at home. On the other hand, the second group followed traditional methodology, and it was used as control. The rate of reaction knowledge test and the chemistry attitude scale were administered. In addition, the researcher documented classroom observations, experiences, thoughts and insights regarding the intervention in a journal on a daily basis in order to enrich the data. Students were interviewed at the end of the research in order to enrich the qualitative data also. Findings from this study reveal that the flipped instruction model facilitates a shift in students' conceptual understanding of the rate of chemical reaction significantly more than the control condition. Positive significant differences were found on all assessments with the flipped class students performing higher on average. Students in the flipped classroom model condition benefited by preparing for the lesson before the classes and had the opportunity to interact with peers and the teacher during the learning processes in the classroom. The findings support the notion that teachers should be trained or retrained on how to incorporate the flipped classroom model into their teaching and learning processes because it encourages students to be directly involved and active in the learning.

Graduate Student and High School Teacher Partnerships Implementing Inquiry-Based Lessons in Earth Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. A.; Preston, L.; Graham, K.

2007-12-01

Partnering science graduate students with high school teachers in their classroom is a mutually beneficial relationship. Graduate students who may become future university level faculty are exposed to teaching, classroom management, outreach scholarship, and managing time between teaching and research. Teachers benefit by having ready access to knowledgeable scientists, a link to university resources, and an additional adult in the classroom. Partnerships in Research Opportunities to Benefit Education (PROBE), a recent NSF funded GK-12 initiative, formed partnerships between science and math graduate students from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and local high school science teachers. A primary goal of this program was to promote inquiry-based science lessons. The teacher-graduate student teams worked together approximately twenty hours per week on researching, preparing, and implementing new lessons and supervising student-led projects. Several new inquiry-based activities in Geology and Astronomy were developed as a result of collaboration between an Earth Science graduate student and high school teacher. For example, a "fishbowl" activity was very successful in sparking a classroom discussion about how minerals are used in industrial materials. The class then went on to research how to make their own paint using minerals. This activity provided a capstone project at the end of the unit about minerals, and made real world connections to the subject. A more involved geology lesson was developed focusing on the currently popular interest in forensics. Students were assigned with researching how geology can play an important part in solving a crime. When they understood the role of geologic concepts within the scope of the forensic world, they used techniques to solve their own "crime". Astronomy students were responsible for hosting and teaching middle school students about constellations, using a star- finder, and operating an interactive planetarium computer program. In order to successfully convey this information to the younger students, the high school students had to learn their material well. This model of pairing graduate students with science teachers is continuing as a component of the Transforming Earth System Science Education (TESSE) program.

A Resource Guide to Assist Lawyers and Law Students for Participation in Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Law-Related Classrooms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International, Washington, DC.

This guide provides lesson plans for lawyers and law students who serve as resource persons for law-related subjects in grades K-8. The first part of the guide provides an introduction, an explanation of lesson plan format, suggestions to help lawyers and law students work effectively with teachers, and helpful hints for working with students in…

Classroom learning and achievement: how the complexity of classroom interaction impacts students' learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podschuweit, Sören; Bernholt, Sascha; Brückmann, Maja

2016-05-01

Background: Complexity models have provided a suitable framework in various domains to assess students' educational achievement. Complexity is often used as the analytical focus when regarding learning outcomes, i.e. when analyzing written tests or problem-centered interviews. Numerous studies reveal negative correlations between the complexity of a task and the probability of a student solving it. Purpose: Thus far, few detailed investigations explore the importance of complexity in actual classroom lessons. Moreover, the few efforts made so far revealed inconsistencies. Hence, the present study sheds light on the influence the complexity of students' and teachers' class contributions have on students' learning outcomes. Sample: Videos of 10 German 8th grade physics courses covering three consecutive lessons on two topics each (electricity, mechanics) have been analyzed. The sample includes 10 teachers and 290 students. Design and methods: Students' and teachers' verbal contributions were coded manual-based according to the level of complexity. Additionally, pre-post testing of knowledge in electricity and mechanics was applied to assess the students' learning gain. ANOVA analysis was used to characterize the influence of the complexity on the learning gain. Results: Results indicate that the mean level of complexity in classroom contributions explains a large portion of variance in post-test results on class level. Despite this overarching trend, taking classroom activities into account as well reveals even more fine-grained patterns, leading to more specific relations between the complexity in the classroom and students' achievement. Conclusions: In conclusion, we argue for more reflected teaching approaches intended to gradually increase class complexity to foster students' level of competency.

Classroom Challenge: A 3D Snapshot of Student Learning in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilder, Sandra

2015-01-01

This article aims to describe a type of formative assessment, MAP Classroom Challenge, which has been introduced in mathematics classrooms in recent years. MAP, or the Mathematics Assessment Project Classroom Challenges (formerly known as Formative Assessment Lessons), are developed by teams of math educators from the Shell Centre for Mathematical…

"Games Are Made for Fun": Lessons on the Effects of Concept Maps in the Classroom Use of Computer Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charsky, Dennis; Ressler, William

2011-01-01

Does using a computer game improve students' motivation to learn classroom material? The current study examined students' motivation to learn history concepts while playing a commercial, off-the-shelf computer game, Civilization III. The study examined the effect of using conceptual scaffolds to accompany game play. Students from three ninth-grade…

Building a Web in Science Instruction: Using Multiple Resources in a Swedish Multilingual Middle School Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jakobson, Britt; Axelsson, Monica

2017-01-01

This study, on the unit measuring time, examines classroom use of different resources and their affordances for students' meaning-making. The data, comprising audio and video recordings, fieldnotes, photographs and student texts, were collected during a lesson in a multilingual Swedish grade 5 classroom (students aged 11-12). In order to analyse…

Teaching Strategies for Developing Students' Argumentation Skills About Socioscientific Issues in High School Genetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawson, Vaille Maree; Venville, Grady

2010-03-01

An outcome of science education is that young people have the understandings and skills to participate in public debate and make informed decisions about science issues that influence their lives. Toulmin’s argumentation skills are emerging as an effective strategy to enhance the quality of evidence based decision making in science classrooms. In this case study, an Australian science teacher participated in a one-on-one professional learning session on argumentation before explicitly teaching argumentation skills to two year 10 classes studying genetics. Over two lessons, the teacher used whole class discussion and writing frames of two socioscientific issues to teach students about argumentation. An analysis of classroom observation field notes, audiotaped lesson transcripts, writing frames and student interviews indicate that four factors promoted student argumentation. The factors are: the role of the teacher in facilitating whole class discussion; the use of writing frames; the context of the socioscientific issue; and the role of the students. It is recommended that professional learning to promote student argumentation may need to be tailored to individual teachers and that extensive classroom based research is required to determine the impact of classroom factors on students’ argumentation.

Greening the German Classroom: Starting Points for a Cultural Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Angelika; DeMaris, Sarah Glenn; Moller-Tank, Beth

2013-01-01

The article presents and discusses materials for a cultural lesson about Green Germany. An introductory mini-unit frames the over-all student learning objective: students should be able to respond to the questions "Where are we?" and "Where are we going?" with regard to the natural environment. Three different units then help…

Idea Bank: Popular Culture and Video Games as Tools for Music Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyher, Adam

2014-01-01

The field of music is constantly evolving, and technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. To increase student interest in what is taught in the music classroom, lessons must invite eager participation. This is accomplished by being innovative with lessons--choosing to incorporate concepts that entice and please students while still…

The Candy Store Lesson: Sweetening the Integration of Subject Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiest, Lynda R.; Morris, Darryl L.

1998-01-01

Provides a lesson that integrates economics, mathematics, history, and language arts through a common interest of all elementary students: candy. Explains that the students managed and shopped at three classroom candy stores while learning economics concepts, such as supply and demand and the relationship of price to buying decisions. (CMK)

LabLessons: Effects of Electronic Prelabs on Student Engagement and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gryczka, Patrick; Klementowicz, Edward; Sharrock, Chappel; Maxfield, MacRae; Montclare, Jin Kim

2016-01-01

Lab instructors, for both high school and undergraduate college level courses, face issues of constricted time within the lab period and limited student engagement with prelab materials. To address these issues, an online prelab delivery system named LabLessons is developed and tested out in a high school chemistry classroom. The system…

Developing Student Creativity in Geography Classes: Four "How to Do It" Papers for Classroom Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wragg, Paul H.; Allen, Rodney F.

Four lessons for secondary school geography instruction focus on creative thinking through generating alternatives, imagining consequences, generating analogies, and creating products. In lesson 1 students lay out alternatives to solving a problem and decide the best course of action. Suggested activities include consideration of alternatives in…

The Online Classroom: Teaching with the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotton, Eileen Giuffre

Presenting a wide array of Internet addresses and sample lessons, this book shows how teachers can integrate the Internet into their K-12 curriculum to actively involve students. The ideas and lessons in the book help students to communicate with people in faraway places; gather information from around the globe; develop sophisticated research…

Skills for Action. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2006

2006-01-01

"Skills for Action," a program to build positive character values and life and citizenship skills for students in grades 9-12, includes classroom lessons and service learning. The program, with more than 100 lessons focused around 26 personal, social, and thinking skills, ranges from one semester to four years in length. Students explore…

The Effect of Knowledge Linking Levels in Biology Lessons upon Students' Knowledge Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wadouh, Julia; Liu, Ning; Sandmann, Angela; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2014-01-01

Knowledge structure is an important aspect for defining students' competency in biology learning, but how knowledge structure is influenced by the teaching process in naturalistic biology classroom settings has scarcely been empirically investigated. In this study, 49 biology lessons in the teaching unit "blood and circulatory system" in…

The Online Classroom: Teaching with the Internet. 2nd Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotton, Eileen Guiffre

Presenting a wide array of Internet addresses and sample lessons, this book shows how teachers can integrate the Internet into their K-12 curriculum to actively involve students. The ideas and lessons in the book help students to communicate with people in faraway places; gather information from around the globe; develop sophisticated research…

Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education: STEM Graduate Students Bring Current Research into 7th-12th Grade Science Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radencic, S.; Dawkins, K. S.; Jackson, B. S.; Walker, R. M.; Schmitz, D.; Pierce, D.; Funderburk, W. K.; McNeal, K.

2014-12-01

Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE), a NSF Graduate K-12 (GK-12) program at Mississippi State University, pairs STEM graduate students with local K-12 teachers to bring new inquiry and technology experiences to the classroom (www.gk12.msstate.edu). The graduate fellows prepare lessons for the students incorporating different facets of their research. The lessons vary in degree of difficulty according to the content covered in the classroom and the grade level of the students. The focus of each lesson is directed toward the individual research of the STEM graduate student using inquiry based designed activities. Scientific instruments that are used in STEM research (e.g. SkyMaster weather stations, GPS, portable SEM, Inclinometer, Soil Moisture Probe, Google Earth, ArcGIS Explorer) are also utilized by K-12 students in the activities developed by the graduate students. Creativity and problem solving skills are sparked by curiosity which leads to the discovery of new information. The graduate students work to enhance their ability to effectively communicate their research to members of society through the creation of research linked classroom activities, enabling the 7-12th grade students to connect basic processes used in STEM research with the required state and national science standards. The graduate students become respected role models for the high school students because of their STEM knowledge base and their passion for their research. Sharing enthusiasm for their chosen STEM field, as well as the application techniques to discover new ideas, the graduate students stimulate the interests of the classroom students and model authentic science process skills while highlighting the relevance of STEM research to K-12 student lives. The measurement of the student attitudes about science is gathered from pre and post interest surveys for the past four years. This partnership allows students, teachers, graduate students, and the public to participate in interactive real-world science scenarios. Success of this partnership is measured by the enhancement of student interest in STEM sciences and learning skills for each child.

Scientific Motivational Techniques Adaptable to Social Studies Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steiner, Robert L.

1975-01-01

Two science classroom techniques that can be used in the social studies classroom to motivate students involve puzzling phenomena and relating science to social issues such as over-population, energy, and pollution. (JR)

Learning from Lessons: Teachers' Insights and Intended Actions Arising from Their Learning about Student Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roche, Anne; Clarke, Doug; Clarke, David; Chan, Man Ching Esther

2016-01-01

A central premise of this project is that teachers learn from the act of teaching a lesson and that this learning is evident in the planning and teaching of a subsequent lesson. We are studying the knowledge construction of mathematics teachers utilising multi-camera research techniques during lesson planning, classroom interactions and…

Bards and Beatles: Connecting Spontaneity to Structure in Lesson Plans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Mitch

1991-01-01

Describes how one teacher provides minimally structured lessons that encourage senior high school students to carry their learning beyond the classroom. Describes units on business communication, research, British literature, and independent reading. (MG)

Integrating long-term science projects into K-12 curriculum: Fostering teacher-student engagement in urban environmental research through an NSF UCLA GK-12 program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogue, T. S.; Moldwin, M.; Nonacs, P.; Daniel, J.; Shope, R.

2009-12-01

A National Science Foundation Graduate Teaching Fellows in K- 12 Education program at UCLA (SEE-LA; http://measure.igpp.ucla.edu/GK12-SEE-LA) has just completed its first year (of a five-year program) and has greatly expanded UCLA’s science and engineering partnerships with LA Unified and Culver City Unified School Districts. The SEE-LA program partners UCLA faculty, graduate students (fellows), middle and high school science teachers and their students into a program of science and engineering exploration that brings the environment of Los Angeles into the classroom. UCLA graduate fellows serve as scientists-in-residence at the four partner schools to integrate inquiry-based science and engineering lessons, facilitate advancements in science content teaching, and ultimately, to improve their own science communication skills. As part of their fellowship, graduate students are required to develop three inquiry-based lessons in their partner classroom, including a lesson focused on their dissertation research, a lesson focused on the environmental/watershed theme of the project, and a lesson that involves longer-term data collection and synthesis with the grade 6-12 teachers and students. The developed long-term projects ideally involve continued observations and analysis through the five-year project and beyond. During the first year of the project, the ten SEE-LA fellows developed a range of long-term research projects, from seasonal invertebrate observations in an urban stream system, to home energy consumption surveys, to a school bioblitz (quantification of campus animals and insects). Examples of lesson development and integration in the classroom setting will be highlighted as well as tools required for sustainability of the projects. University and local pre-college school partnerships provide an excellent opportunity to support the development of graduate student communication skills while also contributing significantly to the integration of sustainable research projects into K-12 curriculum.

Perceptions and Practices: Biology graduate teaching assistants' framing of a controversial socioscientific issue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardner, Grant; Jones, Gail

2011-05-01

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are gaining increasing responsibility for the instruction of undergraduate science students, yet little is known about their beliefs about science pedagogy or subsequent classroom practices. This study looked at six GTAs who were primary instructors in an introductory biology laboratory course. Teaching assistants taught a lesson about the potential social, health, and environmental impacts of genetically modified crops. Through classroom observations and in-depth interviews, the researchers examined how instructors chose to frame their lessons and what GTAs perceived as important for students to know about this particular socioscientific issue (SSI). Results showed a disconnect between the relatively mature conceptualizations of effective SSI instruction that emerged during interviews and classroom practice.

Supporting Teachers in Structuring Mathematics Lessons Involving Challenging Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Peter; Askew, Mike; Cheeseman, Jill; Clarke, Doug; Mornane, Angela; Roche, Anne; Walker, Nadia

2015-01-01

The following is a report on an investigation into ways of supporting teachers in converting challenging mathematics tasks into classroom lessons and supporting students in engaging with those tasks. Groups of primary and secondary teachers, respectively, were provided with documentation of ten lessons built around challenging tasks. Teachers…

Generating Testable Questions in the Science Classroom: The BDC Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tseng, ChingMei; Chen, Shu-Bi Shu-Bi; Chang, Wen-Hua

2015-01-01

Guiding students to generate testable scientific questions is essential in the inquiry classroom, but it is not easy. The purpose of the BDC ("Big Idea, Divergent Thinking, and Convergent Thinking") instructional model is to to scaffold students' inquiry learning. We illustrate the use of this model with an example lesson, designed…

Culturally Relevant Design Practices: A Case Study for Designing Interactive Algebra Lessons for Urban Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, Juan E.; Eugene, Wanda; Swanier, Cheryl; Arbuthnot, Keena; Hood, Stafford; Grant, Michael McKenzie; West, Melanie L.

2008-01-01

When culture is integrated into the mathematics classroom, it improves students' academic achievement, helps move classrooms towards an equitable learning environment, helps students to have positive beliefs about mathematics, and integrates mathematics with other disciplines. Moreover, if you observe today's kids, the use of video games in their…

Assessment for Learning: An Endangered Species?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Popham, W. James

2006-01-01

Assessment for learning involves the frequent, continual use of both formal and informal classroom assessments. It can be as simple as requiring students to respond to a lesson-embedded, one-item quiz as a way of gauging student understanding of what is being taught. Ideally, this innovative approach to classroom assessment is based on a careful…

Multiple Perspectives on Student Learning, Engagement, and Motivation in High School Biology Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shumow, Lee; Schmidt, Jennifer A.; Zaleski, Diana J.

2013-01-01

We present three studies pertaining to learning, engagement and motivation during laboratory lessons in three high school biology classrooms. In the first, quantitative methods are used to compare students' in-the-moment reports of learning, engagement, and motivation during laboratory with other classroom activities. Data were collected with the…

Power Play: Rethinking Roles in the Art Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buffington, Melanie L.

2014-01-01

This article describes how art teachers can work toward changing the power dynamics in their classrooms by using a student centered approach, as demonstrated by an example lesson about contemporary painter Kehinde Wiley. As the class unpacked the idea of power prevalent in Wiley's portraits, the students gave relevant examples of how power…

The Effect of Shift-Problem Lessons in the Mathematics Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palha, Sonia; Dekker, Rijkje; Gravemeijer, Koeno

2015-01-01

It remains difficult to foster problem-solving and mathematical-reasoning capabilities in classrooms where students and teachers are accustomed to the more traditional forms of education. Several studies suggest that this difficulty might be related to the kind of knowledge students acquire in such environments, which could be fragmented and…

Lessons from Abroad: Teaching Cultural and Global Leadership in the U.S. Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Jeff

2015-01-01

This paper provides an insightful perspective to the common problem facing many global leadership educators across the U.S.: helping students understand "global leadership" while they sit in U.S. classrooms. The instructor of an undergraduate leadership course addressed this problem by recreating for U.S. students in local "cultural…

In Search of Teaching Quality of EFL Student Teachers through Teaching Practicum: Lessons from a Teacher Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azkiyah, Siti Nurul; Mukminin, Amirul

2017-01-01

This study was intended to investigate the teaching quality of student teachers when they conducted their teaching practicum. Teaching quality is conceptualised based on eight classroom factors (orientation, structuring, modelling, application, questioning, building classroom as a learning environment, assessment, and time management) of the…

How Much Foreign Language Is There in the Foreign Language Classroom?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duff, Patricia A.; Polio, Charlene G.

1990-01-01

Classroom observation of 13 college language courses and analysis of student questionnaire and teacher interview responses indicated that teachers varied widely in use of target language with a mean of 67.9 percent; language type, departmental policy, lesson content, and teacher training affected target language use; and students were generally…

Integration of Lesson Study in Teaching Practice of Social Study Student Teachers to Improve the Quality of Learning and Promote a Sustainable Lesson Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Towaf, Siti Malikhah

2016-01-01

Teaching Practice is a required course for all students in education programs, divided into two sections. The first, is intended as the process of creating Syllabus, teaching plans, instructional medias and supporting material for "peer teaching" practice. The second, is intended to assign students to do classroom teaching. "Lesson…

We Have a Better Idea. (An Experimental Project in Lesson Development) Phase I [and] The World to the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dynneson, Thomas L., Ed.; And Others

Social studies lessons developed by students in the elementary social studies education program at the University of Texas (Permian Basin) are provided. The lessons are presented according to the phase in which they were developed. Phase I consists of lessons created in the Fall, 1979; Phase II includes selected Phase I lessons which were revised,…

Middle school-aged child enjoyment of food tastings predicts interest in nutrition education on osteoporosis prevention

PubMed Central

Cheng, Feon W.; Monnat, Shannon M.; Lohse, Barbara

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND NEEDs for Bones (NFB), based on the Health Belief Model, is a 4-lesson osteoporosis-prevention curriculum for 11-14 year-olds. This study examined the relationship between enjoyment of food tastings and interest in NFB. METHODS NFB was administered by teachers as part of standard practice and evaluated after the 4th lesson using a 21-item survey. Significant clustering of students within classrooms required use of random-intercept multilevel ordinal regression models in SAS proc GLIMMIX, with students nested within classrooms. Analyses considered tasting experience, eating attitudes, sex, grade, and cohort. RESULTS Students (N = 1619; 50% girls) participated from 85 4th-8th grade classrooms (47% 6th grade; 31% 7th grade) in 16 Pennsylvania SNAP-Ed eligible schools over 2 academic years. For all foods tasted, students who did not enjoy the food tasting were less interested in the lesson than students who did enjoy the food tasting (all p < .001); refried beans (OR 0.30), soy milk (OR = 0.55), cranapple juice (OR = 0.51), sunflower kernels (OR = 0.48), and Swiss cheese (OR = 0.49). CONCLUSIONS Enjoyment of food tasting activities can predict interest in nutrition education on osteoporosis prevention, supporting resource allocation and inclusion of food tasting activities in school-age nutrition education. PMID:26032277

Interest in Insects: The Role of Entomology in Environmental Education

PubMed Central

Weeks, Faith J.; Oseto, Christian Y.

2018-01-01

University-based outreach programs have a long history of offering environmental education programs to local schools, but often these lessons are not evaluated for their impact on teachers and students. The impact of these outreach efforts can be influenced by many things, but the instructional delivery method can affect how students are exposed to new topics or how confident teachers feel about incorporating new concepts into the classroom. A study was conducted with a series of university entomology outreach programs using insects as a vehicle for teaching environmental education. These programs were used to assess differences between three of the most common university-based outreach delivery methods (Scientist in the Classroom, Teacher Training Workshops, and Online Curriculum) for their effect on student interest and teacher self-efficacy. Surveys administered to 20 fifth grade classrooms found that the delivery method might not be as important as simply getting insects into activities. This study found that the lessons had a significant impact on student interest in environmental and entomological topics, regardless of treatment. All students found the lessons to be more interesting, valuable, and important over the course of the year. Treatment also did not influence teacher self-efficacy, as it remained high for all teachers. PMID:29473884

From the Green Screen to the Classroom: Training Graduate Students to Communicate Science and Mathematics Effectively through the INSPIRE Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, Donna M.; Radencic, Sarah P.; Walker, Ryan M.; Cartwright, John H.; Schmitz, Darrel W.; Bruce, Lori M.; McNeal, Karen S.

2014-11-01

Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) is a five-year partnership between Mississippi State University and three school districts in Mississippi’s Golden Triangle region. This fellowship program is designed to strengthen the communication and scientific reasoning skills of STEM graduate students by having them design and implement inquiry-based lessons which channel various aspects of their research in our partner classrooms. Fellows are encouraged to explore a diversity of approaches in classroom lesson design and to use various technologies in their lessons, including GIS, SkyMaster weather stations, Celestia, proscopes, benchtop SEM, and others. Prior to entering the classrooms for a full school year, Fellows go through an intense graduate-level training course and work directly with their partner teachers, the program coordinator, and participating faculty, to fold their lessons into the curricula of the classrooms to which they’ve been assigned. Here, we will discuss the various written, oral, and visual exercises that have been most effective for training our Fellows, including group discussions of education literature, role playing and team-building exercises, preparation of written lesson plans for dissemination to other teachers nationwide, the Presentation Boot Camp program, and production of videos made by the Fellows highlighting careers in STEM fields. We will also discuss the changes observed in Fellows’ abilities to communicate science and mathematics over the course of their fellowship year. INSPIRE is funded by the NSF Graduate K-12 (GK-12) STEM Fellowship Program, award number DGE-0947419.

Critical Thinking through Writing: Expressing Scientific Thought and Process in a Deaf Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manjarrez, Leslie

Within Deaf classrooms there is often a disconnect between academic areas and writing curriculums that develop in both common and academic language, where often classrooms focus solely on writing as a skill rather than as a method for producing language through an academic area. This work focuses on the development of academic language in ASL and English print of science. The curriculum is written to be implemented as a bilingual academic curriculum to support Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in various self contained classroom settings. Lessons are conducted in three Units, A B and C. Unit A focuses on research, thought and writing of preparatory materials in small groups. Unit B is comprised of procedural lessons on conducting x experiments and the evaluation of those experiments through mathematics. Unit C is a group of lessons that ties together Units A and B through writing and peer teaching as a method of concluding the work and presenting information in an effective manner. The success of the project was evaluated on the basis of student work, rubrics, and final works from the students. The results showed promise in aspects of Critical Thinking, writing development, and expression of new concepts in both ASL and English.

A Comparison of Live Classroom Instruction and Internet-Based Lessons for a Preparatory Training Course Delivered to 4th Year Pharmacy Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nuffer, Wesley; Duke, Jodi

2013-01-01

To compare the effectiveness of an internet-based training series with a traditional live classroom session in preparing pharmacy students to oversee a diabetes management program in community settings. Two cohorts of students were identified that prepared by utilizing a recorded online training exclusively, and two separate cohorts of students…

Multimedia Environments in Mathematics Teacher Education: Preparing Regular and Special Educators for Inclusive Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De La Paz, Susan; Hernandez-Ramos, Pedro; Barron, Linda

2004-01-01

A multimedia CD-ROM program, Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Inclusive Classrooms, was produced to help preservice teachers learn mathematics teaching methods in the context of inclusive classrooms. The contents include text resources, video segments of experts and of classroom lessons, images of student work, an electronic notebook, and a…

Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) Brining STEM Research to 7th-12th Grade Science and Math Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radencic, S.; McNeal, K. S.; Pierce, D.

2012-12-01

The Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) program at Mississippi State University (MSU), funded by the NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK12) program, focuses on the advancement of Earth and Space science education in K-12 classrooms. INSPIRE currently in its third year of partnering ten graduate students each year from the STEM fields of Geosciences, Engineering, Physics and Chemistry at MSU with five teachers from local, rural school districts. The five year project serves to enhance graduate student's communication skills as they create interactive lessons linking their STEM research focus to the state and national standards covered in science and math classrooms for grades 7-12 through inquiry experiences. Each graduate student is responsible for the development of two lessons each month of the school year that include an aspect of their STEM research, including the technologies that they may utilize to conduct their STEM research. The plans are then published on the INSPIRE project webpage, www.gk12.msstate.edu, where they are a free resource for any K-12 classroom teacher seeking innovative activities for their classrooms and total over 300 lesson activities to date. Many of the participating teachers and graduate students share activities developed with non-participating teachers, expanding INSPIRE's outreach of incorporating STEM research into activities for K-12 students throughout the local community. Examples of STEM research connections to classroom topics related to earth and ocean science include activities using GPS with GIS for triangulation and measurement of area in geometry; biogeochemical response to oil spills compared to organism digestive system; hydrogeology water quality monitoring and GIS images used as a determinant for habitat suitability in area water; interactions of acids and bases in the Earth's environments and surfaces; and the importance of electrical circuitry in an electrode used in sediment analysis. INSPIRE is striving to create synergy with other education focused grants at MSU, including those that focus on climate literacy and Earth hazards. Graduate students create at least one lesson plan that links their STEM research to climate related topics to share in their assigned K-12 classrooms. They also assist with a science day sponsored at MSU centered on Earth hazards where local middle school students participate. In addition to the development of interactive experiences that bring current STEM research into the classroom, INSPIRE also creates and organizes inquiry activities for National GIS Day each year. Graduate students not only design the GIS explorations focused on hazards, but they also guide middle school students through these explorations. Additionally, all graduate students involved with INSPIRE are required to participate in at least one Science Fair event either at the local school level or at the regional competitions. Participating teachers have noted that several students had science fair projects that included some aspect of the STEM research topics they had learned about from the graduate students in the classroom.

Humor in the Classroom: The Effects of Integrated Humor on Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolkan, San; Griffin, Darrin J.; Goodboy, Alan K.

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to examine the impact of integrated humor on direct measures of students' ability to retain and transfer information from educational lessons. In two experiments, participants were randomly exposed to either a lesson with humorous examples or standard examples and were subsequently asked to take tests on the material. Data…

Can Teachers Trust the World Wide Web for Classroom Lesson Plans?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasko, Francis J.; Peterson, Winnie J.

2007-01-01

Standards challenge educators on a regular basis to integrate technology into their content and methods courses. Students today access the Internet which in many cases, if students see it on the Internet they believe it. In this article, the authors present an experience wherein teacher candidates were randomly assigned a twenty-minute lesson to…

Aesthetic Inquiry into Chinese University Student Fatherly Life Lessons: "Roots" and Their Implications for Educational Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Laura Blythe

2017-01-01

Globally, teachers are trained to educate and assess children through matrices based on comparative competition, a practice that thrives on ranking. In an era of glocalization, how might educational systems cultivate classroom connections embracing diverse student gifts? This arts-based narrative inquiry explores fatherly life lessons of 17…

Historical Research: How to Fit Minority and Women's Studies into Mathematics Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saraco, Margaret R.

2008-01-01

This article presents a lesson for studying minority and women's contributions to the field of mathematics in the middle school classroom. This lesson may be able to stem the tide of the shrinking number of students entering the field of mathematics by helping them become interested in its history. Nonetheless, this project encourages students to…

THE ELECTRONIC CLASSROOM--A GUIDE FOR PLANNING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CROSSMAN, DAVID M.

GUIDES TO AID ADMINISTRATORS IN THE SELECTION AND INSTALLATION OF ELECTRONIC CLASSROOMS ARE PRESENTED. ADVANTAGES OF AN ELECTRONIC CLASSROOM ARE THAT A VARIETY OF MATERIALS CAN BE USED, SPEECH PATTERNS CAN BE RECORDED FOR SUBSEQUENT EVALUATION, RECORDED LESSONS CAN BE USED AGAIN AND AGAIN, PROGRESS OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS CAN BE MONITORED WITHOUT…

Describing teacher-student interactions: a qualitative assessment of teacher implementation of the 7th grade keepin' it REAL substance use intervention.

PubMed

Pettigrew, Jonathan; Miller-Day, Michelle; Shin, Youngju; Hecht, Michael L; Krieger, Janice L; Graham, John W

2013-03-01

Variations in the delivery of school-based substance use prevention curricula affect students' acquisition of the lesson content and program outcomes. Although adaptation is sometimes viewed as a lack of fidelity, it is unclear what types of variations actually occur in the classroom. This observational study investigated teacher and student behaviors during implementation of a middle school-based drug prevention curriculum in 25 schools across two Midwestern states. Trained observers coded videos of 276 lessons, reflecting a total of 31 predominantly Caucasian teachers (10 males and 21 females) in 73 different classes. Employing qualitative coding procedures, the study provides a working typology of implementation patterns based on varying levels of teacher control and student participation. These patterns are fairly consistent across lessons and across classes of students, suggesting a teacher-driven delivery model where teachers create a set of constraints within which students vary their engagement. Findings provide a descriptive basis grounded in observation of classroom implementation that can be used to test models of implementation fidelity and quality as well as impact training and other dissemination research.

Classroom interactions: exploring the practices of high- and low-expectation teachers.

PubMed

Rubie-Davies, Christine M

2007-06-01

Early research exploring teacher expectations concentrated on the dyadic classroom interactions of teachers with individual students. More recent studies have shown whole class factors to have more significance in portraying teachers' expectations. Recently teachers having high or low expectations for all their students have been identified. The aim of the current investigation was to explore whether the classroom exchanges of high- and low-expectation teachers differed substantially and might be considered a mechanism for teachers' expectations. The participants were 12 primary school teachers from eight schools who had been identified as having expectations for their students' learning that were either significantly above or below the children's achievement level. The teachers formed three groups called high-expectation, low-expectation and average-progress teachers. The participants were observed twice in the academic year during half-hour reading lessons. Two people observed each lesson, one completing a structured observation protocol and the other a running record and audiotape. In contrast to the average progress and low expectation teachers, the high-expectation teachers spent more time providing a framework for students' learning, provided their students with more feedback, questioned their students using more higher-order questions, and managed their students' behaviour more positively. There appear to be important differences in the classroom environments for the students of high-expectation, average-progress and low-expectation teachers. The differences apply to both the instructional and socioemotional environments of the classroom. Such disparities may act as mechanisms for teacher expectation effects.

The application of micro-lesson in optics teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Suzhen; Mao, Xuefeng; Lu, Yongle; Wang, Yan; Luo, Yuan

2017-08-01

In order to improve students' ability on self-study, this paper discusses the application of micro-lesson as a supplementary way in the course of optics teaching. Both geometric optics and wave optics require a lot of demos, fortunately, micro-lesson just meets this requirement. Nowadays, college education focuses on quality education, so the new nurture scheme of most universities shortened the class hours. However, the development of students and the social needs also require students to have a solid foundation. The effective way to solve this contradiction is to improve the efficiency of classroom teaching and provide the repeatable learning form, micro-lesson.

The Adoption of Variation Theory in the Classroom: Effect on Students' Algebraic Achievement and Motivation to Learn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ting, Jing Jing; Tarmizi, Rohani Tarmizi; Bakar, Kamariah Abu; Aralas, Dalia

2017-01-01

Introduction: Analysis of lessons held in East Asia regions that perform well in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies such as; South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, demonstrated teachers in mathematics classroom enacted features of the content systematically with consideration of variation within students' capabilities. Recent…

Infusing Technology to Enhance Science Lessons: Prospective Teachers as Action Researchers Learning to Teach for Conceptual Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaid, M. Randall

Today's high school students have grown up in technology-rich environments with video games, personal computers, instant communications, and Internet access. These students are naturally more interested and involved in a technology-infused classroom. Emerging technologies change the teacher's role in the classroom. Professional teachers need to…

Teaching through Mnemonics in Elementary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waite-McGough, Arianne

2012-01-01

Mnemonics and songs are used to help students excel and build are their knowledge in all content areas. This method of teaching and reinforcement of information helps students to commit new information to memory and continue to use this material throughout their lives. Using mnemonics is a lessons way to teach and make the classroom a unique…

The Teacher's Sourcebook for Cooperative Learning: Practical Techniques, Basic Principles, and Frequently Asked Questions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, George M.; Power, Michael A.; Inn, Loh Wan

This book demonstrates how classroom teachers can use cooperative learning techniques for lesson planning and classroom management. It emphasizes that cooperation among students is powerful, and it notes that just because students are in a group does not mean that they are cooperating. Part 1, "Getting Started with Cooperative Learning," includes…

Classroom Lessons in Cultivating Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luck, Philip A.

2006-01-01

In this article, the author talks about creating a nurturing classroom environment of mutual respect with students enthralled by possessions and technology. He talks about his life in the city, how life is abundant in the city, and that he acknowledges all that the city offered, from the culture of art and music to racial and ethnic diversity.…

Who Is Granted Authority in the Mathematics Classroom? An Analysis of the Observed and Perceived Distribution of Authority

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Depaepe, Fien; De Corte, Erik; Verschaffel, Lieven

2012-01-01

The article deals with the way in which authority was established and interpreted by teachers and students in two Flemish sixth-grade mathematics classrooms. Problem-solving lessons during a seven-month observation period were analysed regarding three aspects of teacher-student interactions that explicitly or implicitly reflect who bears…

The Effectiveness of Three Experiential Teaching Approaches on Student Science Learning in Fifth-Grade Public School Classrooms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Kristin; Wells, Marcella

2002-01-01

Compares the effects of three experiential science lessons in meeting the objectives of the Colorado model content science standards. Uses Kolb's (1984) experiential learning model as a framework for understanding the process by which students engage in learning when participating in experiential learning activities. Uses classroom exams and…

Implementation of lesson study in physics teaching by group of teachers in Solok West Sumatera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yurnetti, Y.

2018-04-01

This article based of collaborative classroom action research with science teachers group or MGMP at Solok West Sumatera; based on their willingness to implementation of lesson study by this group. The study started by discussing some problems according to the implementation of the lesson study, establishing the teaching materials, developing learning tools, defining the model teachers, conducting classroom activities, and reflecting by discussions. The preparation of this study includes some learning material according to temperature and heat; the observation form that led by observer teachers; teachers’s model impression and open questionnaire implementation of lesson study that applied to the students and teachers. This research got some information about the strengths and weaknesses of learning using lesson study from the students involved. To conclude, the implementation of lesson study should be able to support the principle of collaborative in learning. The challenge of this study is how to make a condition to gather some teachers in one school at a certain time because they have the schedule at their own school.

Motivating Students in the 21st Century.

PubMed

Sedden, Mandy L; Clark, Kevin R

2016-07-01

To examine instructors' and students' perspectives on motivation in the classroom and clinical environments and to explore instructional strategies educators can use to motivate college students in the 21st century. Articles selected for this review were from peer-reviewed journals and scholarly sources that emphasized student and educator perspectives on motivation and instructional strategies to increase student motivation. Understanding how college students are motivated can help educators engage students in lessons and activities, ultimately improving the students' academic performance. Students exhibit increased motivation in classes when educators have high expectations, conduct an open-atmosphere classroom, and use multidimensional teaching strategies. Instructional styles such as connecting with students, creating an interactive classroom, and guiding and reminding students improved student motivation. Radiologic science educators must be mindful of how college students are motivated and use various instructional strategies to increase students' motivation in the classroom and clinical setting. ©2016 American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

Fostering K-12 Inquiry-based Lesson Development on Regional Water Resource Issues in Los Angeles Urban Schools through the NSF UCLA SEE-LA GK-12 program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogue, T. S.; Burke, M. P.; Thulsirag, V.; Daniel, J.; Moldwin, M.; Nonacs, P.

2010-12-01

A National Science Foundation Graduate Teaching Fellows in K- 12 Education program at UCLA (SEE-LA; http://measure.igpp.ucla.edu/GK12-SEE-LA/ ) partners UCLA faculty and graduate students (fellows) with urban middle and high school science teachers and their students to foster programs of science and engineering exploration that bring the environment of Los Angeles into the classroom. UCLA graduate fellows serve as scientists-in-residence at four partner schools to integrate inquiry-based science lessons, facilitate advancements in science content teaching, and ultimately, to improve their own science communication skills. As part of their fellowship, graduate students are required to develop inquiry-based lessons in their partner classroom. During the first two years of the project, the SEE-LA fellows have developed a range of inquiry-based activities, from invertebrate observations in an urban stream system, to water and home energy consumption surveys, to a school biodiversity investigation, to a school-wide alternative energy fair, to engineering the cleanup of environmental disasters, such as the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Several of the current fellows have dissertation research in water resource related fields and are specifically integrating lessons specific to their research into their partner classrooms, including urban stream water quality, post-fire watershed behavior, beach water quality assessment and E. coli source tracking. This presentation will provide an overview of goals of the SEE-LA GK-12 program, development of inquiry-based water resource lessons and resulting engagement in the partner classrooms. University and local pre-college school partnerships provide an excellent opportunity to support the development of graduate student communication and teaching skills while also contributing significantly to the integration of science education into K-12 curriculum.

What If It Happens in My Classroom? Developing Skills for Expert Behaviour Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sida-Nicholls, Kate

2012-01-01

Why can't I stop my students from being noisy as they leave my classroom? What can I do when a student is texting on their phone in my lesson? How can I stop a student from constantly tapping their pen while I am talking? Sound familiar? Chewing gum, dropping litter, swearing, late homework and disruptive behaviour in class are just a few of the…

Conflicts between On-Task and Off-Task Behaviors in the Classroom: The Influences of Parental Monitoring, Peer Value Orientations, Students' Goals, and Their Value Orientations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilian, Britta; Hofer, Manfred; Kuhnle, Claudia

2013-01-01

Students in class are sometimes torn between following the lesson and engaging in off-task behavior. In this paper, instead of classifying it as a form of deviant behavior, off-task behavior is reconstructed as a manifestation of students multiple motivations in the classroom. The study examines whether parental monitoring, peer value…

The Algebra Teacher's Guide to Reteaching Essential Concepts and Skills: 150 Mini-Lessons for Correcting Common Mistakes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muschla, Judith A.; Muschla, Gary Robert; Muschla, Erin

2011-01-01

Many students have trouble grasping algebra. In this book, bestselling authors Judith, Gary, and Erin Muschla offer help for math teachers who must instruct their students (even those who are struggling) about the complexities of algebra. In simple terms, the authors outline 150 classroom-tested lessons, focused on those concepts often most…

Leading to Great Places in the Elementary Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Sharon

The lead of a story is the beginning, and yet it can be the end if the reader is not entranced immediately. This lesson examines types of leads in prominent children's literature and asks grade 3 to 5 students to try their own hand at writing leads. During the two 40-minute lessons, students will: discuss their reactions to the leads from the…

From Scientists to Teachers: The Role of Student Epistemology in Lesson Plans of Career Switchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Erin Peters; Burton, Stephen

2016-01-01

Professional scientists who pursue a teaching credential bring a great deal of background to students in a classroom, but they may have barriers to the ways they portray the field of science. This study used a multiple-case replication design to determine the role of epistemology in lesson plans of seven scientists becoming teachers. Data sources…

Influence of Teacher Support and Personal Relevance on Academic Self-Efficacy and Enjoyment of Mathematics Lessons: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aldridge, Jill M.; Afari, Ernest; Fraser, Barry J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of our study was to examine the effects of two psychosocial features of the classroom environment (teacher support and personal relevance) on college students' academic self-efficacy and enjoyment of mathematics lessons. Data collected from 352 mathematics students attending three higher education institutions in the United Arab…

No Second Chance to Make a First Impression: The "Thin-Slice" Effect on Instructor Ratings and Learning Outcomes in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samudra, Preeti G.; Min, Inah; Cortina, Kai S.; Miller, Kevin F.

2016-01-01

Prior research has found strong and persistent effects of instructor first impressions on student evaluations. Because these studies look at real classroom lessons, this finding fits two different interpretations: (1) first impressions may color student experience of instruction regardless of lesson quality, or (2) first impressions may provide…

Emotion Work and Affective Stance in the Mathematics Classroom: The Case of IRE Sequences in Finnish Classroom Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tainio, Liisa; Laine, Anu

2015-01-01

Although according to the Finnish curriculum the learning environment in mathematics lessons should promote supportive interaction, Finnish pupils' attitudes toward and self-beliefs regarding mathematics deteriorate during basic education. This article investigates emotion work in teacher-student interaction in Finnish mathematics classrooms; the…

Misconceptions as necessary stepping stones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanton, Patricia

2010-04-01

I've been reading an online book called Ready, Set, Science! Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms (www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11882) and have found the discussion very enlightening. I think that any beginning science teacher might want to look at this book for guidance in designing lessons and managing student discussions to help students become more thoughtful, productive, and independent learners. While the book gives examples of K-8 classrooms, the examples of classroom discourse could serve as a road map for teachers at any level who want to make their classrooms more student centered and a place where all learners are actively engaged.

Teaching and Learning Science in Authoritative Classrooms: Teachers' Power and Students' Approval in Korean Elementary Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jeong-A.; Kim, Chan-Jong

2017-09-01

This study aims to understand interactions in Korean elementary science classrooms, which are heavily influenced by Confucianism. Ethnographic observations of two elementary science teachers' classrooms in Korea are provided. Their classes are fairly traditional teaching, which mean teacher-centered interactions are dominant. To understand the power and approval in science classroom discourse, we have adopted Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Based on CDA, form and function analysis was adopted. After the form and function analysis, all episodes were analyzed in terms of social distance. The results showed that both teachers exercised their power while teaching. However, their classes were quite different in terms of getting approval by students. When a teacher got students' approval, he could conduct the science lesson more effectively. This study highlights the importance of getting approval by students in Korean science classrooms.

Bringing authentic service learning to the classroom: benefits and lessons learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamberlain, Leslie C.

2016-06-01

Project-based learning, which has gained significant attention within K-12 education, provides rich hands-on experiences for students. Bringing an element of service to the projects allow students to engage in a local or global community, providing an abundance of benefits to the students’ learning. For example, service projects build confidence, increase motivation, and exercise problem-solving and communication skills in addition to developing a deep understanding of content. I will present lessons I have learned through four years of providing service learning opportunities in my classroom. I share ideas for astronomy projects, tips for connecting and listening to a community, and helpful guidelines to hold students accountable in order to ensure a productive and educational project.

Seeking a Balance in International Trade: Pacific Rim Import-Export Transactions. Grade 12 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Robert

In this lesson, student teams roleplay an import-export company's purchasing department. Students consider the reasons for the U.S. trade deficit and develop a plan to help their company achieve an import-export balance. Teams will research international trade and economic issues that impact trade balance. Students are provided with background…

From the field to the classroom: Connecting climate research to classroom lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brinker, R.; Steiner, S. M.; Coleman, L.

2015-12-01

Improving scientific literacy is a goal in the United States. Scientists from the United States are often expected to present research findings in ways that are meaningful and accessible to the general public, including K-12 students. PolarTREC - Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program funded by the National Science Foundation, partners teachers with scientists in the Arctic and Antarctica. Teachers communicate the research to general audiences on a regular basis. After the field experience, they then create classroom-ready lessons to relay the science exploration into science curriculum. In this presentation, secondary level educators, will share their experiences with being part of field research teams in the Arctic and Antarctica, and their strategies for bringing current science research into the classroom and aligning lessons with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Topics include an overview on using polar science to teach about climate change, application of field research techniques to improve students' understanding of scientific investigation methodology, phenology observations, soil porosity and permeability, litter decomposition, effect of sunlight on release of carbon dioxide from thawing permafrost, and understanding early life on Earth by studying stromatolites in Antarctica.

Analyzing the Perceptions and Use of Interactive Whiteboards by Prekindergarten Teachers in Presentation of Classroom Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosetti, Jennifer

2012-01-01

In an attempt to improve poor academic performance of students, many schools are purchasing interactive whiteboards to enhance lesson presentations. Interactive whiteboards are seldom being used to present lessons. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare how frequently interactive whiteboards are used by prekindergarten teachers in…

Teaching from Objects and Stories: Learning about the Bering Sea Eskimo People. Smithsonian in Your Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smigielski, Alan

The three lesson plans in this issue feature the Eskimos of the Bering Sea and their culture. The lesson plans are: (1) "Learning about a Culture from Its Objects"; (2) "Learning about a Culture from a Story"; and (3) "Everyday Objects." Each lesson cites student objectives; lists materials needed; gives subjects…

A Lesson Plan for Advanced Placement Human Geography®: A Site Location Exercise for New Businesses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poleski, Matthew

2017-01-01

The lesson described in this article meets several needs for Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG®) teachers. In the interest of preserving time in the classroom, this lesson is intended to be a capstone assignment, allowing students to synthesize several concepts of the APHG® curriculum, such as demography, economic development, and cultural…

The Role of Photoblogs in Social Studies Classroom: Learning about the People of the Civil War

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrow, Elizabeth; Anderson, Janice; Horner, Martinette

2017-01-01

Using the of Humans of New York photoblog concept, the exemplar lesson plan described in this article incorporated technology and the replacement, amplification, and transformation framework to modify a traditional social studies lesson on the American Civil War into an engaging and inquiry-based lesson. Students researched individuals who lived…

Reducing Aggressive Male Behavior in Elementary School: Promising Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Barbara; Gibson, Jamel; Morrison-Danner, Dietrich

2014-01-01

Student aggression and violent behavior, especially among males, is pervasive and problematic in the classroom. When incorporated in the lesson design, promising practices (music, movement, and visual stimulation) are evidence-based strategies that may reduce male aggression in the classroom.

Using Touch-Screen Technology, Apps, and Blogs to Engage and Sustain High School Students' Interest in Chemistry Topics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Heejoo; Chacko, Priya; Zhao, Jinhui; Montclare, Jin Kim

2014-01-01

As part of an outreach program, we integrated chemistry apps with blogging to enhance the learning experience of students in and outside the classroom. Our outreach program involved college mentors who participated in the development and implementation of chemistry lessons alongside the classroom teacher. Three technology-rich modules that focused…

Build Your Own Board: Brightboards Offer a Cost-Effective Alternative to Interactive Whiteboards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallis, Keith; Williamson, Peter

2009-01-01

Interactive whiteboards are all the rage in classrooms across the world these days, and for good reason. Like most technology, they hold students' attention much better than a traditional lecture-and-blackboard lesson ever could. They also solve the problem of having only one classroom computer for 30 students by projecting the screen at the front…

Building Bridges: A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aronhime, Raquel; Bennhold-Samaan, Laurette; Coratti, Nancy; Lazar, Cori; Flaccus, Trisha Tumulty; McGinnis, J. Randy; Scammahorn, Emmy; Soderstrom, Robert; Storti, Craig; Williams, Krystal

2010-01-01

The lessons presented in this book will: (1) Help students better understand their own culture and how it has shaped them; (2) Help students begin to understand the perspectives of other cultures, leading to increased respect for those who are different from them--in the classroom and worldwide; and (3) Provide an increased awareness of the value…

Engaging Primary Students in Learning about New Zealand Birds: A Socially Relevant Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Junjun; Cowie, Bronwen

2013-01-01

This article reports on a classroom study of a unit on New Zealand birds that focused on adaptation and conservation in a Year 7 class. The unit used a "context as social circumstances" model. The researchers observed the nine lessons and interviewed students, the classroom teacher, and three other teachers who had taught the same unit.…

Home Management for Low-Income Families: Ninth and Tenth Grade Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Mary Lamb, Ed.; McFarland, Helen Karr, Ed.

This manual is intended to be of practical use to home economics teachers, especially those who have low-income students in their classes. It contains lesson plans, teaching techniques, and teaching aids. While most of the activities are designed to be used in the classroom, there are a number which require students to work outside the classroom.…

They do, They Get and They Know; How to Motivate Learner to Upgrade Their Learning Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yogica, R.; Helendra, H.

2018-04-01

A learning process that occurs in the classroom is a very important thing to note the quality, so it can be a determinant of student success in understanding the content of the lesson. The success of the learning process could be seen from the learning outcomes and the level of positive activities of students while in class. Students who are active in the classroom at the time of learning happen mean interest to the content of the lesson and will make their understanding deeper. In some learning processes in the classroom, the authors observed that in the first weeks of learning the level of student activity was very low. This is due to low student learning motivation. The author applies a method named: they do, they get, and they know. This method is very influential on the increase of learning activities because it affects the psychology of students to improve their learning motivation. After study in this method at two different courses in university, authors make a conclusion in the end that the method is effective to increase the frequency of student positive activity, so this method plays a role in improving the quality of learning.

Learning from avatars: Learning assistants practice physics pedagogy in a classroom simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chini, Jacquelyn J.; Straub, Carrie L.; Thomas, Kevin H.

2016-06-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Preparing and Supporting University Physics Educators.] Undergraduate students are increasingly being used to support course transformations that incorporate research-based instructional strategies. While such students are typically selected based on strong content knowledge and possible interest in teaching, they often do not have previous pedagogical training. The current training models make use of real students or classmates role playing as students as the test subjects. We present a new environment for facilitating the practice of physics pedagogy skills, a highly immersive mixed-reality classroom simulator, and assess its effectiveness for undergraduate physics learning assistants (LAs). LAs prepared, taught, and reflected on a lesson about motion graphs for five highly interactive computer generated student avatars in the mixed-reality classroom simulator. To assess the effectiveness of the simulator for this population, we analyzed the pedagogical skills LAs intended to practice and exhibited during their lessons and explored LAs' descriptions of their experiences with the simulator. Our results indicate that the classroom simulator created a safe, effective environment for LAs to practice a variety of skills, such as questioning styles and wait time. Additionally, our analysis revealed areas for improvement in our preparation of LAs and use of the simulator. We conclude with a summary of research questions this environment could facilitate.

Improving the primary school science learning unit about force and motion through lesson study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phaikhumnam, Wuttichai; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

The study aimed to develop primary school science lesson plan based on inquiry cycle (5Es) through lesson study. The study focused on the development of 4 primary school science lesson plans of force and motion for Grade 3 students in KKU Demonstration Primary School (Suksasart), first semester of 2015 academic year. The methodology is mixed method. The Inthaprasitha (2010) lesson study cycle was implemented in group of KKU Demonstration Primary School. Instruments of reflection of lesson plan developing included participant observation, meeting and reflection report, lesson plan and other document. The instruments of examining students' learning include classroom observation and achievement test. Data was categorized from these instruments to find the issues of changing and improving the good lesson plan of Thai primary school science learning. The findings revealed that teachers could develop the lesson plans through lesson study. The issues of changing and improving were disused by considering on engaging students related to societal issues, students' prior knowledge, scientific concepts for primary school students, and what they learned from their changing. It indicated that the Lesson Study allowed primary school science teachers to share ideas and develop ideas to improve the lesson. The study may have implications for Thai science teacher education through Lesson Study.

Language Use in Kindergarten Science Lessons: Language Production and Academic Language during a Video Feedback Coaching Intervention in Kindergarten Science Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menninga, Astrid; van Dijk, Marijn; Wetzels, Annemie; Steenbeek, Henderien; van Geert, Paul

2017-01-01

This paper aims to gain insight into language production and academic language of 4- and 5-year-old students and their teachers in the course of a teacher intervention during kindergarten science education. The study is based on videotaped classroom observations, and specifically focuses on the academic language use of students (N[subscript…

Establishing and Maintaining High Expectations for Deaf/Blind Students Using a Team Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mockler, Kimberly

2014-01-01

As a teacher of the deaf as well as the classroom teacher, Kimberly Mockler works very closely with the teacher of the visually impaired. This involves sharing ideas, resources, and lesson plans for the deaf/blind students. Their lessons and goals are very similar and overlap in several areas. A major challenge for both of them is maintaining high…

An Energy History of the United States. Grades 8-9. Interdisciplinary Student/Teacher Materials in Energy, the Environment, and the Economy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC.

This instructional unit contains eight classroom lessons dealing with a history of energy in the United States for use in grade eight and nine social studies, science, and mathematics courses. The lessons were developed by teachers. The overall objective is to help students understand the present necessity to reexamine and perhaps alter our…

Gender Inequality in the Primary Classroom: Will Interactive Whiteboards Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Fay; Hardman, Frank; Higgins, Steve

2007-01-01

This paper sets out to investigate (i) gender differences in whole class classroom interaction with a sample of teachers who were not using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in their lessons; and (ii) the short-term and longer term impact of IWB use upon gender differences in classroom interaction. The study focused upon teacher-student interaction…

Research for the Classroom: Mini Vocabulary Lessons for Maximum Recall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sovereen, Deanne

2013-01-01

"Research for the Classroom" publishes mini-studies of ELA classroom practices and suggests ways in which high school and middle school English teachers may study the effectiveness of their pedagogy. The author of this mini-study notes that it takes around six minutes per day of instructional time for students to remember most of the…

The Ecological Classroom: The Magic and Mystery of Electricity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cookman, Ed

1993-01-01

Ecological, interdisciplinary, and interconnected laboratory lessons focusing on magneticism: (1) producing electric power; (2) magnetics and magneticism; (3) electomagnetism (2 parts); and turbines (2 parts). Lessons, designed as precursor for students to make choices in electricity production, use a directed inquiry approach. (MCO)

Cheep, Chirp, Twitter, and Whistle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silverman, Emily; Coffman, Margaret; Younker, Betty

2007-01-01

This article describes an interdisciplinary, activity-based lesson plan implemented in a third/fourth-grade classroom. During these activities, students use musical concepts to think about, illustrate, and discuss animal behavior, and they use scientific concepts to motivate musical composition and performance. The lesson ends with small group…

All Play and No Work: Computer Games Are Invading the Classroom--And Not a Moment Too Soon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacKenty, Bill

2006-01-01

In this article, the author discusses how computer games can be used successfully in classrooms. The author also relates how one of his struggling students has become excited about learning when he introduced computer games as part of his lessons. The author also cites the factors that make computer games better in inspiring students over…

Do Students Learn More from a Flip? An Exploration of the Efficacy of Flipped and Traditional Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeSantis, Joshua; Van Curen, Rebecca; Putsch, Jake; Metzger, Justin

2015-01-01

Flipped lesson planning, as popularized by Bergman & Sams (2012a), has been viewed by many as a revolutionary pedagogy, tailor-made for the twenty-first century classroom. Enthusiasm for flipped lesson planning has out-paced the collection of data that might determine its effectiveness. This paper presents the results of a study that compared…

Encouraging Problem-Solving Disposition in a Singapore Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leong, Yew Hoong; Yap, Sook Fwe; Quek, Khiok Seng; Tay, Eng Guan; Tong, Cherng Luen; Ong, Yao Teck; Chia, Alexander Stanley Foh Soon; Zaini, Irni Karen Mohd; Khong, Wee Choo; Lock, Oi Leng; Zhang, Qiao Tian Beatrice; Tham, Yi Hui; Noorhazman, Nur-Illya Nafiza Mohamed

2013-01-01

In this article, we share our learning experience as a Lesson Study team. The Research Lesson was on Figural Patterns taught in Year 7. In addition to helping students learn the skills of the topic, we wanted them to develop a problem-solving disposition. The management of these two objectives was a challenge to us. From the lesson observation and…

Using Classroom Recordings in Educational History Research. An East German Civics Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jehle, May; Blessing, Benita

2014-01-01

Students learned in civics lessons in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) that their socialist society uniquely guaranteed all individuals the right to work, and that, as good socialists, they had the duty to take on socially meaningful work. Using the example of a video recording of an East German civics lesson and its…

Acute Effects of Classroom Exercise Breaks on Executive Function and Math Performance: A Dose-Response Study.

PubMed

Howie, Erin K; Schatz, Jeffrey; Pate, Russell R

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the acute dose-response relationship of classroom exercise breaks with executive function and math performance in 9- to 12-year-old children by comparing 5-min, 10-min, or 20-min classroom exercise breaks to 10 min of sedentary classroom activity. This study used a within-subjects experimental design conducted in the spring of 2012. Ninety-six 4th- and 5th-grade students in 5 classrooms in South Carolina were randomized to receive each of 4 treatments: 5-min, 10-min, or 20-min exercise breaks or 10 min of a sedentary lesson led by research staff. Students completed the Trail-Making Test, an Operational Digit Recall test, and a math fluency test immediately before and after each condition. Planned linear contrasts were used to compare posttest scores between conditions using a repeated-measures mixed model, adjusted for gender, classroom, and the time-varying pretest scores. Potential effect modifiers were added as interaction terms. Math scores were higher after the 10-min and 20-min exercise breaks compared with the sedentary condition (d = 0.24, p = .04, and d = 0.27, p = .02, respectively), and an interaction was observed with gender, IQ, aerobic fitness, and lower engagement in some of the conditions. There were no improvements in executive function tasks. A 10-min and 20-min classroom exercise break moderately improved math performance in students compared with a seated classroom lesson.

The key factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheung, Derek

2018-01-01

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The present study aimed to address this gap, using a mixed methods design. Qualitative interview data were collected from 60 Hong Kong junior secondary school students, who were asked to describe the nature of their interest in science lessons and the factors to which they attribute this. Teacher interviews, parent interviews, and classroom observations were conducted to triangulate student interview data. Five factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons were identified: situational influences in science lessons, individual interest in science, science self-concept, grade level, and gender. Quantitative data were then collected from 591 students using a questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied to test a hypothesised model, which provided an acceptable fit to the student data. The strongest factor affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons was science self-concept, followed by individual interest in science and situational influences in science lessons. Grade level and gender were found to be nonsignificant factors. These findings suggest that teachers should pay special attention to the association between academic self-concept and interest if they want to motivate students to learn science at school.

Capturing student mathematical engagement through differently enacted classroom practices: applying a modification of Watson's analytical tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patahuddin, Sitti Maesuri; Puteri, Indira; Lowrie, Tom; Logan, Tracy; Rika, Baiq

2018-04-01

This study examined student mathematical engagement through the intended and enacted lessons taught by two teachers in two different middle schools in Indonesia. The intended lesson was developed using the ELPSA learning design to promote mathematical engagement. Based on the premise that students will react to the mathematical tasks in the forms of words and actions, the analysis focused on identifying the types of mathematical engagement promoted through the intended lesson and performed by students during the lesson. Using modified Watson's analytical tool (2007), students' engagement was captured from what the participants' did or said mathematically. We found that teachers' enacted practices had an influence on student mathematical engagement. The teacher who demonstrated content in explicit ways tended to limit the richness of the engagement; whereas the teacher who presented activities in an open-ended manner fostered engagement.

Development of an Interdisciplinary STEM Classroom Activity for Radio Receiver Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Kristina

2015-01-01

Introduction The development of a mini STEM-based classroom activity designed to integrate these two fields into one project for middle school aged students is presented here. This lesson involves small groups of students constructing a small AM radio receivers. The lesson surrounding the activity focuses on both the physical nature of electromagnetic and AC waves, circuit design, practical applications to AM radio broadcasting, and research applications of radio telescopes. These tools have shown a significant increase in the lesson's primary concept understanding among 6th grade students, as well as net positive STEM awareness and enthusiasm.Content The primary teaching point for the students to consider and learn during this lesson is 'How does scientific application influence engineering design, and vice versa?' The lesson surrounds the hands-on activity of having students construct their own AM radio receiver. Wave theory and the use of radio instruments for astronomy research are also taught in a traditional lecture format. The activity is designed to complement middle school curriculum, although it has been tested and found suitable for high school and older students as well as the general public.Evaluation and ImpactThe evaluation tool that used for the student groups in this project was a Fryer chart, which is a four panel chart with the main topic listed in the center and a single question in each of the four panels. The students are asked to answer the questions in the chart before and after they participate in the lesson activity, each time in a different colored pencil so that the scores can be given to each student before and after they participated in the activity. Student scores improved from 4.5 to 17.9 out of a total of 20 possible points. This is an overall increase of 67% of the total possible points. The questions asked on the quiz cover the range of wave theory, circuit design, and scientific explanation. This factor of improvement shows that the lesson designed for this fellowship project is effective at teaching students about each of those concepts with a single teaching activity.

Launching a Discourse-Rich Mathematics Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trocki, Aaron; Taylor, Christine; Starling, Tina; Sztajn, Paola; Heck, Daniel

2014-01-01

The idea of elementary school students working together on mathematical tasks is not new, but recent attention to creating purposeful discourse in mathematics classrooms prompts teachers to revisit discourse-promoting strategies for mathematics lessons. The Common Core's Standards for Mathematical Practice (CCSSI 2010) encourage teachers to…

Managing Physical Education Lessons: An Interactional Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Dean; Annerstedt, Claes

2016-01-01

Physical education (PE) lessons involve complex and dynamic interactive sequences between students, equipment and teacher. The potential for unexpected and/or unintended events is relatively large, a point reflected in an increasing amount of scholarship dealing with classroom management (CM). This scholarship further suggests that unexpected and…

Explaining Glaciers, Accurately

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faw, Mary; Scott, Nancy; Tate, Mari

2009-01-01

What happens when a geology graduate student and two fourth-grade teachers collaborate on lessons for the classroom? They discover interesting and practical ways to explore geology and other scientific concepts, that's what! Here they share the glacial erosion lessons that grew out of the geologist's frustration at finding glacial erosion labs…

Integrating Language and Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordmeyer, Jon, Ed.; Barduhn, Susan, Ed.

2010-01-01

The definition of "English language classroom" is changing. When students have the opportunity to learn content and language at the same time, disciplinary boundaries overlap. Teachers are rethinking how they design courses, plan lessons, assess students, and collaborate with colleagues to support student learning and facilitate their…

Minds on Fire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cushman, Kathleen

2014-01-01

What happens when teachers, neuroscientists, and students combine their perspectives in a three-way dialogue about why selected classroom lessons were highly motivating? They discover that the factors that teachers and students believe important to student motivation are solidly aligned with insights from neuroscience. Author Kathleen Cushman…

Should the World Stop Cloning Around? 12th Grade Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonald, David R.; Karayan, Michael

This lesson for grade 12 is designed to raise student awareness of the potential of human cloning and of the effects it could have on the present, naturally born population. Students work in teams to research the issue and are provided with background information, detailed instructions, on-line resources, and reflection questions. The teacher's…

Project Helping Hands. Grade 10 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westphal, Leanne

In this lesson, students work in teams, role-playing a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in rural Africa. Teams focus on four goals: (1) grow more food; (2) develop water resources; (3) improve health services; and (4) protect the environment. Each student team is assigned to one of five regions in Africa. Teams…

Will America Fall Apart Like the Maya? Grade 7 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, David

If a civilization as powerful and technologically advanced during its time as the Maya could disappear, can the same tragic outcome befall the United States? In this lesson, students work in teams to research the ancient Mayan civilization, specifically the circumstances of its demise. Student teams prepare a report of their findings and recommend…

A Topical Trajectory on Survival: an Analysis of Link-Making in a Sequence of Lessons on Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocksén, Miranda; Olander, Clas

2017-04-01

This study explores the concept of link-making in relation to communicative strategies applied in the teaching and studying of biological evolution. The analysis focused on video recordings of 11 lessons on biological evolution conducted in a Swedish 9th grade class of students aged 15 years. It reveals how the teacher and students connected classroom conversations, the frequency of references to conversations in whole-class settings, and the development of a theme focusing on species survival and extinction. Detailed examples from the data illustrate how this theme developed from its initiation during the first lesson, through discussion and clarification, to its wrapping up during the last lesson. They further illustrate how students made sense of what the teacher said and wrote, and how the teacher postponed issues, explained and developed topics, provided opportunities for link-making, organised the class, motivated students, and checked their understanding. The study's methodological approach offers a way of including several time dimensions within research. Based on our findings, we conclude that the excerpts examined here did succeed in building `islands of coherence' in the co-construction of curricular content. Moreover, the topical trajectory in relation to species survival provided opportunities for constructing a `scientific story' in the classroom.

A Technology Leader's Role in Initiating a Flipped Classroom in a High School Math Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caverly, Gregg

2017-01-01

A mixed methods study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of a flipped classroom in a high school discrete mathematics course. In the flipped classroom, students watched videos of the teacher's lesson for homework while completing problems during class. Two sections of the course were involved in the study, with one group receiving the…

Professor as Facilitator: Shaping an Emerging, Living System of Shared Leadership in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bright, David S.; Turesky, Elizabeth Fisher; Putzel, Roger; Stang, Thomas

2012-01-01

From the perspective of emergence, professors can facilitate and shape a class as a complex, adaptive, and living system. A case study illustrates phases of emergence in the classroom by tracing how a professor may use this perspective to empower students to share in the leadership of the classroom. Instead of presenting lessons, the professor…

Differentiated Instruction at Work. Reinforcing the Art of Classroom Observation through the Creation of a Checklist for Beginning and Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subban, Pearl; Round, Penny

2015-01-01

Professional experience is viewed as integral to shaping philosophy and acquiring skills in the area of classroom teaching. Classrooms are complex places, with educators implementing differentiated strategies to cater for student diversity. Pre-service teachers who observe these lessons often miss the intuitive practices, as there is much to…

Describing Teacher–Student Interactions: A Qualitative Assessment of Teacher Implementation of the 7th Grade keepin’ it REAL Substance Use Intervention

PubMed Central

Miller-Day, Michelle; Shin, Young Ju; Hecht, Michael L.; Krieger, Janice L.; Graham, John W.

2014-01-01

Variations in the delivery of school-based substance use prevention curricula affect students’ acquisition of the lesson content and program outcomes. Although adaptation is sometimes viewed as a lack of fidelity, it is unclear what types of variations actually occur in the classroom. This observational study investigated teacher and student behaviors during implementation of a middle school-based drug prevention curriculum in 25 schools across two Midwestern states. Trained observers coded videos of 276 lessons, reflecting a total of 31 predominantly Caucasian teachers (10 males and 21 females) in 73 different classes. Employing qualitative coding procedures, the study provides a working typology of implementation patterns based on varying levels of teacher control and student participation. These patterns are fairly consistent across lessons and across classes of students, suggesting a teacher-driven delivery model where teachers create a set of constraints within which students vary their engagement. Findings provide a descriptive basis grounded in observation of classroom implementation that can be used to test models of implementation fidelity and quality as well as impact training and other dissemination research. PMID:22739791

Historic Crafts and Skills. Instructor Manual. Historic Skills Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Jim

Designed for classroom teachers and youth leaders, this self-contained manual contains classroom tested background information, lesson plans, activities, class exercises, tests, suggested visual aids, and references for teaching basic historic crafts and skills to junior high and senior high school students. An introductory section briefly…

Writing for Real Purpose

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ikpeze, Chinwe H.

2009-01-01

Working to transform his classroom, fifth grade teacher John Blain of Buffalo (New York) public schools infused technology into his literature lessons by adding an online literature discussion to his more traditional classroom discussion. Students were assigned to read Kate DiCamillo's books "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "The Tiger…

Creating Instructional Environments that Keep Students on TARGET

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyce, B. Ann

2009-01-01

Teachers' instructional decisions, such as lesson goals, how students are grouped, or how students are recognized and evaluated, can affect their students' level of motivation related to physical activity. A physical educator's primary responsibility is to create a classroom environment that enhances motivation and fosters positive attitudes and…

Digital Natives: Fifth-Grade Students' Authentic and Ritualistic Engagement with Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dietrich, Trevor; Balli, Sandra J.

2014-01-01

Thirty four fifth-grade students were interviewed about classroom learning and technology. Interview data were considered through Schlechty's (2002) levels of engagement framework to explore students' authentic or ritualistic engagement during technology supported lessons. Student engagement is defined as interest in and commitment to learning.…

Six Classroom Exercises to Teach Natural Selection to Undergraduate Biology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalinowski, Steven T.; Leonard, Mary J.; Andrews, Tessa M.; Litt, Andrea R.

2013-01-01

Students in introductory biology courses frequently have misconceptions regarding natural selection. In this paper, we describe six activities that biology instructors can use to teach undergraduate students in introductory biology courses how natural selection causes evolution. These activities begin with a lesson introducing students to natural…

Specimen Days: The Teaching Diaries of Miranda Field.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, Miranda

2002-01-01

Describes the author's experiences teaching Girl Scouts writing and poetry. Concludes that she learned many crucial lessons from her students including lessons on power relations in the classroom, on communication across cultural and even generational divides, and on the varieties of poetry that can be made by the varieties of imaginative…

Understanding Taxes. [Teacher's Resource Package. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Internal Revenue Service (Dept. of Treasury), Washington, DC.

This redesigned version of a high school curriculum on understanding taxes contains 6 units with 12 lessons. The set of video, print, and software lessons is designed to teach students about the United States tax system through integrating the materials in a number of different classrooms: history, economics, math, consumer education, government,…

Perspectives on Blended Learning through the On-Line Platform, LabLessons, for Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jihad, Teeba; Klementowicz, Edward; Gryczka, Patrick; Sharrock, Chappel; Maxfield, MacRae; Lee, Yongjun; Montclare, Jin Kim

2018-01-01

The effectiveness of blended learning was evaluated through the integration of an online chemistry platform, LabLessons. Two modules, "Formation of Hydrogen" and "Titration," were designed by college mentors alongside classroom chemistry teachers to engage and allow high school students to better comprehend these scientific…

Teachers' Self-Regulated Learning Lesson Design: Integrating Learning from Problems and Successes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michalsky, Tova; Schechter, Chen

2018-01-01

Teachers' design of a lesson is critical for helping their students develop academically effective forms of self-regulating learning (SRL) in classrooms. Using a quasi-experimental design, the researchers integrated systematic collaborative learning from problematic and successful experiences into teachers' preparatory programs and examined how…

Latin America Curriculum. World Neighbors in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

World Neighbors, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK.

This collection of lessons about the geography, languages, and social issues of several Latin American countries is intended for use with students in grades 6-12. The collection contains five lesson plans: (1) "Cold in the Tropics?" (Marilyn Kesler); (2) "Going beyond the Map: Comparing Geographic Characteristics and Related Social…

Enhancing Computer-Based Lessons for Effective Speech Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemphill, Michael R.; Standerfer, Christina C.

1987-01-01

Assesses the advantages of computer-based instruction on speech education. Concludes that, while it offers tremendous flexibility to the instructor--especially in dynamic lesson design, feedback, graphics, and artificial intelligence--there is no inherent advantage to the use of computer technology in the classroom, unless the student interacts…

Environmental Emergency Preparedness. Outdoor Living Skills Series. Instructor Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deaton, Don

This instructor's manual contains 21 lesson plans to teach advanced skills to cope with emergency outdoor living situations and emphasizes being prepared, rather than survival. Written for the classroom teacher, but adaptable for other youth groups, the module contains subject information, lesson plans with activities, student handouts, a written…

"Hey, I'm Learning This"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bragg, Leicha A.

2006-01-01

Mathematics games are often used in the classroom as a reward or warm-up activity before the "real" learning takes place. Many teachers have witnessed how useful games are for tuning-in students to the impending mathematics lesson. However, have teachers considered playing games as the central part of the lesson? This article explores…

Simulated Real-Life Experiences Using Classified Ads in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hechler, Ellen

This guide contains activities to help teachers give middle school students experience in practical life skills. Techniques include role playing and using classified advertisements from newspapers. The five lessons include teacher tips on conducting the activities. Lessons contain objectives, materials needed, discussion, and suggested dialogue.…

Kitchen Corner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Sharon

2004-01-01

This brief article describes one third-grade classroom's experience engaging in a lesson plan inspired by Larry Yanez's "Cocina Jaiteca" and images of the cheerful kitchen. In the lesson, the students were to draw their own kitchens based on their observations of the many details in Yanez's kitchen example, such as the calendar on the wall,…

Graphing Important People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reading Teacher, 2012

2012-01-01

The "Toolbox" column features content adapted from ReadWriteThink.org lesson plans and provides practical tools for classroom teachers. This issue's column features a lesson plan adapted from "Graphing Plot and Character in a Novel" by Lisa Storm Fink and "Bio-graph: Graphing Life Events" by Susan Spangler. Students retell biographic events…

Clearing the Air

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staehling, Erica

2015-01-01

This article describes a lesson on the greenhouse effect in which students explore blackbody radiation and Wien's law. The lesson, which has been tested in a variety of high school physics classrooms, uses probeware and online simulations and combines two well-established instructional strategies: the 5E Learning Cycle (Bybee et al. 2006) and the…

Integrating the Core Curriculum through Cooperative Learning. Lesson Plans for Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winget, Patricia L., Ed.

Cooperative learning strategies are used to facilitate the integration of multicultural and multi-ability level students into California regular education classrooms. This handbook is a sampling of innovative lesson plans using cooperative learning activities developed by teachers to incorporate the core curriculum into their instruction. Three…

Rules for Summarizing Texts: Is Classroom Instruction Being Provided?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Ruth

1984-01-01

An "ideal lesson" method was used to observe how teachers were providing instruction in text summarization. Teachers prepared a lesson and audiotaped the presentation. Although teachers were prompted to assist students in improving text summaries, only two teachers actually discussed more than one summarization rule. Staff development…

Probability from a Socio-Cultural Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Sashi

2016-01-01

There exists considerable and rich literature on students' misconceptions about probability; less attention has been paid to the development of students' probabilistic thinking in the classroom. Grounded in an analysis of the literature, this article offers a lesson sequence for developing students' probabilistic understanding. In particular, a…

Helping Adolescents Respond with Integrity to Defensive Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorkildsen, Theresa A.; Driver, Persis

2017-01-01

Integrity in student-teacher interaction is more likely when students and teachers tactfully disrupt the pacing of efficient, but fragmented lessons. Yet, teachers sometimes cling to fragmented, oversimplified definitions of knowledge, and defensively manage classroom behavior by controlling students' access to information. Ironically, adolescents…

The Meaning of Student Engagement and Disengagement in the Classroom Context: Lessons from Organisational Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balwant, Paul T.

2018-01-01

Despite the popularity of student engagement and, by association, student disengagement, the academic literature is unclear about the meaning of these terms. This review extends existing conceptual studies of student engagement by offering clear definitions and conceptualisations of both student engagement and disengagement in the classroom…

Opportunities and Challenges of Implementing Instructional Games in Mathematics Classrooms: Examining the Quality of Teacher-Student Interactions during the Cover-Up and Un-Cover Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heshmati, Saeideh; Kersting, Nicole; Sutton, Taliesin

2018-01-01

This study explored the design and implementation of the Cover-up and Un-cover games, two manipulative-based fraction games, in 14 fifth-grade classrooms. We examined how the fraction concepts were integrated into the game design and explored the nature of teacher-student interactions during games using lesson videos. Our examination showed that…

A Positive Self Image. It's Your Choice. A Classroom Program for the Development of Self Esteem.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanel, Robert R.

Arranged into two parts, the book provides a model for helping students develop a positive self-esteem. Part 1 presents five lessons aimed at improving self-image. Lesson 1 focuses on the relationship between one's self-worth and one's behavior. Lesson 2 deals with appearance and the notion that body characteristics may change one's value as a…

Study of The Vector Product using Three Dimensions Vector Card of Engineering in Pathumwan Institute of Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueanploy, Wannapa

2015-06-01

The objective of this research was to offer the way to improve engineering students in Physics topic of vector product. The sampling of this research was the engineering students at Pathumwan Institute of Technology during the first semester of academic year 2013. 1) Select 120 students by random sampling are asked to fill in a satisfaction questionnaire scale, to select size of three dimensions vector card in order to apply in the classroom. 2) Select 60 students by random sampling to do achievement test and take the test to be used in the classroom. The methods used in analysis of achievement test by the Kuder-Richardson Method (KR- 20). The results show that 12 items of achievement test are appropriate to be applied in the classroom. The achievement test gets Difficulty (P) = 0.40-0.67, Discrimination = 0.33-0.73 and Reliability (r) = 0.70.The experimental in the classroom. 3) Select 60 students by random sampling divide into two groups; group one (the controlled group) with 30 students was chosen to study in the vector product lesson by the regular teaching method. Group two (the experimental group) with 30 students was chosen to learn the vector product lesson with three dimensions vector card. 4) Analyzed data between the controlled group and the experimental group, the result showed that experimental group got higher achievement test than the controlled group significant at .01 level.

SEAS (Student Experiments At Sea): Helping Teachers Foster Authentic Student Inquiry in the Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goehring, L.; Kelsey, K.; Carlson, J.

2005-12-01

Teacher professional development designed to promote authentic research in the classroom is ultimately aimed at improving student scientific literacy. In addition to providing teachers with opportunities to improve their understanding of science through research experiences, we need to help facilitate similar learning in students. This is the focus of the SEAS (Student Experiments At Sea) program: to help students learn science by doing science. SEAS offers teachers tools and a framework to help foster authentic student inquiry in the classroom. SEAS uses the excitement of deep-sea research, as well as the research facilities and human resources that comprise the deep-sea scientific community, to engage student learners. Through SEAS, students have the opportunity to practice inquiry skills and participate in research projects along side scientists. SEAS is a pilot program funded by NSF and sponsored by the Ridge 2000 research community. The pilot includes inquiry-based curricular materials, facilitated interaction with scientists, opportunities to engage students in research projects, and teacher training. SEAS offers a framework of resources designed to help translate inquiry skills and approaches to the classroom environment, recognizing the need to move students along the continuum of scientific inquiry skills. This framework includes hands-on classroom lessons, Classroom to Sea labs where students compare their investigations with at-sea investigations, and a student experiment competition. The program also uses the Web to create a virtual ``scientific community'' including students. Lessons learned from this two year pilot emphasize the importance of helping teachers feel knowledgeable and experienced in the process of scientific inquiry as well as in the subject. Teachers with experience in scientific research were better able to utilize the program. Providing teachers with access to scientists as a resource was also important, particularly given the challenges of working in the deep-sea environment. Also, fostering authentic student investigations (i.e., working through preparatory materials, developing proposals, analyzing data and writing summary reports) is challenging to fit within the academic year. Nonetheless, teacher feedback highlights that the excitement generated by participation in real research is highly motivating. Further, students experience a ``paradigm shift'' in understanding evidence-based reasoning and the process of scientific discovery.

Lab-on-a-Chip: Frontier Science in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wietsma, Jan Jaap; van der Veen, Jan T.; Buesink, Wilfred; van den Berg, Albert; Odijk, Mathieu

2018-01-01

Lab-on-a-chip technology is brought into the classroom through development of a lesson series with hands-on practicals. Students can discover the principles of microfluidics with different practicals covering laminar flow, micromixing, and droplet generation, as well as trapping and counting beads. A quite affordable novel production technique…

Online Teaching Resources about Medicinal Plants and Ethnobotany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Straus, Kristina M.; Chudler, Eric H.

2016-01-01

Classroom exploration of plant-based medicines and ethnobotany is a timely and valuable way to engage students in science. This Feature highlights Internet-based resources to help teachers in primary and secondary classrooms incorporate lessons and activities to teach about plant medicines. These Internet resources include curricula, videos, sites…

Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice. Volume 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bigelow, Bill, Ed.; Harvey, Brenda, Ed.; Karp, Stan, Ed.; Miller, Larry, Ed.

This companion volume to the first "Rethinking Our Classrooms" presents a collection of articles, curriculum ideas, lesson plans, poetry, and resources designed for educators seeking to pair concerns for social justice with student academic achievement. Topics are: (1) "The Power of Words," including "Where I'm From:…

The Search for Hidden Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsuura, Ryota; Sword, Sarah; Finkelstein, Tatyana

2017-01-01

How does one look for mathematical structure? Finding structure is a challenging yet accessible activity for all students. This article describes a lesson in which seventh graders engaged with mathematical structure. The setting was a seventh-grade prealgebra classroom in a suburban school. The classroom teacher was co-author Tatyana Finkelstein.…

From Knowledge to Practice: A Gifted Educator's Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinhard, Jessica J.

2016-01-01

This qualitative case study of a third-year teacher of intermediate students in a self-contained gifted education classroom uncovers the relationship between knowledge of pedagogical practices from national gifted education standards and their transfer to classroom practice. Ethnographic methods of interviews, field observations, lesson documents,…

Net Lessons: Education World's Internet Primer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1997

This booklet presents educators with practical ways to put the Internet to work in the classroom. An introduction provides resources for getting connected to and exploring the Internet. The next section on using the Web in the classroom discusses a student-created Web survey; cooperative challenge; social action; community connection; simulation;…

Beyond Guided Listening: Exploring World Musics with Classroom Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartolome, Sarah J.

2011-01-01

This article explores issues of authenticity related to adapting world music examples for classroom instruments and suggests ways to engage students in active, participatory music-making activities derived from diverse musical cultures. Several lesson plan segments are provided to aid general music specialists in implementing "play along"…

Mathematics Lessons from Finland and Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seaberg, Rebecca L.

2015-01-01

In many ways, mathematics classrooms in Finland and Sweden are very similar to what would be considered traditional classrooms in the United States. Classes begin with checking homework and questions, followed by the teacher giving instruction in the new material, and end with students working on their new assignment. There are also interesting…

Promoting Creativity in the Middle Grades Language Arts Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batchelor, Katherine E.; Bintz, William P.

2013-01-01

Middle level educators around the country aim to create a classroom environment and a way of teaching that is developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering, and equitable for every student. One way to ensure this is to include instruction that promotes creativity. This article offers guiding principles and shares instructional lessons that…

Of Maggots Murder: Forensic Entomology in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carloye, Lisa

2003-01-01

Presents a hands-on lesson in biology in which students evaluate the evidence from four death scenarios. Students use knowledge of ecological principles, specifically ecological succession, and insect biology. Recommends three web sites related to the subject. (SOE)

In Praise of Political Parties. Grade 12 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hizal, Kris

In this lesson plan, each student must decide which political party he/she will join or whether to register as an independent. Each student will be part of a group analyzing one current political party and presenting to the class this party's solutions for the problems confronting the United States today. The political parties for analysis are:…

Bringing Energy to the People: Washington, D.C. and Ghana. Grades 6,7. Interdisciplinary Student/Teacher Materials in Energy, the Environment, and the Economy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC.

This instructional unit contains four classroom lessons dealing with energy for use in grades six and seven. The overall objective is to provide students with a comparative overview of two basic energy concepts: energy is a basic need in all cultures; and energy use affects the way people live. In the lessons, which can easily be integrated into…

Application of Education Management and Lesson Study in Teaching Mathematics to Students of Second Grade of Public School in District 3 of Tehran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farhoush, Masoumeh; Majedi, Parisima; Behrangi, Mohammadreza

2017-01-01

The present paper studies the effects of lesson study as a sample of participative researches in classroom as well as Behrangi Education Management Model in courses by aiming at exploring and allowing students to use the indexes of course concepts as an effective model in learning. The research plan is pre-test, posttest with control group type.…

The use of high impact practices (HIPs) on chemistry lesson design and implementation by pre-service teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamrat, Suthida; Apichatyotin, Nattaya; Puakanokhirun, Kittaporn

2018-01-01

The quality of lesson design is essential to learning effectiveness. Research shows some characteristics of lessons have strong effect on learning which were grouped into "High Impact Practices or HIPs. This research aims to examine the use of HIPs on chemistry lesson design as a part of Teaching Science Strand in Chemistry Concepts course. At the first round of lesson design and implementing in classroom, 14 chemistry pre-services teachers freely selected topics, designed and implemented on their own ideas. The lessons have been reflected by instructors and their peers. High Impact Practices were overtly used as the conceptual framework along with the After-Action Review and Reflection (AARR). The selected High Impact practice in this study consisted of 6 elements: well-designed lesson, vary cognitive demand/academic challenge, students center approach, opportunity of students to reflect by discussion or writing, the assignment of project based learning or task, and the lesson reflects pre-service teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). The second round, pre-service teachers were encouraged to explicitly used 6 High Impact Practices in cooperated with literature review specified on focused concepts for bettering designed and implemented lessons. The data were collected from 28 lesson plans and 28 classroom observations to compare and discuss between the first and second lesson and implementation. The results indicated that High Impact Practices effect on the quality of delivered lesson. However, there are some elements that vary on changes which were detailed and discussed in this research article.

Students' Cognitive Processes While Learning from Teaching. Final Report (Volume One).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winne, Philip H.; Marx, Ronald W.

Research is reported on the cognitive mediational paradigm which postulates that teachers influence students' learning by causing them to think and behave in particular ways during teaching. Four studies are reported. The first describes five teachers and their students and explores, in classroom lessons, the cognitive processes students used in…

Reliability and Agreement of Student Ratings of the Classroom Environment: A Reanalysis of TIMSS Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludtke, Oliver; Trautwein, Ulrich; Kunter, Mareike; Baumert, Jurgen

2006-01-01

In educational research, characteristics of the learning environment are generally assessed by asking students to evaluate features of their lessons. The student ratings produced by this simple and efficient research strategy can be analysed from two different perspectives. At the "individual level", they represent the individual student's…

Developing `Butterfly Warriors': a Case Study of Science for Citizenship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Junjun; Cowie, Bronwen

2013-12-01

Given worldwide concern about a decline in student engagement in school science and an increasing call for science for citizenship in New Zealand Curriculum, this study focused on a butterfly unit that investigated how students in a year-4 primary classroom learnt about New Zealand butterflies through thinking, talking, and acting as citizen scientists. The butterfly unit included five lessons. The researchers observed the lessons and interviewed students and the classroom teacher. The students completed a unit evaluation survey after the unit. Findings indicate that the students enjoyed and were interested in activities such as reading about butterflies, learning and using new vocabulary, drawing butterfly life cycles, as well as hunting, tagging and releasing butterflies and publishing the data they had collected on a dedicated website. Through their participation in the unit, students had opportunities to act locally and globally, and to `see themselves' in science through `being there' experience. Units like this have the potential to develop students' interest for longer-term engagement in science, even those students who may never envision themselves as professional scientists.

From the School Newsroom to the Courtroom. Lessons on the Hazelwood Case and Free Expression Policy Making in the Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenblum, Warren; And Others

The purpose of this lesson packet is to raise issues about student rights of free expression in public schools. Included are preparatory reading material and two classroom simulation activities. The lessons are based on the U.S. Supreme Court case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, in which a Missouri high school principal and school district were sued by…

A Four-Tier Differentiation Model: Engage All Students in the Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrelko, Janet M.

2013-01-01

This study details the creation of a four-tiered format designed to help preservice teachers write differentiated lesson plans. A short history of lesson plan differentiation models is described and how the four-tier approach was developed through collaboration with classroom teachers and university faculty. The unifying element for the format…

Asia Curriculum. World Neighbors in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

World Neighbors, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK.

This collection of lesson plans focuses on the geography and culture of several Asian countries and is intended to be used with students in grades 6-12. Lessons in the collection are: (1) "Keeping the Faith: Comparison of Major Religious Cultures in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam" (Glenda Sullivan); (2) "Namaste, Menyapa, Chao, Bon…

Nutrition Education Intervention Improves Vegetable-Related Attitude, Self-Efficacy, Preference, and Knowledge of Fourth-Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Denise E.; Least, Christine; Gromis, Judy; Lohse, Barbara

2012-01-01

Background: Impact of a classroom-based, standardized intervention to address limited vegetable consumption of fourth graders was assessed. Methods: A 4-lesson, vegetable-focused intervention, revised from extant materials was repurposed for Pennsylvania fourth graders with lessons aligned with state academic standards. A reliability-tested survey…

Germany since 1945: A Focus on Berlin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankenship, Glen; Smith, Lindsey

This lesson accompanies a videotape which examines some of the forces, personalities and events which shaped Berlin and the rest of Germany between 1945 and 1994. The lesson is introduced by using the videotape and uses references from the videotape for further classroom work. Worksheets for student use include "Events in Germany,…

Elementary Teachers' Thinking about a Good Mathematics Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yeping

2011-01-01

In an effort to gain a better understanding of Chinese classroom teaching culture, this study aimed to examine elementary teachers' views about a good mathematics lesson in China. Through analyzing 57 teachers' essays collected from 7 elementary schools in 2 provinces, it is found that Chinese teachers emphasized the most about students and their…

Teaching Trump: A Case Study of Two Teachers and the Election of 2016

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Derek L.; Zyhowski, Joni

2018-01-01

This case study investigated how two 8th-grade teachers planned for, delivered, and reflected on their teaching of the 2016 Presidential Election. Data sources included classroom observations, teacher interviews, and lesson plans. Despite integrating student-centered lessons about the election with social and political events in US History from…

Using the Blooms-Banks Matrix to Develop Multicultural Differentiated Lessons for Gifted Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trotman Scott, Michelle

2014-01-01

Many classrooms are comprised of students with differing abilities ranging from students with disabilities to students with gifts and talents. While these students are sharing the same space, their differing cognitive levels must be met. Therefore, curricula must be used to meet the needs of the cognitive level that is represented within the…

A framework for high-school teacher support in Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bookhagen, B.; Mair, A.; Schaller, G.; Koeberl, C.

2012-04-01

To attract future geoscientists in the classroom and share the passion for science, successful geoscience education needs to combine modern educational tools with applied science. Previous outreach efforts suggest that classroom-geoscience teaching tremendously benefits from structured, prepared lesson plans in combination with hands-on material. Building on our past experience, we have developed a classroom-teaching kit that implements interdisciplinary exercises and modern geoscientific application to attract high-school students. This "Mobile Phone Teaching Kit" analyzes the components of mobile phones, emphasizing the mineral compositions and geologic background of raw materials. Also, as geoscience is not an obligatory classroom topic in Austria, and university training for upcoming science teachers barely covers geoscience, teacher training is necessary to enhance understanding of the interdisciplinary geosciences in the classroom. During the past year, we have held teacher workshops to help implementing the topic in the classroom, and to provide professional training for non-geoscientists and demonstrate proper usage of the teaching kit. The material kit is designed for classroom teaching and comes with a lesson plan that covers background knowledge and provides worksheets and can easily be adapted to school curricula. The project was funded by kulturkontakt Austria; expenses covered 540 material kits, and we reached out to approximately 90 schools throughout Austria and held a workshop in each of the nine federal states in Austria. Teachers received the training, a set of the material kit, and the lesson plan free of charge. Feedback from teachers was highly appreciative. The request for further material kits is high and we plan to expand the project. Ultimately, we hope to enlighten teachers and students for the highly interdisciplinary variety of geosciences and a link to everyday life.

Teaching the Soft Skills: Three Students Break It Down

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merz, Sandy

2015-01-01

Teaching soft skills (i.e., grit, empathy, collaboration, perseverance, communication, ethics, self-management) is a task that might seem overwhelming to new teachers, but this article offers practical advice from students about how to incorporate the lessons into the classroom.

The NASA HRMS educational outreach program - Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence while developing extraintelligent terrestrials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coulter, Gary R.; O'Sullivan, Kathleen; Milne, David; Stoneburner, Cara

1993-01-01

Students, young and old, find extraterrestrial life one of the most intriguing of all science topics. A curriculum development project co-funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA, and administered by the SETI Institute, is underway to develop and test third through ninth grade science lessons that draw upon this fascination to focus student interest on science and mathematics. Individual lessons are designed by teachers and curriculum developers, tested in classrooms, revised and re-tested prior to distribution. A series of guides, each containing 10 to 15 lessons, will be finished by late summer 1994.

Avoiding the Somnolent Zone: Lessons from Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bathurst, Ralph

2007-01-01

As an experienced classroom teacher, the author was dismayed at what seemed a total lack of engagement by Singaporean theology students. To determine class dynamics, or lack thereof, the instructor discussed his situation with colleagues and investigated the nature of his students' preferred learning styles. Finding that his students were visual…

Learning about Global Interdependence: An Area-Value Mapping Exercise.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crooker, Richard A.

1990-01-01

Presents a lesson for secondary school students that uses an area value map to increase student understanding about the geography of international drug production and consumption. Provides a list of necessary classroom materials, suggested background readings for students, procedures to be followed, and a bibliography of references. (DB)

Sleeping Beauty in the Classroom: What Do Teachers Know about Narcolepsy?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cosgrove, Maryellen S.

2002-01-01

Investigated teachers' awareness of narcolepsy and the accuracy of their knowledge. Found educators uninformed about narcolepsy and how to accommodate narcoleptic students. Recommended that teachers be aware of narcolepsy's symptoms, plan variety and movement into students' lessons, and allow students to redo assignments if a sleep attack…

Climate change in the classroom: Reaching out to middle school students through science and math suitcase lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobo, A. C.; Collay, R.; Harris, R. N.; de Silva, L.

2011-12-01

We have formed a link between the Increasing Diversity in Earth Sciences (IDES) program with the Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) program, both at Oregon State University. The IDES mission is to strengthen the understanding of Earth Sciences and their relevance to society among broad and diverse segments of the population and the SMILE mission is to provide science and math enrichment for underrepresented and other educationally underserved students in grades 4-12. Traditionally, underserved schools do not have enough time or resources to spend on science and mathematics. Furthermore, numerous budget cuts in many Oregon school districts have negatively impacted math and science cirriculum. To combat this trend we have designed suitcase lessons in climate change that can be carried to a number of classrooms. These lesson plans are scientifically rich and economically attractive. These lessons are designed to engage students in math and science through climate change presentations, group discussions, and hands-on activities. Over the past year we have familiarized ourselves with the academic ability of sixth and seventh graders through in-class observation in Salem Oregon. One of the suit case lessons we developed focuses on climate change by exploring the plight of polar bears in the face of diminishing sea ice. Our presentation will report the results of this activity.

Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE): Enhancing Scientific Communication by Bringing STEM Research into the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, D.; Radencic, S.; Funderburk, W. K.; Walker, R. M.; Jackson, B. S.; Dawkins, K. S.; Schmitz, D.; Bruce, L. M.; McNeal, K.

2014-12-01

INSPIRE, a five-year partnership between Mississippi State University and three local school districts, is designed to strengthen the communication skills of graduate Fellows in geosciences, physics, astronomy, chemistry, and engineering as they incorporate their research into inquiry-based lessons in 7th - 12th grade science and math classrooms. All lesson plans designed and taught by the graduate Fellows must include one or more connections to their research, and these connections must be demonstrated to the students during the lessons. International research partnerships with Australia, the Bahamas, England, and Poland provide valuable opportunities for graduate Fellows to conduct field work abroad and allow our partner teachers to have authentic research experiences that they can bring back to their classrooms. Program effectiveness has been examined using pre- and post-year attitudinal surveys, formal lesson plan documents, Fellow and teacher journals, focus group meetings with a project evaluator, and direct observation of Fellow-led classroom activities. Analyses of data gathered during the past four years of the partnership will be presented that examine the diversity in approaches taken by Fellows to communicate big ideas, changes in the ability of Fellows to find connections between their research and classroom lessons while keeping them aligned with state and national standards, and the quality of the mentorship provided to the Fellows by our partner teachers. INSPIRE is funded by the Graduate K-12 (GK-12) STEM Fellowship Program of the National Science Foundation (Award No. DGE-0947419).

A survey of acoustic conditions and noise levels in secondary school classrooms in England.

PubMed

Shield, Bridget; Conetta, Robert; Dockrell, Julie; Connolly, Daniel; Cox, Trevor; Mydlarz, Charles

2015-01-01

An acoustic survey of secondary schools in England has been undertaken. Room acoustic parameters and background noise levels were measured in 185 unoccupied spaces in 13 schools to provide information on the typical acoustic environment of secondary schools. The unoccupied acoustic and noise data were correlated with various physical characteristics of the spaces. Room height and the amount of glazing were related to the unoccupied reverberation time and therefore need to be controlled to reduce reverberation to suitable levels for teaching and learning. Further analysis of the unoccupied data showed that the introduction of legislation relating to school acoustics in England and Wales in 2003 approximately doubled the number of school spaces complying with current standards. Noise levels were also measured during 274 lessons to examine typical levels generated during teaching activities in secondary schools and to investigate the influence of acoustic design on working noise levels in the classroom. Comparison of unoccupied and occupied data showed that unoccupied acoustic conditions affect the noise levels occurring during lessons. They were also related to the time spent in disruption to the lessons (e.g., students talking or shouting) and so may also have an impact upon student behavior in the classroom.

ESL students learning biology: The role of language and social interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaipal, Kamini

This study explored three aspects related to ESL students in a mainstream grade 11 biology classroom: (1) the nature of students' participation in classroom activities, (2) the factors that enhanced or constrained ESL students' engagement in social interactions, and (3) the role of language in the learning of science. Ten ESL students were observed over an eight-month period in this biology classroom. Data were collected using qualitative research methods such as participant observation, audio-recordings of lessons, field notes, semi-structured interviews, short lesson recall interviews and students' written work. The study was framed within sociocultural perspectives, particularly the social constructivist perspectives of Vygotsky (1962, 1978) and Wertsch (1991). Data were analysed with respect to the three research aspects. Firstly, the findings showed that ESL students' preferred and exhibited a variety of participation practices that ranged from personal-individual to socio-interactive in nature. Both personal-individual and socio-interactive practices appeared to support science and language learning. Secondly, the findings indicated that ESL students' engagement in classroom social interactions was most likely influenced by the complex interactions between a number of competing factors at the individual, interpersonal and community/cultural levels (Rogoff, Radziszewska, & Masiello, 1995). In this study, six factors that appeared to enhance or constrain ESL students' engagement in classroom social interactions were identified. These factors were socio-cultural factors, prior classroom practice, teaching practices, affective factors, English language proficiency, and participation in the research project. Thirdly, the findings indicated that language played a significant mediational role in ESL students' learning of science. The data revealed that the learning of science terms and concepts can be explained by a functional model of language that includes: (1) the use of discourse to construct meanings, (2) multiple semiotic representations of the thing/process, and (3) constructing taxonomies and ways of reasoning. Other important findings were: talking about language is integral to biology teaching and learning, ESL students' prior knowledge of everyday words does not necessarily help them interpret written questions on worksheets, and ESL students' prior knowledge of concepts in their first language does not necessarily support concept learning in the second language.

A Burning Desire: A Focus Group Turns Its Attention to Old Glory. 12th Grade Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonald, David

This lesson for grade 12 is designed to increase student awareness of the debate surrounding flag burning, the proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit flag burning, and the constitutional issues involved, specifically the First Amendment. Students play the role of staff members for a U.S. Senator. They research the issue and prepare both pro…

Developing teachers' models for assessing students' competence in mathematical modelling through lesson study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aydogan Yenmez, Arzu; Erbas, Ayhan Kursat; Cakiroglu, Erdinc; Alacaci, Cengiz; Cetinkaya, Bulent

2017-08-01

Applications and modelling have gained a prominent role in mathematics education reform documents and curricula. Thus, there is a growing need for studies focusing on the effective use of mathematical modelling in classrooms. Assessment is an integral part of using modelling activities in classrooms, since it allows teachers to identify and manage problems that arise in various stages of the modelling process. However, teachers' difficulties in assessing student modelling work are a challenge to be considered when implementing modelling in the classroom. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers' knowledge on generating assessment criteria for assessing student competence in mathematical modelling evolved through a professional development programme, which is based on a lesson study approach and modelling perspective. The data was collected with four teachers from two public high schools over a five-month period. The professional development programme included a cyclical process, with each cycle consisting of an introductory meeting, the implementation of a model-eliciting activity with students, and a follow-up meeting. The results showed that the professional development programme contributed to teachers' knowledge for generating assessment criteria on the products, and the observable actions that affect the modelling cycle.

Impacts of reform-based science in middle school classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruth, Lisa Mccurry

2007-12-01

In the summer of 2005, the University of South Carolina offered a four week, summer professional development opportunity for middle school science teachers. In this institute, reform-based curricula and strategies were introduced to the teachers. Seven teachers were asked to participate in this study to assess the impacts of reformed curricula and pedagogy. Teachers administered standards-based pretests and posttests to their students before and after the specified unit of study. Teachers were videotaped teaching lessons included in the curriculum unit or teaching a lesson that addressed the same set of standards. Pretests and posttests were analyzed and effect sizes were calculated. Effect sizes ranged from a minimum of 0.57 to 3.18. Videotaped lessons were analyzed using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) developed by the Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (ACEPT) project. The level of inquiry-based instruction was not found to be a primary predictor of student learning gains, but was found to be associated with teachers who implemented the curriculum and associated pedagogical techniques. Teachers who presented lessons considered highly reformed had effect sizes as high as or greater than those who continued to utilize more traditional methods of teaching, when student population differences are taken into account. These same teachers were highly successful in facilitating student-directed, scientific discussions in their classrooms as compared to teachers who did not utilize curriculum materials.

Statistical Knowledge for Teaching: Exploring it in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgess, Tim

2009-01-01

This paper first reports on the methodology of a study of teacher knowledge for statistics, conducted in a classroom at the primary school level. The methodology included videotaping of a sequence of lessons that involved students in investigating multivariate data sets, followed up by audiotaped interviews with each teacher. These stimulated…

Modeled Instructional Routines: Will Preservice Teachers Embed Them in Their Future Lessons?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaughter, Sandra K.

2017-01-01

Modeling in the classroom is the key to successful teaching. This study examines whether preservice teachers would use content area literacy instructional routines, which had been modeled in my university course, in their student teaching and first-year classrooms. Both content area literacy and disciplinary literacy were modeled in my university…

Powerful Social Studies Teaching with Poetry and Primary Sources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sell, Corey Ranshaw; Griffin, Krista

2017-01-01

Given the current marginalization of the social studies within elementary classrooms it is vital that elementary educators seek integrative techniques that promote the social studies. This article explores one such example of integration taught by the authors within an elementary classroom. The three-day lesson taught to fifth-grade students aimed…

Has Discipline in School Deteriorated? PISA in Focus. No. 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OECD Publishing (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

Classrooms and schools with more disciplinary problems are less conducive to learning, since teachers have to spend more time creating an orderly environment before instruction can begin. Interruptions in the classroom disrupt students' concentration on, and their engagement in, their lessons. Popular belief has it that every successive crop of…

Laughing and Smiling to Manage Trouble in French-Language Classroom Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petitjean, Cécile; González-Martínez, Esther

2015-01-01

This article deals with communicative functions of laughter and smiling in the classroom studied using a conversation analytical approach. Analysing a corpus of video-recorded French first-language lessons, we show how students sequentially organise laughter and smiling, and use them to preempt, solve or assess a problematic action. We also focus…

Oh No, Henrietta Got Out!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lottero-Perdue, Pamela; Grabia, Kathryn; Sandifer, Cody

2017-01-01

In a kindergarten classroom, exclamations like "Oh no!" may be causes for concern. However, when the students in Mrs. Grabia's classroom shouted "Oh no!" and "Uh oh!" during an engineering-infused 5E lesson, it meant that a persistent little robot had pushed its way out of the fences they had created. It also meant…

Global Issues: Activities and Resources for the High School Teacher.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Switzer, Kenneth A.; Mulloy, Paul T.

The book is an introduction to teaching about contemporary global concerns in the high school social studies classroom. It contains background and lesson plans for seven units in addition to 39 reproducible student handouts, annotated lists of other good classroom resources, and a guide to sources of teaching materials on global issues. Topics…

Leadership Lessons: Helping Students Develop Essential Leadership and Communication Competencies through Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Remund, David L.

2015-01-01

Instructors often use social media as an extra platform for sharing information and therefore extend the classroom beyond classroom walls. However, when more thoughtfully integrated in pedagogy and tied to specific desired learning outcomes, social media may help accomplish more: strong engagement and self-reported comprehension, aided by the…

Classroom Management in the Social Studies Class. How to Do It Series, Series 2, No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Cheryl Granade

Classroom management is discussed in terms of effective instruction, successful group management, maximum use of space, time, and resources, meaningful discipline, student rights, and change strategies. The discussion of effective instruction stresses appropriateness, completeness, clarity, and a variety of lessons. Techniques for successful group…

Feathering Your Nest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nabors, Martha L.; Edwards, Linda Carol; Decker, Suzanne

2010-01-01

The first-grade classroom was like a natural history museum. Bird nests of every shape and size lay on top of bookshelves that lined two walls. Methods students, who were visiting the classroom in preparation for the science lessons they would teach there, were immediately inspired by the collection. They used the collection as a springboard for…

Improving Instruction in the Mathematics Methods Classroom through Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mostofo, Jameel; Zambo, Ron

2015-01-01

There is a continuing emphasis in the United States on improving students' mathematical abilities, and one approach is to better prepare teachers. To investigate the potential usefulness of Lesson Study to better prepare teachers, one author set out to conduct action research on his classroom practice. Specifically, he sought to determine whether…

Pattern of Classroom Activities during Students' Use of Computers: Relations between Instructional Strategies and Computer Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inan, Fethi A.; Lowther, Deborah L.; Ross, Steven M.; Strahl, Dan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify instructional strategies used by teachers to support technology integration. In addition, relations between types of computer applications and teachers' classroom practices were examined. Data were direct observation results from 143 integration lessons implemented in schools receiving federal technology…

Art and Transformation: Embodied Action in a First-Grade Art Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartjen, Lisa F.

2012-01-01

In this article, the author shares her kinesthetic-based art classroom unit. The kinesthetic-based art unit was originally designed to address disparities in learning styles present in her art classroom. In particular, students who were generally disruptive during teacher-centered art instruction often focused easily during lessons infused with…

Pedagogy Corner: Spatial Counting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovitt, Charles

2017-01-01

This article describes how Charles Lovitt found a classroom activity in a resource book and by peering through a pedagogy lens, enhanced, tweaked, adapted, and extended the idea into a richer, healthier, well balanced classroom lesson. The task described in the article is often presented to students as a flash card for a limited time with the…

Interactive Online Physics Labs Increase High School Students' Interest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gryczka, Patrick; Klementowicz, Edward; Sharrock, Chappel; Montclare, Jin Kim

2016-01-01

Here we describe the incorporation of a web-based application focusing on circuits for the physics high school classroom as part of an outreach program. The program involves college mentors creating and implementing science lessons in collaboration with the classroom teacher. Focusing on the challenge of understanding circuit design, a technology…

Program evaluation of Protovation Camp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Healy, Laurel Lynell Martin

The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine the extent to which Protovation Camp utilized the combined resources of multiple institutions to impact student learning in science, technology, engineering, and math. The partnership consisted of multiple institutions: the university, providing graduate students to facilitate inquiry-based lessons; the science center, allowing the use of their facilities and resources; and the elementary school, contributing rising third through fifth grade campers. All of these components were examined. The mixed-methods approach used post hoc quantitative data for campers, which consisted of pre-test and post-test scores on the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA), the Draw-A-Scientist Test, and content tests based on the camp activities. Additionally, TOSRA scores and current survey results for the graduate students were used along with qualitative data collected from plusdelta charts to determine the impact of participation in Protovation Camp on teachers and students. Results of the program evaluation indicated that when students were taught inquiry-based lessons that ignite wonder, both their attitudes toward science and their knowledge about science improved. An implication for teacher preparation programs was that practicing inquiry-based lessons on actual students (campers) was an important component for teachers (graduate students) as they prepare to positively impact student learning in their own classrooms. Immediate feedback from the campers in the form of pre-test and post-test scores and from peers on plusdelta charts allowed the graduate students the opportunity to make needed adjustments to improve effectiveness before using the lesson with a new set of campers or later in their own classrooms. Keywords. Teacher preparation, Inquiry-based instruction, STEM instructions, University and museum partnerships

Broadening the View of Differentiated Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Seth A.; Dodman, Stephanie L.; Burrowbridge, Sarah Cohen

2013-01-01

Students in today's classrooms vary greatly in background, cultures, language proficiency, educational skills, and interests. To best meet students' diverse needs, teachers must differentiate their instruction. The authors argue that the current differentiation conversation focuses almost exclusively on lesson planning, but instead…

Improving the social and emotional climate of classrooms: a clustered randomized controlled trial testing the RULER Approach.

PubMed

Rivers, Susan E; Brackett, Marc A; Reyes, Maria R; Elbertson, Nicole A; Salovey, Peter

2013-02-01

The RULER Approach ("RULER") is a setting-level, social and emotional learning program that is grounded in theory and evidence. RULER is designed to modify the quality of classroom social interactions so that the climate becomes more supportive, empowering, and engaging. This is accomplished by integrating skill-building lessons and tools so that teachers and students develop their emotional literacy. In a clustered randomized control trial, we tested the hypothesis that RULER improves the social and emotional climate of classrooms. Depending upon condition assignment, 62 schools either integrated RULER into fifth- and sixth-grade English language arts (ELA) classrooms or served as comparison schools, using their standard ELA curriculum only. Multi-level modeling analyses showed that compared to classrooms in comparison schools, classrooms in RULER schools were rated as having higher degrees of warmth and connectedness between teachers and students, more autonomy and leadership among students, and teachers who focused more on students' interests and motivations. These findings suggest that RULER enhances classrooms in ways that can promote positive youth development.

Classroom management at the university level: lessons from a former high school earth science teacher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazar, C.

2009-12-01

Just a few days before my career as a fledgling science teacher began in a large public high school in New York City, a mentor suggested I might get some ideas about how to run a classroom from a book called The First Days Of School by Harry Wong. Although the book seemed to concentrate more on elementary students, I found that many of the principles in the book worked well for high school students. Even as I have begun to teach at the university level, many of Wong’s themes have persisted in my teaching style. Wong’s central thesis is that for learning to occur, a teacher must create the proper environment. In education jargon, a good climate for learning is generated via classroom management, an array of methods used by elementary and secondary school teachers to provide structure and routine to a class period via a seamless flow of complementary activities. Many college professors would likely consider classroom management to be chiefly a set of rules to maintain discipline and order among an otherwise unruly herd of schoolchildren, and therefore not a useful concept for mature university students. However, classroom management is much deeper than mere rules for behavior; it is an approach to instructional design that considers the classroom experience holistically. A typical professorial management style is to lecture for an hour or so and ask students to demonstrate learning via examinations several times in a semester. In contrast, a good high school teacher will manage a class from bell-to-bell to create a natural order and flow to a given lesson. In this presentation, I will argue for an approach to college lesson design similar to the classroom management style commonly employed by high school and elementary school teachers. I will suggest some simple, practical techniques learned during my high school experience that work just as well in college: warm-up and practice problems, time management, group activities, bulletin boards, learning environment, and standard procedures. Central to all of these suggestions is the basic concept of planning activities for students beyond passive absorption of lecture material and fitting them smoothly within the typical time constraints of a class period. Well-managed students learn better. I close with the observation that the most basic desires of students are independent of age; learners of all ages and levels prefer well-designed classroom experiences. In this context, books and resources intended for the professional development of secondary--and even elementary—teachers suddenly contain a wealth of techniques that, with some modification, might be useful at the university level.

Fixitup Faucet Company's Overseas Move. 12th Grade Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Judy; Jacobson, Edy

This lesson asks 12th grade students to imagine that they are special assistants to the Undersecretary of Commerce for a foreign country who must answer a letter from a U.S. company planning to move its manufacturing operations overseas. The lesson also asks them to design a business brochure that will convince the company to come to their…

Physical Activity Breaks and Student Learning: A Teacher-Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camahalan, Faye Marsha G.; Ipock, Amanda R.

2015-01-01

This study is a teacher initiated action research. The purpose is to improve student learning in math using physical activity breaks during classroom lessons. The study was conducted by tracking the results of ten 5th grade students for a period of one week. Using anecdotal notes, students showed improvement on attentiveness during class…

White Collar Crime. Instructor's Guide [and] Student Materials. Business Issues in the Classroom. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxey, Phyllis F.

One of a series of units on business issues designed for secondary school students, this packet examines white collar crime. Teacher and student materials are provided in two separate sections. The teacher's guide contains four lesson plans as well as research project recommendations, student handouts, answer keys, and suggestions for using a…

Students' Attitudes toward Teacher Use of Technology in Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffmann, Malia M.; Ramirez, A. Y.

2018-01-01

It would behoove school districts and individual schools to listen to the attitudes of students regarding pedagogy. Students within the United States are often raised to be receivers of information rather than to be consultants for education. Research is needed to identify if teachers' beliefs parallel students' beliefs when it comes to lessons in…

Business Fills a Gap between Teacher and Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merz, Sandy; Wiebke, Kathy

2015-01-01

Today's classrooms emphasize helping students learn not just for the sake of learning but to become prepared to join the workforce. While teachers across the U.S. know students must be ready for college and career, many may not be sure exactly which skills, competencies, and lessons they need to teach to prepare and animate students for the world…

Gender Inequality in Biology Classes in China and Its Effects on Students' Short-Term Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ning; Neuhaus, Birgit

2014-01-01

This study investigated gender inequality in biology lessons and analysed the effects of the observed inequality on students' short-term knowledge achievement, situational interest and students' evaluation of teaching (SET). Twenty-two biology teachers and 803 7th-grade students from rural and urban classrooms in China participated in the study.…

From Student-Athlete to Student-Teacher: A Case Study of One Student's Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caniglia, Joanne; Pellegrino, Christine

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe patterns of behavior that a student-athlete not only exhibits during athletic competition, but also transfers from the soccer field to the college classroom and to the teaching profession. Using journals, lesson plans, teaching commentaries, videos, and interviews, a qualitative case study…

Encouraging Teachers to Build Collaborations with Researchers; Examples From the Classroom (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kane, M.

2013-12-01

Bringing experts into our schools allows for highly engaging lessons, encourages career thinking, adds authenticity to the topic, and allows student's questions to be answered by experts. Researchers can physically visit classrooms or appear through presentation technologies, such as Skype, or Google Hangouts. Virtual visits allow students to see laboratories and field sites. Collaborating with scientists builds the connective tissue that helps all educators and our students learn more deeply. When K-12 teachers collaborate with scientists and graduate students, teachers learn more science, and scientists learn more teaching. This growth of background knowledge is a win-win situation and helps us meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards. Teachers need to feel encouraged to contact their local or regional scientists for support. Reaching out into the universities to make contact with polar scientists or graduate students is a good place to start. Building professional networks allows PI's to address the 'broader impact' requirement on many grant applications, and helps spread the university's work in the polar regions out to the general public. These collaborations also give teachers expert insights and current data to build authentic lessons, and excite their students to seek careers in the sciences. This presentation will focus on three completed interactive opportunities I have built with researchers in my classroom. Students adding daily sediment to their sediment core, after communications from the field with scientist Heidi Roop in Alaska.

The role of entomology in environmental and science education: Comparing outreach methods for their impact on student and teacher content knowledge and motivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weeks, Faith J.

Outreach programming can be an important way for local students and teachers to be exposed to new fields while enhancing classroom learning. University-based outreach programs are offered throughout the country, including most entomology departments as few individuals learn about insects in school and these programs can be excellent sources of entomological education, as well as models to teach environmental and science education. Each department utilizes different instructional delivery methods for teaching about insects, which may impact the way in which students and teachers understand the insect concepts presented. To determine the impact of using entomology to enhance science and environmental education, this study used a series of university-based entomology outreach programs to compare three of the most common delivery methods for their effect on teacher and student content knowledge and motivation, specifically student interest in entomology and teacher self-efficacy. Twenty fifth grade classrooms were assessed over the course of one school year. The results show that teacher knowledge significantly increased when teachers were unfamiliar with the content and when trained by an expert, and teacher self-efficacy did not decrease when asked about teaching with insects. For students, content knowledge increased for each lesson regardless of treatment, suggesting that outreach program providers should focus on working with local schools to integrate their field into the classroom through the delivery methods best suited to the needs of the university, teachers, and students. The lessons also had an impact on student interest in science and environmental education, with an overall finding that student interest increases when using insects in the classroom.

Lesson study on 2nd grader of elementary school to improve the student’s numeracy skill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabowo, A.; Asih; Jumardi

2018-03-01

The purpose of this research is to find the most appropriate learning media of multiplication and division for the 2nd graders of elementary school. The study used the steps in the lesson study, Plan-Do-See. Data were taken using observation instruments, video documentation, and learning evaluation tools. Initially, teachers used gravel as media of multiplication and division. Students can solve numeracy problems when they learn by those media. In test, 80% of students were failure when the teacher evaluates them. By involving experts and partner teachers at school, classroom teachers can solve problems by discover multiplication and division media with the drawing media created by the students themselves. At the end of the lesson, 100% of students have mastered multiplication and division with the media.

U.S. Schools Find Lessons in Tsunami: Generosity, Geography Are among Them

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trotter, Andrew; Honawar, Vaishali; Tonn, Jessica L.

2005-01-01

This article reports on how the earthquake and resulting tsunami that wracked coastlines along the Indian Ocean and killed an estimated 150,000 people or more prompted generosity and classroom lessons in U.S. schools. As schools reopened after the holiday break, students and teachers were talking about the Dec. 26 tremblor that struck western…

School Bus Rider Safety Education Modules for Use with Drills on School Buses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Div. of Physical Education, Fitness, Health, Nutrition and Safety Services.

Developed for teachers and members of the pupil transportation staff who conduct school bus drills, these 10 lesson outlines are intended for classroom instruction on school bus safety. Lessons may be adapted to fit the grade level, intelligence, and special needs of students. Topics covered are: preparing to ride the bus, boarding and proceeding…

How Schools Are Teaching about Labor. A Collection of Guidelines & Lesson Plans. Third Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Washington, DC.

This collection of outlines, lesson plans, and classroom materials is intended to help teachers and curriculum specialists in teaching students about the contribution of organized labor to the development of the United States. Units suitable for the elementary, middle school, and high school levels are included. The first of the 12 units, which…

Constitutional Sampler: In Order To Form a More Perfect Lesson Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Kenneth G., Ed.

The purpose of this book is to revitalize teaching and learning about the U.S. Constitution for elementary and secondary school students. Fifty-one classroom teachers participated in the Special Programs in Citizenship Education (SPICE II), a project that focused on the development of new lesson plans and activities on the Constitution. These…

Close Encounters of the Amphibious Kind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Tammy D.; Lubischer, Jane L.

2014-01-01

In this article, Tammy D. Lee and Jane L. Lubischer describe a classroom lesson designed to explore how animals use sound to communicate and how this communication affects their survival. Lee and Lubischer wanted to bring an awareness of how science is happening in students' own backyards. They developed a half-day 5E lesson integrating two…

Ritualizing Expertise: Non-Montessorian View of the Montessori Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cossentino, Jacqueline

2005-01-01

This article examines the practice of Montessori education through the lens of ritual. Anchored by description and analysis of a lesson in an elementary classroom, the lesson is viewed as a series of ritualized interactions in which both teacher and student act out multiple layers of expertise within the cultural frame of the Montessori method.…

Mysteries of Antiquity: Lessons To Engage Middle School Students in Ancient/Medieval History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Max W.

This instructional packet is intended to help classroom instructors introduce fascinating quandaries rarely featured in history textbooks about the ancient and medieval eras. Most of the 13 lesson plans require only 1 or 2 class periods to complete, permitting the teacher to enhance the presentation of a particular unit without fear of devoting…

A Story-Based Framework for a Primary School Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griva, Eleni

2007-01-01

These two story-based lesson plans were designed to address the lack of motivation and interest by students in a sixth grade English class in Greece. The lessons appeal to young learners who want to be creative and imaginative by making learning entertaining. The animal stories are authentic texts, not graded readers, with helpful visuals. They…

Differentiation Practices in Grade 2 and 3: Variations in Teacher Behavior in Mathematics and Reading Comprehension Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritzema, Evelien S.; Deunk, Marjolein I.; Bosker, Roel J.

2016-01-01

This study focused on the differentiation practices of second- and third-grade teachers in mathematics and reading comprehension lessons. Preconditions for differentiation, classroom organization, and how teachers dealt with students of different ability levels were investigated through observations, using a time-sampling instrument. Data of 43…

Schools Adapting Curriculum to the Outdoors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manzo, Kathleen Kennedy

2008-01-01

Daily lessons at the Learning Gate Community School often tap the wonders of nature on the 27-acre campus, with its open fields and overgrown orange groves, and a treehouse overlooking an idyllic pond. Educators at Learning Gate say the outdoor classrooms and lessons are a balm for many of the ills that can hinder students' physical and mental…

How an Inquiry-Based Classroom Lesson Intervenes in Science Efficacy, Career-Orientation and Self-Determination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmid, S.; Bogner, F. X.

2017-01-01

Three subscales of the "Science Motivation Questionnaire II" (SMQII; motivational components: career motivation, self-efficacy and self-determination), with 4 items each, were applied to a sample of 209 secondary school students to monitor the impact of a 3-hour structured inquiry lesson. Four testing points (before, immediately after, 6…

Encouraging Refugee Awareness in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers. Issue Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeCarlo, Jacqueline; Hamilton, Virginia, Ed.

This lesson packet focuses on the growing situation of refugees and cultural awareness. In the document are definitions of terms, suggestions for infusing lessons on the refugees into the curriculum, and resource information. One of the purposes of working to create refugee awareness is to help ordinary students become extraordinary citizens of…

The Backcountry Classroom: Lesson Plans for Teaching in the Wilderness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonney, Bruce F.; Drury, Jack K.

This book is designed to help instructors and students master and teach the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) curriculum while in the field. It is formatted in self-contained lesson plans which describe the overall goal, the specific objectives, the body of knowledge, and the materials necessary for teaching about a specific topic within the…

Inspiring Inquiry: Scientists, science teachers, and GK-12 students learning climate science together

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stwertka, C.; Blonquist, J.; Feener, D.

2010-12-01

A major communication gap exists between climate scientists, educators, and society. As a result, findings from climate research, potential implications of climate change, and possible mitigation strategies are not fully understood and accepted outside of the climate science community. A good way to begin bridging the gap is to teach climate science to students in public schools. TGLL (Think Globally, Learn Locally) is an NSF GK-12 program based at the University of Utah, which partners graduate students in the biological, geological and atmospheric sciences with middle and high school teachers in the Salt Lake City School District to improve the communication skills of Fellows and enhance inquiry-based science teaching and learning in the classroom. Each TGLL Fellow works in the same classroom(s) throughout the year, developing his or her scientific communication skills while providing teachers with content knowledge, resources, classroom support, and enhancing the experience of students such that science becomes an interesting and accessible tool for acquiring knowledge. The TGLL Fellows work closely as a group to develop inquiry-based teaching modules (a series of lessons) and a field trip that involve students in doing authentic science. Lessons are designed to apply national and Utah core curriculum concepts to broader scientific issues such as habitat alteration, pollution and disturbance, invasive species, and infectious disease, with the focus of the 2010-2011 school year being climate change. The TGLL Global Climate Change module contains lesson plans on climate temporal and spatial scales, temperature variation, energy balance, the carbon cycle, the greenhouse effect, climate feedback loops, anthropogenic climate change indicators, climate change consequences and impacts, and actions students can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The capstone experience for the module is a “Backyard Climate Change” field trip to a local pristine canyon. Students will map and measure the carbon dioxide flux of various ecosystem components, measure the albedo of various surfaces, learn about micro-scale climates and atmospheric pollen transport, measure water and air quality, and observe habitat alteration. Through the module and fieldtrip, TGLL Fellows aim to build student and teacher knowledge about climate change and create lasting projects that are adapted into the core science curriculum.

The Influence of Drama on Elementary Students' Written Narratives and On-Task Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Alida; Berry, Katherine A.

2014-01-01

Dramatic language arts integration (DLA) and conventional language arts (CLA) lessons were compared for their influence on third grade students' written narrative cohesion and on-task behavior in a self-contained, nonpublic elementary classroom. Participants included students (N = 14) with comorbid language-based learning disabilities (LD) and…

An Action Research Exploration Integrating Student Choice and Arts Activities in a Sixth Grade Social Studies Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosky, Courtney; Curtis, Reagan

2008-01-01

We report on an action research study undertaken to explore how integrating the Arts in social studies education can increase student participation and motivation, and impact student achievement through that increased motivation and participation. Initial lesson plans addressed multiple intelligences while integrating Arts activities and were…

Homework Assignments to Enhance Student Engagement in Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buijs, Maartje; Admiraal, Wilfried

2013-01-01

Secondary school teachers often complain that their students show a disengaged attitude in class. Students do not prepare for lessons, they show a passive attitude towards classroom activities and they have a limited awareness of their own learning process. Based on a pilot study, four homework assignments were designed, implemented, and evaluated…

Cycle for Science: An informal outreach program connecting K-12 students with renewable energy and physics through miniature 3D-printed, solar-powered bicycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woods-Robinson, R.; Case, E.

2017-12-01

Engaging communities with renewable energy is key to fighting climate change. Cycle for Science, an innovative STEM outreach organization, has reached more than 3,000 K-12 students across the United States by bringing early-career female scientists into classrooms to teach basic physics and solar energy engineering through hands-on, DIY science activities. We designed a fleet of miniature, 3D-printed, solar-powered bicycles called "Sol Cycles" to use as teaching tools. Traveling by bicycle, Cycle for Science has brought them to rural and urban communities across the U.S. in two major efforts so far: one traversing the country (2015), and one through central California (2017). The program involves (1) introducing the scientists and why they value science, (2) running a skit to demonstrate how electrons and photons interact inside the solar panel, (3) assembling the Sol Cycles, (4) taking students outdoors to test the effects of variables (e.g. light intensity) on the Sol Cycles' movement, (5) and debriefing about the importance of renewable energy. In addition to physics and solar energy, the lessons teach the scientific process, provide tactile engagement with science, and introduce a platform to engage students with climate change impacts. By cycling to classrooms, we provide positive examples of low-impact transportation and a unique avenue for discussing climate action. It was important that this program extend beyond the trips, so the lesson and Sol Cycle design are open source to encourage teachers and students to play, change and improve the design, as well as incorporate new exercises (e.g. could you power the bicycle by wind?). Additionally, it has been permanently added to the XRaise Lending Library at Cornell University, so teachers across the world can implement the lesson. By sharing our project at AGU, we aim to connect with other scientists, educators, and concerned citizens about how to continue to bring renewable energy lessons into classrooms.

Modeling Lunar Phases in the Classroom: A Hands-On Interactive Lesson

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarrazine, Angela R.

2007-12-01

Using Power-Point technology and hands-on materials, a 45 minute lesson has been created to allow students to explore the cause of lunar phases. Students work in cooperative pairs to model the different phases of the moon. In addition, this lesson does not require a bright light source. Using a partially painted Styrofoam ball, a small cup of Play-dough, a simple, protractor, and a data collection sheet, students observe the lunar phases and measure the angle between the sun and the moon. Students place the moon model in eight different positions simulating its orbit around the earth and record the observed changes. The Power-Point presentation contains three segments. The first section allows the teacher to determine the students’ level of prior knowledge about the moon and to uncover possible misconceptions. The second section facilitates the students’ learning by displaying the proper alignment of the model and the proper viewing position for the students. Finally, the presentation culminates in a review of what the students have just observed. This lesson has been created to meet Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) for 4th grade science regarding the cause of lunar phases. Teacher and student responses to this lesson have been extremely positive.

Cognitive Curations of Collaborative Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ackerman, Amy S.

2015-01-01

Assuming the role of learning curators, 22 graduate students (in-service teachers) addressed authentic problems (challenges) within their respective classrooms by selecting digital tools as part of implementation of interdisciplinary lesson plans. Students focused on formative assessment tools as a means to gather evidence to make improvements in…

Iterating between lessons on concepts and procedures can improve mathematics knowledge.

PubMed

Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Koedinger, Kenneth

2009-09-01

Knowledge of concepts and procedures seems to develop in an iterative fashion, with increases in one type of knowledge leading to increases in the other type of knowledge. This suggests that iterating between lessons on concepts and procedures may improve learning. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the instructional benefits of an iterative lesson sequence compared to a concepts-before-procedures sequence for students learning decimal place-value concepts and arithmetic procedures. In two classroom experiments, sixth-grade students from two schools participated (N=77 and 26). Students completed six decimal lessons on an intelligent-tutoring systems. In the iterative condition, lessons cycled between concept and procedure lessons. In the concepts-first condition, all concept lessons were presented before introducing the procedure lessons. In both experiments, students in the iterative condition gained more knowledge of arithmetic procedures, including ability to transfer the procedures to problems with novel features. Knowledge of concepts was fairly comparable across conditions. Finally, pre-test knowledge of one type predicted gains in knowledge of the other type across experiments. An iterative sequencing of lessons seems to facilitate learning and transfer, particularly of mathematical procedures. The findings support an iterative perspective for the development of knowledge of concepts and procedures.

Overcoming Constraints of Building Successful Partnerships Incorporating STEM Research Into K-12 Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radencic, S.; McNeal, K. S.; Pierce, D.; Hare, D.

2011-12-01

The Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) program at Mississippi State University (MSU), funded by the NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK12) program, focuses on the advancement of Earth and Space science education in K-12 classrooms. INSPIRE is currently in its second year of partnering ten graduate students from the STEM fields of Geosciences, Engineering and Chemistry at MSU with five teachers from local, rural school districts. The five year project serves to increase inquiry and technology experiences in science and math while enhancing graduate student's communication skills as they create interactive lessons linking their STEM research focus to the state and national standards covered in the classrooms. Each graduate student is responsible for the development of two lessons each month of the school year that are then published on the INSPIRE project webpage, www.gk12.msstate.edu, where they are a free resource for any K-12 classroom teacher seeking innovative activities for their classrooms. Many of the participating teachers and graduate students share activities developed with non-participating teachers, expanding INSPIRE's outreach throughout the local community. Numerous challenges were met during the formation of the program as well as throughout the first year in which the project management team worked together to find solutions ensuring that INSPIRE maintained successful partnerships for all involved. Proposed solutions of the following key components were identified by INSPIRE through the development, implementation, and continuous evaluation (internal and external) of the first year of the program as areas that can pose challenges to the construction of strong relationships between STEM research and K-12 classrooms: initializing the partnerships with the K-12 classrooms and STEM graduate fields at the university; maintaining strong partnerships; providing appropriate training and support; developing sound resources involving STEM research, inquiry, and technology; implementing STEM graduate research into the classroom; clarifying potential benefits for all involved partners (school districts, teacher, university departments, graduate students and K-12 students); improving management methods; and planning for sustainability of partnerships and resources developed including synergy with other university outreach projects.

Developing Teachers' Models for Assessing Students' Competence in Mathematical Modelling through Lesson Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydogan Yenmez, Arzu; Erbas, Ayhan Kursat; Cakiroglu, Erdinc; Alacaci, Cengiz; Cetinkaya, Bulent

2017-01-01

Applications and modelling have gained a prominent role in mathematics education reform documents and curricula. Thus, there is a growing need for studies focusing on the effective use of mathematical modelling in classrooms. Assessment is an integral part of using modelling activities in classrooms, since it allows teachers to identify and manage…

Ethnic Studies Activities for Bicentennial Celebration in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpkins, Beverly

Compiled by a teacher, this handbook will serve as a guide to elementary teachers who want to provide students with an understanding of their American heritage. Classroom activities for use in a reading or social studies lesson are described. The activities are many and varied and include the following: developing a family tree; making a sandwich…

Insightful Learning of Life's Lessons with Older Adult Guests in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Velez Ortiz, Daniel; Cross, Suzanne L.; Day, Angelique

2012-01-01

An intergenerational initiative was developed and implemented to enhance gerontology in the first course of the practice sequence. Seventeen students met with older adults (ages 82-98) in the classroom and at an assisted living facility. The evaluation of this older adult infusion project was conducted through two questionnaires and by the review…

On the Road to More Collaborative Teaching: One School's Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magiera, Kathleen; Lawrence-Brown, Diana; Bloomquist, Kristie; Foster, Connie; Figueroa, Andrea; Glatz, Kirstin; Heppeler, Denise; Rodriguez, Pamela

2006-01-01

Co-teaching is undertaken because students with disabilities are more likely to have their needs met if their supports are moved to the general education classroom. In co-taught lessons, a special educator and a general educator teach together in the general education classroom during some portion of the instructional day in order to accommodate…

The "Document-Based Lesson": Bringing Disciplinary Inquiry into High School History Classrooms with Adolescent Struggling Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reisman, Avishag

2012-01-01

This article describes an attempt to bring disciplinary historical inquiry into the social studies classroom. This work emerges from a five-school 6-month intervention in San Francisco, "Reading like a Historian", which found main effects for student learning across four quantitative measures: historical thinking, factual knowledge,…

Teacher Self-Efficacy with Regard to Providing Appropriate Intervention Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Cyprus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theodoulou, Anna

2018-01-01

The study topic was general education teacher perceived self-efficacy regarding their ability to develop and deliver lessons and implement classroom and instructional strategies for engaging students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the general education classroom. The research problem was that teachers face changes in their roles and…

Creative Drama in the General Music Classroom: An Integrated Approach for Intermediate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, April

2013-01-01

The following article provides strategies and suggestions for integrating creative drama into the general music classroom. Various learning theories and basic theatre concepts will be discussed. Integrating music and drama can be an engaging tool for various types of learners. The author provides a sample process drama lesson on Civil Rights…

Peace in the Classroom: Practical Lessons in Living for Elementary-Age Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Hetty

The most effective alternative to punishment for violent or disruptive student behavior is to provide children with tools they will need for living peacefully with one another. This guide for elementary school classes examines ways in which a peaceful environment can be achieved and maintained in the classroom. Divided into six units which are…

Social and Emotional Education with Australian Year 7 and 8 Middle School Students: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Midford, Richard; Cahill, Helen; Geng, Gretchen; Leckning, Bernard; Robinson, Gary; Te Ava, Aue

2017-01-01

Objective: This pilot study sought to better understand what can be achieved by an evidence-based classroom social and emotional education programme. Design and Methods: A 10-lesson, classroom-based programme that taught about emotional literacy, personal strengths, coping and problem-solving strategies, stress management, emotional regulation and…

Many Lessons from a School: What Classroom Discourse Analysis Reveals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuengler, Jane

2011-01-01

In my talk, I foreground what I and my colleagues have learned about discourse in the numerous classrooms we observed in a four-year research study at an urban high school. While Jefferson High had a student body that was linguistically and culturally diverse, it was homogeneous socioeconomically, being labeled "low income". Some of the research I…

Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching Social and Emotional Competence, Grades K-2 [and] Grades 3-5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Rita C.

The Connecting with Others program, initially developed to teach prosocial skills to special-needs students within regular classroom settings, offers an alternative strategy to classroom management and discipline through instruction in self-regulation skills and conflict resolution. The program for elementary grades consists of a K-2 volume and…

Law: The Language of Liberty. Supplemental Materials for Alabama Social Studies Teachers. Grades 5-6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alabama Administrative Office of Courts, Montgomery.

Student activity pages, teacher background information, and lesson ideas for teaching about the law in social studies classrooms are provided in this supplementary packet. An introductory section provides a rationale for the unit, a guide to bringing law-related resource persons into the classroom, a teacher checklist for helping resource persons…

Videos for Teachers: Successful Teaching Strategies in Middle and High School Classrooms. [CD-ROM].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teachers Network, New York, NY.

This CD-ROM presents six videos that feature veteran middle and high school teachers in action in their classrooms. Each video offers links to supplemental education resources, including innovative lesson plans. The six videos are: "Monsters and Myths" (a humanities unit for middle school students); "The Bleeding Edge" (a thematic…

Formative Assessment in the Classroom: Getting It Right

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doffermyre, Janet Jackson

2016-01-01

Formative assessment, assessment for learning, involves checking in with students during the learning process to see if they understand concept or standard, before holding them accountable for mastery and moving on to the next concept or standard. This process can be used in the classroom during the lesson or across a subject area as teachers of…

Synchronization as a Classroom Dynamic: A Practitioner's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kent, Alexis

2013-01-01

While carefully plotted lesson plans are invaluable in a classroom, tuning into the flow of the moment is just as essential. My experience has shown me that the most effective teaching happens when everyone in the room is in synch with one another. Teaching requires intuiting what each student is experiencing individually and adjusting in order to…

United States Air Force Academy Annual Research Report: July 2003 to June 2004

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

Specifically, the stylus input device Technology allows students to electronically annotate their on-line (AFIIT) textbooks and note pages. These Tablet ...submissions "just-in-time" to adjust the classroom lesson to suit the students’ needs. Now adopted by over 300 faculty in some 25 disciplines at over 100...cognition theories to the Foreign Language Classroom . Using a real Joint Task Force (JTF) Deployment as a model, a simulation was designed to place cadets as

Investigating Science Discourse in a High School Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, Lauren Honeycutt

Science classrooms in the United States have become more diverse with respect to the variety of languages spoken by students. This qualitative study used ethnographic methods to investigate the discourse and practices of two ninth grade science classrooms. Approximately 44% of students included in the study were designated as English learners. The present work focused on addressing the following questions: 1) In what ways is science discourse taken up and used by students and their teacher? 2) Are there differences in how science discourse is used by students depending on their English language proficiency? Data collection consisted of interviewing the science teacher and the students, filming whole class and small group discussions during two lesson sequences, and collecting lesson plans, curricular materials, and student work. These data were analyzed qualitatively. Findings indicated that the teacher characterized science discourse along three dimensions: 1) the use of evidence-based explanations; 2) the practice of sharing one's science understandings publically; and 3) the importance of using precise language, including both specialized (i.e., science specific) and non-specialized academic words. Analysis of student participation during in-class activities highlighted how students progressed in each of these science discourse skills. However, this analysis also revealed that English learners were less likely to participate in whole class discussions: Though these students participated in small group discussions, they rarely volunteered to share individual or collective ideas with the class. Overall, students were more adept at utilizing science discourse during class discussions than in written assignments. Analysis of students' written work highlighted difficulties that were not visible during classroom interactions. One potential explanation is the increased amount of scaffolding the teacher provided during class discussions as compared to written assignments. In the implications section, I provide science teachers with recommendations regarding how to promote science discourse in their classrooms. Specifically, teachers should provide students structured opportunities to practice science discourse, require students to use both written and oral modalities in assignments, and offer timely feedback to students regarding their progress in developing their science discourse skills. How this study contributes to the research base on the teaching of science and English learners will also be described.

Deductive Puzzling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wanko, Jeffrey J.

2010-01-01

To help fifth- through eighth-grade students develop their deductive reasoning skills, the author used a ten-week supplementary curriculum so that students could answer logic questions. The curriculum, a series of lessons built around language-independent logic puzzles, has been used in classrooms of fifth through eighth grades. In most cases,…

Webspinning in the Language Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Greg; And Others

1997-01-01

Teachers can use the World Wide Web to create multimedia foreign language activities without expensive software. Describes and includes a lesson plan for a mystery game suitable for high school advanced placement or intermediate university Spanish students requiring students to work together solving clues and writing short compositions. Includes…

Six-Hat Social Studies. Classroom Teacher's Idea Notebook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pahl, Ron H.

1995-01-01

Contends that research confirms that too many names, dates, and facts can make social studies boring and irrelevant. Proposes a four-step approach to help students examine issues rather than merely learn facts. Describes a lesson on ethnic discrimination and presents a composite teacher-student dialog. (ACM)

Supporting Muslim Students in Secular Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlein, Candace; Chan, Elaine

2010-01-01

This article discusses the findings of a study examining the challenges and opportunities of supporting Muslim students in secular public schools. Education is explored as a multifaceted interplay between home and family life, community resources, school programs and policies, and classroom lessons to investigate the curricular experiences of…

Real-Time Teaching: Lessons from Katrina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Antoinette S.; Phillips, Carl R.

2008-01-01

Professors strive constantly to find ways for students to apply what they are learning in the classroom, thereby reinforcing principles being taught and increasing student interest and involvement in the learning process. Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on the Gulf Coast had wide-ranging consequences. As a result, many individuals…

Integrating Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paterson, Jim

2009-01-01

Thinking green is normal for the current generation of high school students, who have always had recycling bins in their classrooms and green themes in their assemblies, their lessons, and their television shows. It follows that sophisticated, multidisciplinary programs are now operating in schools throughout the country to educate students about…

Students as 'catalysts' in the classroom: the impact of co-teaching between science student teachers and primary classroom teachers on children's enjoyment and learning of science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Colette; Beggs, Jim; Carlisle, Karen; Greenwood, Julian

2004-08-01

This study is an investigation of the impact of collaborative teaching by student-teachers and classroom teachers on children's enjoyment and learning of science. The paper describes findings from a project in which undergraduate science specialist student-teachers were placed in primary schools where they 'co-taught' investigative science and technology with primary teachers. Almost six months after the student placement, a survey of children's attitudes to school science revealed that these children enjoyed science lessons more and showed fewer gender or age differences in their attitudes to science than children who had not been involved in the project. The authors discuss how this model of collaborative planning, teaching and evaluation can both enhance teacher education and improve children's experience of science.

Sunspots Resource--From Ancient Cultures to Modern Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craig, N.

2000-10-01

Sunspots is a web-based lesson that was developed by the Science Education Gateway (SEGway) program with participants from the Exploratorium, a well known science Museum in San Francisco, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, and teachers from several California schools. This space science resource allows 8-12 grade students to explore the nature of sunspots and the history of solar physics in its effort to understand their nature. Interviews with solar physicists and archeo-astronomers, historic images, cutting-edge NASA images, movies, and research results, as well as a student-centered sunspot research activity using NASA space science data defines this lesson. The sunspot resource is aligned with the NCTM and National Science Education Standards. It emphasizes inquiry-based methods and mathematical exercises through measurement, graphic data representation, analysis of NASA data, lastly, interpreting results and drawing conclusions. These resources have been successfully classroom tested in 4 middle schools in the San Francisco Unified School District as part of the 3-week Summer School Science curricula. Lessons learned from the Summer School 1999 will be explained. This resource includes teacher-friendly lesson plans, space science background material and student worksheets. There will be Sunspots lesson CD-ROM and printed version of the relevant classroom-ready materials and a teacher resource booklet available. Sunspot resource is brought to you by, The Science Education Gateway - SEGway - Project, and the HESSI satellite and NASA's Office of Space Science Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum.

Mealworms in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGlathery, Glenn

1989-01-01

Describes a lesson in which the life-cycle of an insect is studied. Provides information on the purchase and care of the animal and directions for student observations. Questions and activities are included. (RT)

Makiguchian pedagogy in the middle school science classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pagan, Iris Teresa

In an atmosphere of multi-culturism and the increasing need for innovative methods for science teaching, investigating educators from different parts of the world is well regarded. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871--1944) was a prescient thinker who foreshadowed many of the modern social constructivist ideals of teaching before they became formalized in Western thought. He believed in the harmonious balance between an individual and society as the only viable goal of education. With this in mind, he introduced the concepts of "evaluation," "cognition" and "value creation" that embody this balance. "Cognition" is associated with "truth" and "evaluation" is involved with the subject-object relationship. Moreover, Makiguchian pedagogy's concept of "value creation" offers a sociological and philosophical basis for "classroom inclusion." Additionally, Makiguchian pedagogy is compared to John Dewey's philosophy as well as the educational philosophy expressed in The National Science Standards. In this teacher participant study, classroom observational data showed that several dimensions of Makiguchian pedagogical practice occurred conjointly with relatively high frequencies. These included frequent occurrences of interactional conversation between students and teacher merged within a context of expressions of personal and collective values, social contextual references, valuing and personal evaluative statements, and episodic information that the students contributed from personal experiences relevant to the science topics. Additionally, Likert-type questionnaire data collected from the students who experienced the Makiguchian lessons, and observational data from professional colleagues who viewed video taped records of the lessons, provided additional corroborative evidence supporting the researcher's findings. A content analysis of lesson plans containing Makiguchian principles of teaching and learning in relation to the ensuing classroom performance of the teacher showed a close correspondence. Learners were encouraged to produce creative pieces of written or graphic artwork to express their scientific understandings as is consistent with a Makiguchian approach. The students' work contained highly symbolic and metaphorical content while also accurately presenting fundamental scientific information gained from the lessons. These findings suggest that a Makiguchian approach to learning can enhance socially-situated learning while also sustaining adequate mastery of science content.

Studying the Ways Students Get Help with Classwork

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Sarah D.

2015-01-01

One of the first lessons students are taught in school is "If you need help, raise your hand" but as students learn in an increasing variety of settings--in and out of classrooms, in person and online--educators and researchers are starting to take another look at how students learn to ask for help. This brief article uses findings from…

Student Teachers' Team Teaching: How Do Learners in the Classroom Experience Team-Taught Lessons by Student Teachers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baeten, Marlies; Simons, Mathea

2016-01-01

This study focuses on student teachers' team teaching. Two team teaching models (sequential and parallel teaching) were applied by 14 student teachers in a quasi-experimental design. When implementing new teaching models, it is important to take into account the perspectives of all actors involved. Although learners are key actors in the teaching…

Students' Positioning in the Classroom: a Study of Teacher-Student Interactions in a Socioscientific Issue Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bossér, Ulrika; Lindahl, Mats

2017-07-01

The integration of socioscientific issues (SSI) in science education calls for emphasizing dialogic classroom practices that include students' views together with multiple sources of knowledge and diverse perspectives on the issues. Such classroom practices aim to empower students to participate in decision-making on SSI. This can be accomplished by enhancing their independence as learners and positioning them as legitimate participants in societal discussions. However, this is a complex task for science teachers. In this study, we introduce positioning theory as a lens to analyse classroom discourse on SSI in order to enhance our knowledge of the manners by which teachers' interactions with students make available or promote different positions for the students, that is, different parts for the students to play as participants, when dealing with SSI in the classroom. Transcripts of interactions between one teacher and six student groups, recorded during two lessons, were analysed with respect to the positioning of the students as participants in the classroom, and in relation to the SSI under consideration. The results show that the teacher-student interactions made available contrasting student positions. The students were positioned by the teacher or positioned themselves as independent learners or as dependent on the teacher. Furthermore, the students were positioned as affected by the issue but as spectators to public negotiations of the issue. Knowledge about the manner in which teacher-student interactions can function to position students seems important for dialogic classroom practices and the promotion of student positions that sustain the pursuit of intended educational outcomes.

China: Past and Present. A Supplemental Activity Unit on Chinese Culture for Grades 7-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parisi, Lynn

Designed as a supplement to the classroom text, this unit contains 14 lessons on Chinese culture and society. Students are encouraged to compare the cultures of traditional and modern China as well as those of China and the United States. Materials are divided into two sections. The first section contains lesson outlines, including teaching plans,…

A Physics Lesson Designed According to 7E Model with the Help of Instructional Technology (Lesson Plan)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonen, Selahattin; Kocakaya, Serhat

2010-01-01

Students enter the classrooms with a preexisting knowledge of science concepts. These science concepts sometimes show inconsistency with the accepted ones by the scientists and called as misconceptions. Studies applied science field have to get possession of abilities that not only detect these misconceptions also help to solve these problems.…

Exploring Writing Workshop in the K-2 Classroom: Discovering Our Voices. Bill Harp Professional Teachers Library Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rickards, Debbie; Hawes, Shirl

This book is meant as a resource that can be used by experienced writing teachers as a practical reference when planning writing lessons. The book includes a sequence of instruction, lesson ideas, enrichment options, literature and poetry connections, student samples, and all the ready-to-use materials teachers need to implement the…

Comparing Multiple Solutions in the Structured Problem Solving: Deconstructing Japanese Lessons from Learner's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hino, Keiko

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding of how students listen and attend to multiple solutions proposed by their classmates during the activity of comparison. This study examines ten consecutive lessons in each of the two eighth-grade classrooms in Tokyo that are organized in the style of "structured problem solving".…

Factors Influencing Science Content Accuracy in Elementary Inquiry Science Lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowicki, Barbara L.; Sullivan-Watts, Barbara; Shim, Minsuk K.; Young, Betty; Pockalny, Robert

2013-06-01

Elementary teachers face increasing demands to engage children in authentic science process and argument while simultaneously preparing them with knowledge of science facts, vocabulary, and concepts. This reform is particularly challenging due to concerns that elementary teachers lack adequate science background to teach science accurately. This study examined 81 in-classroom inquiry science lessons for preservice education majors and their cooperating teachers to determine the accuracy of the science content delivered in elementary classrooms. Our results showed that 74 % of experienced teachers and 50 % of student teachers presented science lessons with greater than 90 % accuracy. Eleven of the 81 lessons (9 preservice, 2 cooperating teachers) failed to deliver accurate science content to the class. Science content accuracy was highly correlated with the use of kit-based resources supported with professional development, a preference for teaching science, and grade level. There was no correlation between the accuracy of science content and some common measures of teacher content knowledge (i.e., number of college science courses, science grades, or scores on a general science content test). Our study concluded that when provided with high quality curricular materials and targeted professional development, elementary teachers learn needed science content and present it accurately to their students.

Engaging Older Students with Reading Disabilities: Multimedia Inquiry Projects Supported by Reading Assistive Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elder-Hinshaw, Rebecca; Manset-Williamson, Genevieve; Nelson, Jason M.; Dunn, Michael W.

2006-01-01

Creating accessible and engaging lessons for students with reading disabilities (RD) in inclusive classrooms is particularly challenging for special educators in upper elementary and middle school settings. Older students with RD have difficulty accessing the texts that serve as the basis for instruction, and years of repeated failure can leave…

An Action Research Study Designed to Implement Student Negotiation to Improve Speaking Classroom Practice in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uztosun, Mehmet Sercan; Skinner, Nigel; Cadorath, Jill

2014-01-01

This paper reports the second stage of an action research study designed to improve the effectiveness of speaking classes through negotiating the lesson contents with students. The data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations as a way of eliciting students' views. The research, conducted in an English language teaching…

The Credit Business. Instructor's Guide [and] Student Materials. Business Issues in the Classroom. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxey, Phyllis F.; And Others

One of a series of units on business issues designed for secondary school students, this packet examines the responsibilities of the lender and consumer in the credit business. Teacher and student materials are provided in separate sections. The teacher's guide presents five detailed lesson plans, each focusing on a credit case study; discussion…

Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Lessons Using Particulate Level Models to Develop High School Students' Understanding of Conceptual Stoichiometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimberlin, Stephanie; Yezierski, Ellen

2016-01-01

Students' inaccurate ideas about what is represented by chemical equations and concepts underlying stoichiometry are well documented; however, there are few classroom-ready instructional solutions to help students build scientifically accurate ideas about these topics central to learning chemistry. An intervention (two inquiry-based activities)…

Interactive and Textbook Lessons in Science Instruction: Combining Strategies to Engage Students in Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puentes, Christina

2007-01-01

Students in elementary classrooms are not receiving science instruction that is engaging and challenging. The review of the literature indicates that the way that the information is presented has more of an impact on the students than simply whether they comprehend the information. Studies show that hands-on science instruction allows success…

Competition in the Franchise Business. Instructor's Guide [and] Student Materials. Business Issues in the Classroom. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxey, Phyllis F.

One of a series of units designed to acquaint secondary students with business issues, this packet examines the franchise as a type of business organization. Teacher and student materials are provided in separate sections. The teacher's guide provides an overview, objectives, four detailed lesson plans, answer keys, background information, and…

Effects of Classroom Instruction on Students' Understanding of Quadratic Equations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaiyavutjamai, Pongchawee; Clements, M. A.

2006-01-01

Two hundred and thirty-one students in six Grade 9 classes in two government secondary schools located near Chiang Mai, Thailand, attempted to solve the same 18 quadratic equations before and after participating in 11 lessons on quadratic equations. Data from the students' written responses to the equations, together with data in the form of…

The Development and Publication of Elementary Mathematics Textbooks: Let the Buyer Beware!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reys, Barbara J.; Reys, Robert E.

2006-01-01

Mathematics textbooks are critical tools for student learning in American classrooms. Teachers use them daily to plan and deliver lessons, and students use them in class to explore and learn mathematics. Given textbooks' potential to support student learning, it is important to understand how they are developed. While pressure is growing on…

Testing the Efficacy of a Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention by Small Group Size

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Ben; Doabler, Christian T.; Kosty, Derek; Kurtz Nelson, Evangeline; Smolkowski, Keith; Fien, Hank; Turtura, Jessica

2017-01-01

This study used a randomized controlled trial design to investigate the ROOTS curriculum, a 50-lesson kindergarten mathematics intervention. Ten ROOTS-eligible students per classroom (n = 60) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a ROOTS five-student group, a ROOTS two-student group, and a no-treatment control group. Two primary…

Evoking the Moral Imagination: Using Stories to Teach Ethics and Professionalism to Nursing, Medical, and Law Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisberg, Mark; Duffin, Jacalyn

1995-01-01

A program that brings together students entering demanding professions (law, medicine, and nursing) to explore issues of ethics and professionalism is described. The course uses thought-provoking stories, classroom discussion, student journals, and collaborative teaching. Lessons learned from teaching the course a number of times are also…

Product Safety: The Stonewall Hearings. Instructor's Guide [and] Student Materials. Business Issues in the Classroom. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxey, Phyllis F.; And Others

One of a series of units on business designed for secondary school students, this packet examines the issues concerning business responsibility for safe products. Teacher and student materials are provided in separate sections. The teacher's guide presents an overview of activities and objectives, five detailed lesson plans, answer keys,…

Grouping Students at the Computer To Enhance the Study of British Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marr, Paula M.

2000-01-01

Describes a three-week project in an English classroom in which students in small, mixed-ability groups used PowerPoint to enhance a unit on British literature. Outlines the lesson itself and discusses its positive results, including peer-teaching and learning, improved student motivation to understand themes in poetry, positive socialization, and…

Mind Your Indoor Air Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mak, Lily

2012-01-01

When it comes to excelling in the classroom, it turns out the air students are breathing is just as important as the lessons they are learning. Studies show poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can lessen the comfort of students as well as staff--affecting concentration, attendance and student performance. It can even lead to lower IQs. What's more, poor…

Assessment of the Opinions and Practices of Student Teachers on Micro-Teaching as a Teaching Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Göçer, Ali

2016-01-01

Purpose of study is to ascertain the effectiveness of micro-teaching, a training technique used to help student teachers establish a strong pedagogical background. Student teachers were required to give classroom-lessons in a natural school environment, to enable them to convert their knowledge into respective skills. Accordingly, within the scope…

Teaching science through literature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, Daniel

2007-12-01

The hypothesis of this study was that a multidisciplinary, activity rich science curriculum based around science fiction literature, rather than a conventional text book would increase student engagement with the curriculum and improve student performance on standards-based test instruments. Science fiction literature was chosen upon the basis of previous educational research which indicated that science fiction literature was able to stimulate and maintain interest in science. The study was conducted on a middle school campus during the regular summer school session. Students were self-selected from the school's 6 th, 7th, and 8th grade populations. The students used the science fiction novel Maurice on the Moon as their only text. Lessons and activities closely followed the adventures of the characters in the book. The student's initial level of knowledge in Earth and space science was assessed by a pre test. After the four week program was concluded, the students took a post test made up of an identical set of questions. The test included 40 standards-based questions that were based upon concepts covered in the text of the novel and in the classroom lessons and activities. The test also included 10 general knowledge questions that were based upon Earth and space science standards that were not covered in the novel or the classroom lessons or activities. Student performance on the standards-based question set increased an average of 35% for all students in the study group. Every subgroup disaggregated by gender and ethnicity improved from 28-47%. There was no statistically significant change in the performance on the general knowledge question set for any subgroup. Student engagement with the material was assessed by three independent methods, including student self-reports, percentage of classroom work completed, and academic evaluation of student work by the instructor. These assessments of student engagement were correlated with changes in student performance on the standards-based assessment tests. A moderate correlation was found to exist between the level of student engagement with the material and improvement in performance from pre to post test.

Doing Philosophy Effectively: Student Learning in Classroom Teaching

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

An important aim of teaching philosophy in Dutch secondary schools is to learn about philosophy (i.e., the great philosophers) by doing philosophy. We examined doing philosophy and focused specifically on the relationship between student learning activities and teacher behavior; in doing so, a qualitative cross-case analysis of eight philosophy lessons was performed. The effectiveness of doing philosophy was operationalized into five learning activities comprising rationalizing, analyzing, testing, producing criticism, and reflecting, and scored by means of qualitative graphical time registration. Using CA we find a quantitative one-dimensional scale for the lessons that contrasts lessons that are more and less effective in terms of learning and teaching. A relationship was found between teaching by teachers and doing philosophy by students. In particular we found students to produce a higher level of doing philosophy with teachers who chose to organize a philosophical discussion with shared guidance by the teacher together with the students. PMID:26379267

Doing Philosophy Effectively: Student Learning in Classroom Teaching.

PubMed

Kienstra, Natascha; Imants, Jeroen; Karskens, Machiel; van der Heijden, Peter G M

2015-01-01

An important aim of teaching philosophy in Dutch secondary schools is to learn about philosophy (i.e., the great philosophers) by doing philosophy. We examined doing philosophy and focused specifically on the relationship between student learning activities and teacher behavior; in doing so, a qualitative cross-case analysis of eight philosophy lessons was performed. The effectiveness of doing philosophy was operationalized into five learning activities comprising rationalizing, analyzing, testing, producing criticism, and reflecting, and scored by means of qualitative graphical time registration. Using CA we find a quantitative one-dimensional scale for the lessons that contrasts lessons that are more and less effective in terms of learning and teaching. A relationship was found between teaching by teachers and doing philosophy by students. In particular we found students to produce a higher level of doing philosophy with teachers who chose to organize a philosophical discussion with shared guidance by the teacher together with the students.

Working toward equitable opportunities for science students with disabilities: using professional development and technology.

PubMed

Bargerhuff, Mary Ellen; Cowan, Heidi; Kirch, Susan A

2010-01-01

As a result of federal legislation, adolescents with disabilities and other exceptionalities are increasingly included in science and math classes alongside their peers who are typically developing. The effectiveness of this placement option, however, is largely dependent on the skill level of the general educator and the support afforded to this teacher through various channels. Efforts arising from two National Science Foundation grants address both skill and support. Center's Lesson Adaptations for Student Success (CLASS) project used summer professional development opportunities to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to provide students with physical, sensory and learning disabilities equitable access to laboratory and field experiences. Second, to support teachers back in their classrooms, the Ohio Resource Center's Lesson Adaptations for Student Success (OR-CLASS) uses web resources to share high quality, peer-reviewed lesson plans, complete with specific recommendations on adaptations for students with a variety of exceptional learning needs.

Factors Affecting the Implementation of Argument in the Elementary Science Classroom. A Longitudinal Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Anita M.; Hand, Brian

2009-01-01

This longitudinal case study describes the factors that affect an experienced teacher’s attempt to shift her pedagogical practices in order to implement embedded elements of argument into her science classroom. Research data was accumulated over 2 years through video recordings of science classes. The Reformed Teacher Observation Protocol (RTOP) is an instrument designed to quantify changes in classroom environments as related to reform as defined by the National Research Council ( National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996b) and the National Research Council ( Fulfilling the promise: Biology education in the nation’s schools, Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1990) and was used to analyze videotaped science lessons. Analysis of the data shows that there was a significant shift in the areas of teacher questioning, and student voice. Several levels of subsequent analysis were completed related to teacher questioning and student voice. The data suggests a relationship between these areas and the implementation of scientific argument. Results indicate that the teacher moved from a traditional, teacher-centered, didactic teaching style to instructional practices that allowed the focus and direction of the lesson to be affected by student voice. This was accomplished by a change in teacher questioning that included a shift from factual recall to more divergent questioning patterns allowing for increased student voice. As student voice increased, students began to investigate ideas, make statements or claims and to support these claims with strong evidence. Finally, students were observed refuting claims in the form of rebuttals. This study informs professional development related to experienced teachers in that it highlights pedagogical issues involved in implementing embedded elements of argument in the elementary classroom.

Some Key Issues in Creating Inquiry-Based Instructional Practices that Aim at the Understanding of Simple Electric Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kock, Zeger-Jan; Taconis, Ruurd; Bolhuis, Sanneke; Gravemeijer, Koeno

2013-04-01

Many students in secondary schools consider the sciences difficult and unattractive. This applies to physics in particular, a subject in which students attempt to learn and understand numerous theoretical concepts, often without much success. A case in point is the understanding of the concepts current, voltage and resistance in simple electric circuits. In response to these problems, reform initiatives in education strive for a change of the classroom culture, putting emphasis on more authentic contexts and student activities containing elements of inquiry. The challenge then becomes choosing and combining these elements in such a manner that they foster an understanding of theoretical concepts. In this article we reflect on data collected and analyzed from a series of 12 grade 9 physics lessons on simple electric circuits. Drawing from a theoretical framework based on individual (conceptual change based) and socio-cultural views on learning, instruction was designed addressing known conceptual problems and attempting to create a physics (research) culture in the classroom. As the success of the lessons was limited, the focus of the study became to understand which inherent characteristics of inquiry based instruction complicate the process of constructing conceptual understanding. From the analysis of the data collected during the enactment of the lessons three tensions emerged: the tension between open inquiry and student guidance, the tension between students developing their own ideas and getting to know accepted scientific theories, and the tension between fostering scientific interest as part of a scientific research culture and the task oriented school culture. An outlook will be given on the implications for science lessons.

Teaching Mathematics to Middle School Students with Learning Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montague, Marjorie, Ed.; Jitendra, Asha K., Ed.

2006-01-01

A highly practical resource for special educators and classroom teachers, this book provides specific instructional guidance illustrated with vignettes, examples, and sample lesson plans. Every chapter is grounded in research and addresses the nuts and bolts of teaching math to students who are not adequately prepared for the challenging middle…

An AP Calculus Classroom Amusement Park

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Sarah

2016-01-01

Throughout the school year, AP Calculus teachers strive to teach course content comprehensively and swiftly in an effort to finish all required material before the AP Calculus exam. As early May approaches and the AP Calculus test looms, students and teachers nervously complete lessons, assignments, and assessments to ensure student preparation.…

"Green" Classes Flourish in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavanagh, Sean

2009-01-01

Courses focused on renewable and alternative energy are taking hold across the country as educators seek to channel students' concerns about the environment and conservation into classroom lessons. This article talks about the rising interest in "green" curriculum. Here, the author describes the Green Tech class that introduces students to the…

Learning the Ropes with Electricity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrier, Sarah; Rex, Ted

2013-01-01

This article presents a lesson plan that uses materials such as rope, drinking water, and straws in a classroom activity to teach elementary students about electrical circuits in a "hands on/minds on" fashion. Students first experiment with bulbs, wires, and switches, then they do an activity with simulating electricity through a circuit…

Rainbows of Intelligence. Exploring How Students Learn.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teele, Sue

This book offers practical applications for exploring multiple intelligences in the classroom to help each student express his or her own personal learning rainbow. Special features of the book include seven complete lesson plans ready to be adapted to any grade level; objectives, activities, and applications that meet U.S. and California…

Career Development Guides: Situational English.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appel, Jeanette D.

The guide provides lesson plans for a 12-week situational English course geared toward career development at the junior high school level. The course aims at increasing eighth- and ninth-grade student self-awareness, involving interested parents in classroom activities, and providing students with an opportunity to evaluate what they have learned…

Examples of Data Analysis with SPSS-X.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacFarland, Thomas W.

Intended for classroom use only, these unpublished notes contain computer lessons on descriptive statistics using SPSS-X Release 3.0 for VAX/UNIX. Statistical measures covered include Chi-square analysis; Spearman's rank correlation coefficient; Student's t-test with two independent samples; Student's t-test with a paired sample; One-way analysis…

Clothing Construction: An Instructional Package with Adaptations for Visually Impaired Individuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Glinda B.; And Others

Developed for the home economics teacher of mainstreamed visually impaired students, this guide provides clothing instruction lesson plans for the junior high level. First, teacher guidelines are given, including characteristics of the visually impaired, orienting such students to the classroom, orienting class members to the visually impaired,…

From Action to English: Reality in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuern, Guenther

1982-01-01

Describes use of total physical response as a teaching strategy in English-as-a-second-language classes. Students act out commands from teacher with no initial emphasis on oral production. This approach makes a lesson more real to students and physically involving them makes for more successful learning. (Author/BK)

Food Preparation: An Instructional Package with Adaptations for Visually Impaired Individuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Glinda B.; And Others

This instructional package, developed for the home economics teacher of mainstreamed visually impaired students, provides food preparation lesson plans appropriate for the junior high level. First, teacher guidelines are given, including characteristics of the visually impaired, orienting such students to the classroom, orienting class members to…

Who Are Our Heroes? A Critical-Thinking, Consciousness-Raising Lesson.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reissman, Rose

1994-01-01

When teachers discuss different types of heroes in the classroom, they allow their students to meet powerful new role models. The article discusses how teachers can get students thinking about what makes a hero and in the process, teach them about historical figures, social issues, and current events. (SM)

Gender Differences in Lunar-Related Scientific and Mathematical Understandings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilhelm, Jennifer

2009-01-01

This paper reports an examination on gender differences in lunar phases understanding of 123 students (70 females and 53 males). Middle-level students interacted with the Moon through observations, sketching, journalling, two-dimensional and three-dimensional modelling, and classroom discussions. These lunar lessons were adapted from the Realistic…

Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annetta, Leonard A.; Murray, Marshall R.; Laird, Shelby Gull; Bohr, Stephanie C.; Park, John C.

2006-01-01

Technological advances in the new millennium may evoke disquiet among administrators and teachers taxed with understanding how to harness new capabilities and merge them with sound pedagogy. To understand how gaming might bridge the gap between student interest and how lessons are taught, graduate students in science education at North Carolina…

Social Justice Lessons and Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jason D.

2011-01-01

Assigning activities based on current or past events allows students to explore mathematics in a social context. Using social justice events in the mathematics classroom is a way for teachers to provide contextual problems that will reach all students and promote equity. Learning mathematics in an environment in which social issues are explored…

SCAMPERing into Engineering!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flannagan, Jenny Sue; Sawyer, Margaret

2015-01-01

In this article the authors describe what they call their "Snapshots of Science" program. These mini-lessons of science are taught once a week to all students in the school library. Over the last two years, they have been working to extend the experiences students have in their science classroom into the library. Each week, students…

Flipping Out: Calculating Probability with a Coin Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Degner, Kate

2015-01-01

In the author's experience with this activity, students struggle with the idea of representativeness in probability. Therefore, this student misconception is part of the classroom discussion about the activities in this lesson. Representativeness is related to the (incorrect) idea that outcomes that seem more random are more likely to happen. This…

Celebrate Leadership: Lessons for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Maggie; Glock, Jenna

2006-01-01

Enriching, engaging, rigorous, meaningful--these are the learning opportunities that are interwoven in this book. In classrooms at various times, teachers find themselves wondering if students are grasping the content. Do they really understand? In this publication, the authors use the ideas of Howard Gardner as a guide in designing curriculum and…

Teaching Deanna to Read: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiwald, Jeanette M.

1995-01-01

Describes a Reading Recovery case study involving a first-grade student who was at risk for learning how to read and write. Notes that this student learned to read strategically and was accelerated to the average band in her classroom after 81 Reading Recovery lessons, without first knowing the alphabet. (SR)

"Living with Volcanoes": Cross-Curricular Teaching in the High School Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jolley, Alison; Ayala, Gianna

2015-01-01

A new, interdisciplinary high school geoarchaeology curriculum unit, titled "Living with Volcanoes," was created and tested in two pilot lessons with 30 high school students total studying geography and classical civilization in northern England. Students were highly engaged during the curriculum unit and showed positive learning gains…

Editor's Choice: Lessons on Disability and the Rights of Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treloar, Linda L.

1999-01-01

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 form the basis for this discussion of students with disabilities and the role played by community college faculty in promoting their success. Practices that ensure receptive classroom environments are defined with examples. Contains 21 references. (TGO)

Changes in science classrooms resulting from collaborative action research initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Phil Seok

Collaborative action research was undertaken over two years between a Korean science teacher and science education researchers at the University of Iowa. For the purpose of realizing science learning as envisioned by constructivist principles, Group-Investigations were implemented three or five times per project year. In addition, the second year project enacted Peer Assessments among students. Student perceptions of their science classrooms, as measured by the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), provided evidence that the collaborative action research was successful in creating constructivist learning environments. Student attitudes toward science lessons, as examined by the Enjoyment of Science Lessons Scale (ESLS), indicated that the action research also contributed to developing more positive attitudes of students about science learning. Discourse analysis was conducted on video-recordings of in-class presentations and discussions. The results indicated that students in science classrooms which were moving toward constructivist learning environments engaged in such discursive practices as: (1) Communicating their inquiries to others, (2) Seeking and providing information through dialogues, and (3) Negotiating conflicts in their knowledge and beliefs. Based on these practices, science learning was viewed as the process of constructing knowledge and understanding of science as well as the process of engaging in scientific inquiry and discourse. The teacher's discursive practices included: (1) Wrapping up student presentations, (2) Addressing misconceptions, (3) Answering student queries, (4) Coaching, (5) Assessing and advising, (6) Guiding students discursively into new knowledge, and (7) Scaffolding. Science teaching was defined as situated acts of the teacher to facilitate the learning process. In particular, when the classrooms became more constructivist, the teacher intervened more frequently and carefully in student activities to fulfill a variety of pedagogical functions. Students perceived Group-Investigations and Peer Assessments as positive in that they contributed to realizing constructivist features in their classrooms. The students also reported that they gained several learning outcomes through Group-Investigations, including more positive attitudes, new knowledge, greater learning capabilities, and improved self-esteem. However, the Group-Investigation and Peer Assessment methods were perceived as negative and problematic by those who had rarely been exposed to such inquiry-based, student-centered approaches.

A professional experience learning community for secondary mathematics: developing pre-service teachers' reflective practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavanagh, Michael; McMaster, Heather

2015-12-01

This paper reports on the reflective practice of a group of nine secondary mathematics pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers participated in a year-long, school-based professional experience program which focussed on observing, co-teaching and reflecting on a series of problem-solving lessons in two junior secondary school mathematics classrooms. The study used a mixed methods approach to consider the impact of shared pedagogical conversations on pre-service teachers' written reflections. It also examined whether there were differences in the focus of reflections depending on whether the lesson was taught by an experienced mathematics teacher, or taught by a pair of their peers, or co-taught by themselves with a peer. Results suggest that after participants have observed lessons taught by an experienced teacher and reflected collaboratively on those lessons, they continue to reflect on lessons taught by their peers and on their own lessons when co-teaching, rather than just describe or evaluate them. However, their written reflections across all contexts continued to focus primarily on teacher actions and classroom management rather than on student learning.

Refining MARGINS Mini-Lessons Using Classroom Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iverson, E. A.; Manduca, C. A.; McDaris, J. R.; Lee, S.

2009-12-01

One of the challenges that we face in developing teaching materials or activities from research findings is testing the materials to determine that they work as intended. Traditionally faculty develop material for their own class, notice what worked and didn’t, and improve them the next year. However, as we move to a community process of creating and sharing teaching materials, a community-based process for testing materials is appropriate. The MARGINS project has piloted such a process for testing teaching materials and activities developed as part of its mini-lesson project (http://serc.carleton.edu/margins/index.html). Building on prior work developing mechanisms for community review of teaching resources (e.g. Kastens, 2002; Hancock and Manduca, 2005; Mayhew and Hall, 2007), the MARGINS evaluation team developed a structured classroom observation protocol. The goals of field testing are to a) gather structured, consistent feedback for the lesson authors based on classroom use; b) guide reviewers of these lessons to reflect on research-based educational practice as a framework for their comments; c) collect information on the data and observations that the reviewer used to underpin their review; d) determine which mini-lessons are ready to be made widely available on the website. The protocol guides faculty observations on why they used the activity, the effectiveness of the activity in their classroom, the success of the activity in leading to the desired learning, and what other faculty need to successfully use the activity. Available online (http://serc.carleton.edu/margins/protocol.html), the protocol can be downloaded and completed during instruction with the activity. In order to encourage review of mini-lessons using the protocol, a workshop focused on review and revision of activities was held in May 2009. In preparation for the workshop, 13 of the 28 participants chose to field test a mini-lesson prior to the workshop and reported that they found this process instructive. Activity authors found the observations very helpful and the first mini-lessons have now been revised using feedback from testers. Initial results show that the tested mini-lessons give students hands-on experience with scientific data and help students make connections between geologic phenomena and data. Productive feedback ranged from suggestions for improving activity design, adaptations for other audiences, suggestions for clearer presentation, and tips for using the materials. The team plans to broaden the use of the protocol to test and refine all of the mini-lessons in the MARGINS collection.

Teaching the Mammalian Heart to the Visually Handicapped--A Lesson in Concrete Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francoeur, Pearl; Eilam, Bihah

1975-01-01

Utilizes programmed instruction with concrete experiences and raised diagrams to teach the mammalian heart to an integrated high school classroom (one containing sighted and visually handicapped students). (LS)

Props for the Beginning Accounting Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manghue, Ruth E.

1980-01-01

The use of props in the early lessons of bookkeeping classes will help develop the analysis skills students need to know the "why" as well as the "how" of fundamental accounting principles. (Author/JOW)

For the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Current: The Journal of Marine Education, 1985

1985-01-01

Presents two lesson plans for: (1) a long-term project where students use simple materials to investigate a nearby aquatic habitat; and (2) hay infusions (jars with water and hay), one of which receives a plant fertilizer. (DH)

Lessons Learned Coaching Teachers in Behavior Management: The PBISplus Coaching Model

PubMed Central

Hershfeldt, Patricia A.; Pell, Karen; Sechrest, Richard; Pas, Elise T.; Bradshaw, Catherine P.

2013-01-01

There is growing interest in coaching as a means of promoting professional development and the use of evidence-based practices in schools. This paper describes the PBISplus coaching model used to provide technical assistance for classroom- and school-wide behavior management to elementary schools over the course of three years. This tier-two coaching model was implemented within the context of school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and tested in a 42-school randomized controlled trial. We summarize some of the lessons learned by coaches regarding their efforts to gain access to the administrators, teachers, and student support staff in order to effect change and improve student outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of ways to successfully collaborate with teachers to promote effective classroom- and school-wide behavior management. PMID:23599661

Speaking Spontaneously in the Modern Foreign Languages Classroom: Tools for Supporting Successful Target Language Conversation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christie, Colin

2016-01-01

This article reports on the findings of a study into the conditions which promote spontaneous learner talk in the target language in the modern foreign languages (MFL) classroom. A qualitative case study approach was adopted. French lessons, with school students aged 11-16 years old, were observed and analysed with the aim of identifying tools and…

Code-Switching in the Primary Classroom: One Response to the Planned and the Unplanned Language Environment in Brunei [and] A Response.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Peter W.; Espiritu, Clemencia C

1996-01-01

Examines how the teacher incorporates elements of both "Bahasa Melayu" and Brunei Malay into content lessons and views code switching in the primary classroom within the wider framework of community language norms and the linguistic pressures on students and teachers. Espiritu shares Martin's concern regarding the quantity and quality of…

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Teacher-Student Relationships in a Third-Grade Literacy Lesson: Dynamics of Microaggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaulieu, Rodney

2016-01-01

This study focuses on a recording from a week of third-grade classroom sessions. The recording was used to train new teachers in a certification program and provided data for a learning community that was studying classroom discourse. The third-grade teacher was described as being "outstanding" and "culturally responsive" by…

Connellys' Classroom Cutaway: A Taste of Animation--Part 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connelly, John; Connelly, Marilyn

2008-01-01

In Part 1 ("TechTrends" 52.3), the authors described some of the easier kinds of animation such as Claymation, Pixillation, Cut Outs, People Pix, and FlipBook. Of these, FlipBook has the easiest learning curve. Now, in Part 2, they detail their first simple lesson in animation by describing how an entire classroom of students can create a group…

Investigating Teachers' Appraisal of Unexpected Moments and Underlying Values: An Exploratory Case in the Context of Changing Mathematics Classroom Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavanna, Jillian M.; Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth; Seah, Wee Tiong

2015-01-01

This article provides an exploratory case study that examines what one teacher indicated as unexpected as she worked to become more purposeful about her classroom discourse practices. We found that she highlighted three areas as being unexpected: (1) aspects of lesson enactment; (2) characteristics of student learning and (3) her own…

3D Modeling and Printing in History/Social Studies Classrooms: Initial Lessons and Insights

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maloy, Robert; Trust, Torrey; Kommers, Suzan; Malinowski, Allison; LaRoche, Irene

2017-01-01

This exploratory study examines the use of 3D technology by teachers and students in four middle school history/social studies classrooms. As part of a university-developed 3D Printing 4 Teaching & Learning project, teachers integrated 3D modeling and printing into curriculum topics in world geography, U.S. history, and government/civics.…

From Creeks to the Classroom: Hands-on Curriculum Units on the Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salter, I. Y.

2005-12-01

Archway School is in the process of developing 6 curriculum units to teach middle school students about the ecology and environmental science of the San Francisco Bay Area. This is being accomplished through integrated classroom, field trip, and creek restoration project activities. The creek where restoration work takes place becomes an outdoor laboratory for a wide array of classroom lessons tied to both National and California Science Education Standards. The entire curriculum, including all lesson plans, assessments, and examples of student work are being made available, free of charge, to teachers and educators via the Internet. Although the units were initially developed to teach about the natural and geological history of the San Francisco Bay Area, classroom activities are structured such that they could be used at any school and restoration work could be undertaken at any creek in the country. This presentation will showcase the curriculum and provide information so that educators may bring it home to their own institutions. Teachers will get a "tour" of 3 of the 6 curriculum units (Ecology, Watersheds, Earth History) and then have an opportunity to view activities that highlight the strengths of the program.

Coyotes, Skunks, and Bears in the Sky --- A Multicultural Approach to Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebofsky, N. R.; Lebofsky, L. A.; Canizo, T.

1994-12-01

Staff and teacher/facilitators from the ARTIST (Astronomy-Related Teacher Inservice Training) and ACCESS! (All Children Can Explore the Solar System!) PROJECTS use myths, legends, creative writing, and related activities to augment astronomy lessons. In both elementary and middle school classrooms teachers use an integrated curriculum approach to extend the science lesson into language arts, social studies, fine arts, and math. Reading, writing, storytelling, and art projects blend easily with lessons on constellations, planets, Sun, Moon, and sky. Including myths and legends from a variety of cultures and time periods underscores the universal appeal of both sky-watching and creativity. Through a variety of inservice programs and materials development, the authors provide scientific background and classroom activities for teachers in grades K--8. Project facilitators report marked improvement in primary grade reading and writing skills and improved language acquisition for bilingual students when a high interest topic such as astronomy is introduced and integrated with language arts lessons. Facilitators have used astronomy to empower special education students to share both their knowledge and appreciation of the universe with the general school population. A slide-and-music presentation and samples of student work will highlight activities developed through PROJECT ARTIST. PROJECT ARTIST is funded by the National Science Foundation. PROJECT ACCESS! is funded by the Arizona Board of Regents (Eisenhower Math and Science Program).

The ERESE Workshop: a Unique Opportunity for Collaboration Between Classroom Teacher and Research Scientist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Symons, C. M.; Helly, M.; Staudigel, H.; Koppers, A.; Reining, J.; Helly, J.; Miller, S.

2005-12-01

The ERESE Project (Enduring Resources for Earth Science Education) has hosted 10-15 teachers during a two-week workshop at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) each of the last two summers. The workshop is a concentrated introduction to the resources available on two National Science Digital Library collections maintained at SIO - http://www.EarthRef.org and http://www.SIOExplorer.ucsd.edu. The workshop is run by a team of scientists from SIO, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and a Lead Educator who is also a classroom teacher. This year three teachers from the first year were invited to return to serve as mentors. During the first week of the workshop teachers play the role of student while a lead scientist plays the role of teacher. The students (aka, teachers) analyze maps of seafloor magnetic anomalies to investigate plate tectonic problems. The magnetic data were collected onboard Scripps ships and are archived at SIOExplorer.ucsd.edu. Technical content lessons were designed to introduce the resource matrices on EarthRef.org, how to upload and download classroom lessons within the collection, SIOExplorer's CruiseViewer (portal to over 600 archived cruises) and Mozilla Browser and Composer for building lessons using our inquiry template. The inquiry lesson templates model scientific inquiry and help to streamline lesson design, enactment and sharing. They reference local, state and national standards in order to increase their appeal to a broad audience. The most valuable feature of hosting an on-campus workshop was that participants were afforded the opportunity to collaborate with scientists and research staff on a daily basis. More than 15 guest speakers addressed the teachers, some of whom led guided tours of their respective research facilities and collections. Guest speakers shared data, lecture notes and engaging "sea stories" all of which painted a picture of life as a research earth scientist. Combining their workshop experience in the role of student, the technical content lessons, the inquiry based pedagogical model and daily collaboration with scientists, the teachers developed plate tectonic lessons using resources from EarthRef.org and SIOExplorer.ucsd.edu. Following implementation during the fall semester teachers will add them to the existing collection of lessons at EarthRef.org.

Students' Perceptions of Teaching in Context-based and Traditional Chemistry Classrooms: Comparing content, learning activities, and interpersonal perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overman, Michelle; Vermunt, Jan D.; Meijer, Paulien C.; Bulte, Astrid M. W.; Brekelmans, Mieke

2014-07-01

Context-based curriculum reforms in chemistry education are thought to bring greater diversity to the ways in which chemistry teachers organize their teaching. First and foremost, students are expected to perceive this diversity. However, empirical research on how students perceive their teacher's teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms, and whether this teaching differs from traditional chemistry lessons, is scarce. This study aims to develop our understanding of what teaching looks like, according to students, in context-based chemistry classrooms compared with traditional chemistry classrooms. As such, it might also provide a better understanding of whether teachers implement and attain the intentions of curriculum developers. To study teacher behaviour we used three theoretical perspectives deemed to be important for student learning: a content perspective, a learning activities perspective, and an interpersonal perspective. Data were collected from 480 students in 24 secondary chemistry classes in the Netherlands. Our findings suggest that, according to the students, the changes in teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms imply a lessening of the emphasis on fundamental chemistry and the use of a teacher-centred approach, compared with traditional chemistry classrooms. However, teachers in context-based chemistry classrooms seem not to display more 'context-based' teaching behaviour, such as emphasizing the relation between chemistry, technology, and society and using a student-centred approach. Furthermore, students in context-based chemistry classrooms perceive their teachers as having less interpersonal control and showing less affiliation than teachers in traditional chemistry classrooms. Our findings should be interpreted in the context of former and daily experiences of both teachers and students. As only chemistry is reformed in the schools in which context-based chemistry is implemented, it is challenging for both students and teachers to deal with these reforms.

The perception of science teachers on the role of student relationships in the classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattison, Cheryl Ann

With the increased accountability of educators comes the responsibility of the entire educational community to find ways in which we can help our students succeed in the classroom. In addition, it is important to discover what it takes to keep those students in school Many science teachers enter the profession unprepared to handle the regular classroom routine. Classroom management, grading, lesson planning, setting up labs, and the myriad of other obligations, can leave teachers overwhelmed and sometimes can get in the way of actually helping students be successful. This study investigated how science teachers viewed the importance of developing strong teacher/student relationships to the increase of student success in a science classroom. I attempted to answer 4 major questions: · How do science teachers in a select high school community view the role of interactive relationships in their classrooms and how that might impact their students? · How do science teachers in a select high school community believe they establish successful interactive relationships with their students? · What do science teachers in a select high school community believe are some of the outcomes of those relationships? · What do science teachers suggest to increase the teacher's ability to form good relationships with their students? A qualitative research method was used including observations, interviews and group discussions of 5 high school science teachers in a small urban school.

Discrepancies between Students' and Teachers' Ratings of Instructional Practice: A Way to Measure Classroom Intuneness and Evaluate Teaching Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dockterman, Daniel Milo

2017-01-01

Student surveys have gained prominence in recent years as a way to give students a voice in their learning process, and teacher self-reports have always been an effective instrument for revealing the planning, intentions, and expectations behind a given lesson. Though student and teacher surveys are widely used, extant research in education has…

Using Animal Assisted Therapy with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Art Room Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenburg, Karen L.

2016-01-01

This case study focused on the addition of a therapy dog in an Art I level class at a public high school level that included students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The purpose of this study is to determine how Animal Assisted Therapy may benefit autism support students in the art classroom. The students participated in lessons that focused on…

Teaching where there are no schools.

PubMed

Helwig, J F; Friend, J

1985-01-01

An experimental project designed to investigate the feasibility of using radio as a medium of instruction in the teaching of elementary school mathematics, the Radio Mathematics Project, which was located in Nicaragua from mid-1974 to early 1979, developed mathematics lessons for the first 4 years of elementary school. These lessons -- daily radio broadcasts plus postbroadcast activities conducted by the classroom teachers -- proved to be successful in improving the students' mathematics achievement. The cost of widescale implementation of the materials was estimated to be well within Nicaragua's budget. The success of the project can be attributed largely to the innovative style of the broadcast lessons, a style characterized as "interactive" in recognition of its mimicry of a conversation between students and teacher. The interactive lesson style is easily adapted to the teaching of many other subjects and has been used, with minor modifications, to teach English as a 2nd language and initial reading. In all these settings, the lessons provide daily instruction and are intended to replace rather than supplement existing instruction in the subject matter. Each lesson consists of a broadcast portion of the lesson carries the major burden of instruction. The interactive radio lessons are designed to provide direct instruction to the students. The radio teachers explain concepts, provide examples, and guide the students in the completion of exercises. The students listening to the radio lessons are expected to participate actively. After every student response, the radio gives the correct response so that the children can immediately compare their own responses with the correct one. Segmented structure is characteristic of the radio lessons used in all 3 projects mentioned. Radio Math's lessons are reinforced by rigorous research to validate their teaching effectiveness.

The Effects of Incorporating Classroom Pets into the Fourth Grade Science Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Admire, Maegan

The purpose of this study was to identify and promote successful teaching strategies that incorporate classroom pets in order to influence student engagement, achievement, and perceptions of animals. This was a small action research study conducted in a fourth grade science classroom. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained including, pre- and post-assessments, student interviews, researcher field notes, researcher journal, and student work. The results of this study revealed an increased academic achievement from the pre- to post-assessment, increased student observations and descriptions when discussing the animals, and increased student empathy toward the animals. The results also revealed that the teacher's incorporation of the animals within the science curriculum grew in ease over time, and that the animals provided the educator with opportunities to teach non-content related lessons and also a concrete experience for the teacher to apply and extend the science content.

Developing a Framework for Classroom Lesson Delivery to Improve English Teachers' Performance in the Foundation Year Programme at a Saudi University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aburizaizah, Saeed J.

2014-01-01

The current English programme provided to foundation year students at King Abdulaziz University is failing to equip learners with the desired level of English language. This paper assesses the teaching materials and proposes a teaching framework to improve teachers' lesson delivery. The framework was designed to overcome some of the shortfalls in…

How To Differentiate Instruction. Adapted from Chapter 3 of "Powerful Lesson Planning Models: The Art of 1,000 Decisions." A Skylight Guide. Grades K-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skowron, Janice

This booklet helps teachers understand how to increase student motivation and interest and how to design lively, creative, and interactive lessons that will enrich learning. Chapter 1, "The Differences That Impact Learning," describes the differentiated classroom and provides teachers with an understanding of the many variations of how…

Waves on the Fly--Encouraging Inquiry in the Physics Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cottam, Michael

2006-01-01

In this article, the author shares a very successful 50-minute inquiry-based physics lesson that uses only small metal cans, a bit of string, and the inquiring minds of middle schoolers. The topic of the lesson is wave motion and energy transfer. The intent of this article is to show that tests of student-generated hypotheses can be simple, quick,…

The Lessons of the Vietnam War: Unit 13. Teacher's Manual: Strategies and Resources for Teaching the Vietnam War.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Social Studies Education, Pittsburgh, PA.

This teacher's manual is designed to accompany the curriculum "The Lessons of the Vietnam War." For each of 12 units of the curriculum, this manual suggests projects for student research and classroom activities. The 12 units are entitled: (1) Introduction to Vietnam: land, history and culture; (2) America at war in Vietnam: decisions and…

Opportunities for Inquiry Science in Montessori Classrooms: Learning from a Culture of Interest, Communication, and Explanation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinke, Carol R.; Gimbel, Steven J.; Haskell, Sophie

2013-08-01

Although classroom inquiry is the primary pedagogy of science education, it has often been difficult to implement within conventional classroom cultures. This study turned to the alternatively structured Montessori learning environment to better understand the ways in which it fosters the essential elements of classroom inquiry, as defined by prominent policy documents. Specifically, we examined the opportunities present in Montessori classrooms for students to develop an interest in the natural world, generate explanations in science, and communicate about science. Using ethnographic research methods in four Montessori classrooms at the primary and elementary levels, this research captured a range of scientific learning opportunities. The study found that the Montessori learning environment provided opportunities for students to develop enduring interests in scientific topics and communicate about science in various ways. The data also indicated that explanation was largely teacher-driven in the Montessori classroom culture. This study offers lessons for both conventional and Montessori classrooms and suggests further research that bridges educational contexts.

Transforming Lessons with Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Currie, Brad

2016-01-01

Using a fictitious learning environment, the author demonstrates a variety of technological tools that teachers can infuse into their classrooms. Come away with some innovative, practical methods to help students show what they know about the topic at hand.

Utilizing the Scientist as Teacher Through the Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, D.; McNeal, K. S.; Radencic, S.

2011-12-01

The presence of a scientist or other STEM expert in secondary school science classroom can provide fresh new ideas for student learning. Through the Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) program sponsored by NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12), scientists and engineers at Mississippi State University work together with graduate students and area teachers to provide hands-on inquiry-based learning to middle school and high school students. Competitively selected graduate fellows from geosciences, physics, chemistry, and engineering spend ten hours per week in participating classrooms for an entire school year, working as a team with their assigned teacher to provide outstanding instruction in science and mathematics and to serve as positive role models for the students. We are currently in the second year of our five-year program, and we have already made significant achievements in science and mathematics instruction. We successfully hosted GIS Day on the Mississippi State University campus, allowing participating students to design an emergency response to a simulated flooding of the Mississippi Delta. We have also developed new laboratory exercises for high school physics classrooms, including a 3-D electric field mapping exercise, and the complete development of a robotics design course. Many of the activities developed by the fellows and teachers are written into formal lesson plans that are made publicly available as free downloads through our project website. All participants in this program channel aspects of their research interests and methods into classroom learning, thus providing students with the real-world applications of STEM principles. In return, participants enhance their own communication and scientific inquiry skills by employing lesson design techniques that are similar to defining their own research questions.

Developing Authentic Research Experiences in the K-12 Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, M. K.

2004-12-01

The excitement of an authentic science experiment in one's own backyard piques interest, but teachers need resources and professional development experiences to capitalize upon this excitement and create opportunities for their students' learning. Three obstacles must be overcome for success in carrying out authentic research in the classroom. First, scientists and teachers must work together to identify relevant and developmentally appropriate research questions for the target audience. Second, teachers need professional development experiences that engage them in authentic research and that provide support for introducing a similar research experience in their own classroom. Third, the outcome of the research experience must have value to the scientist, teacher and student to motivate sustained participation by all. I have directed two projects that have opened the door for teachers to conduct authentic research with their students: monitoring earthquakes with educational seismometers and investigating local environmental problems with a GIS. Classroom seismometers permit students and the public to see first-hand Earth's dynamic response to both human and natural events in their hometown and around the country. From plotting earthquakes occurring throughout the school year to reveal plate tectonic relationships, or conducting seismic hazard analysis of the local region, to analyzing patterns of foreshocks and aftershocks of major earthquakes, students have been actively engaged and motivated in their learning. GIS opens the opportunity to investigate problems of land, water and other resource uses, but presents special problems in acquiring appropriate and useful data. I will discuss the lessons learned from working with teachers in educational seismology and GIS programs and how those lessons can be applied to developing research experiences for teachers and students.

Enhancing Students' Speaking Skills through Peer Team Teaching: A Student Centered Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vani, V. Vijaya

2016-01-01

The present paper attempts to establish that peer team teaching of a prescribed English lesson of 1st year B.Tech course by the students will provide more opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills. This kind of classroom activity will also help them to develop their vocabulary, reading skills, team working skills, etc. It is assumed…

Using Technology to Support Students' Mastery of Academic Studies. Best Practices Newsletter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), 2015

2015-01-01

For decades, classroom instruction was dominated by lectures, textbooks and note-taking. And for decades, students have often been bored and unengaged. They took notes and did what they had to do to memorize lessons just long enough to pass an exam. But short-term memorization does not help much in preparing students for college, advanced training…

Integrating Moral and Social Development within Middle School Social Studies: A Social Cognitive Domain Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nucci, Larry; Creane, Michael W.; Powers, Deborah W.

2015-01-01

Eleven teachers and 254 urban middle-school students comprised the sample of this study examining the social and moral development outcomes of the integration of social cognitive domain theory within regular classroom instruction. Participating teachers were trained to construct and implement history lessons that stimulated students' moral…

Strategies for the 21st Century: Integrating Technology into the ABLE Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mingle, Mary E. H.

Integrating technology into the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) classroom can be very helpful to students and teachers, but it requires a shift in the teacher's role. The idea of "delivering" instruction--teacher-centered classes or tutor-directed lessons--should be replaced with student-centered, self-paced learning. Although the first…

Classroom Cut Ups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lord, Stacy

2011-01-01

Discovering identity can be a lifelong challenge for some people, while others seem to figure it out right away. During the middle school years, finding one's identity can be a daunting task. Most students will spend a considerable amount of time during these middle years looking for it. This lesson on cut-paper self-portraits lets students delve…

Adolescent Reading/Viewing of Advertisements: Understandings from Transactional and Positioning Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Begoray, Deborah; Higgins, Joan Wharf; Harrison, Janie; Collins-Emery, Amy

2013-01-01

We examined middle years adolescents' (ages 12-13) responses to reading and viewing advertisements as part of integrated language arts and health education lessons. We report here on the qualitative results from student and teacher focus groups, and from student journals. Three regular classroom teachers co-developed (with university…

Hands-On Classroom Photolithography Laboratory Module to Explore Nanotechnology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stelick, Scott J.; Alger, William H.; Laufer, Jesse S.; Waldron, Anna M.; Batt, Carl A.

2005-01-01

Nanotechnology is an area of significant interest and can be used as a motivator for students in subject areas including physics, chemistry, and life sciences. A 5X reducer system and associated lesson plan was used to provide students a hands-on exposure to the basic principles of photolithography and microscale circuit fabrication.

Improving the Grammatical Accuracy of the Spoken English of Indonesian International Kindergarten Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gozali, Imelda; Harjanto, Ignatius

2014-01-01

The need to improve the spoken English of kindergarten students in an international preschool in Surabaya prompted this Classroom Action Research (CAR). It involved the implementation of Form-Focused Instruction (FFI) strategy coupled with Corrective Feedback (CF) in Grammar lessons. Four grammar topics were selected, namely Regular Plural form,…

Using Inquiry to Break the Language Barrier in Chemistry Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Andrew; Jessup, Weston; Criswell, Brett A.; Weaver-High, Consuelo; Rushton, Gregory T.

2015-01-01

A guided inquiry lesson intended to support the linguistic and conceptual development of English language learners (ELLs) in a small, cotaught, high-needs secondary setting is presented. Collaborative groupings based on language and content ability coupled with an emphasis on student-student discourse and a hands-on investigation appeared to…

Balancing Teacher and Student Roles in Elementary Classrooms: Preservice Elementary Teachers' Learning about the Inquiry Continuum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biggers, Mandy; Forbes, Cory T.

2012-01-01

Using the National Research Council's inquiry continuum framework, we use a multiple-case study research design to investigate the teacher- and student-directedness of elementary preservice teachers' planned and enacted science lessons and their pedagogical reasoning about science instruction during a semester-long science methods course. Our…

Emotions and Learning. Educational Practices Series-24

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pekrun, Reinhard

2014-01-01

The classroom is an emotional place. Students can be excited during studying, hope for success, feel pride in their accomplishments, be surprised at discovering a new solution, experience anxiety about failing examinations, feel ashamed over poor grades, or be bored during lessons. In addition, social emotions play a role and students also bring…

Methodologies for Effective Writing Instruction in EFL and ESL Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Mahrooqi, Rahma, Ed.; Thakur, Vijay Singh; Roscoe, Adrian

2015-01-01

Educators continue to strive for advanced teaching methods to bridge the gap between native and non-native English speaking students. Lessons on written forms of communication continue to be a challenge recognized by educators who wish to improve student comprehension and overall ability to write clearly and expressively. "Methodologies for…

Teaching Generation Text: Using Cell Phones to Enhance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Lisa; Webb, Willyn

2011-01-01

"Teaching Generation Text" shows how teachers can turn cell phones into an educational opportunity instead of an annoying distraction. With a host of innovative ideas, activities, lessons, and strategies, Nielsen and Webb offer a unique way to use students' preferred method of communication in the classroom. Cell phones can remind students to…

An Embodied Agent Helps Anxious Students in Mathematics Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Yanghee; Thayne, Jeffrey; Wei, Quan

2017-01-01

Mathematics anxiety is known to be detrimental to mathematics learning. This study explored if an embodied agent could be used to help alleviate student anxiety in classrooms. To examine this potential, agent-guided algebra lessons were developed, in which an animated agent was equipped with prescriptive instructional guidance and anxiety treating…

Hands-On Experiences of Undergraduate Students in Automatics and Robotics Using a Virtual and Remote Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jara, Carlos A.; Candelas, Francisco A.; Puente, Santiago T.; Torres, Fernando

2011-01-01

Automatics and Robotics subjects are always greatly improved when classroom teaching is supported by adequate laboratory courses and experiments following the "learning by doing" paradigm, which provides students a deep understanding of theoretical lessons. However, expensive equipment and limited time prevent teachers having sufficient…

Time and Time Again

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pass, Lynn DiCamillo

2004-01-01

This article describes one classroom's experience engaging in a lesson that challenged introductory art students to design a functional ceramic clock in an art-historical style of their choice. The clocks were sculpted in low-relief so that the hands of the clockworks could move freely around the face of the clock. Students were given an…

Tips for Using Interactive Whiteboards to Increase Participation of Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitby, Peggy J. S.; Leininger, Mark L.; Grillo, Kelly

2012-01-01

Whiteboard technology has become commonplace in the inclusive classroom and has the potential to merge traditional teaching pedagogy with the technological age. However, teachers report little training on how to incorporate whiteboards into lesson planning. The number of students with disabilities educated in the general education setting has…

Science and Superheroes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolenc, Nathan; Wood, Aja; Washburn, Megan; Batson, Yarden; Fan, Brittany; Dickens, Victoria; Armstrong, Shannon

2016-01-01

Role-play has been shown to increase student engagement and improve the overall classroom environment. When used effectively, role-play can transform a task or assignment to appear more like play than work. In this four-part lesson, role-play was used as a teaching strategy to engage students in learning the science and application of several…

The Borders of Historical Empathy: Students Encounter the Holocaust through Film

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metzger, Scott Alan

2012-01-01

This case study explores potential educational tensions in historical empathy for learning about emotionally difficult topics through lessons that use dramatic feature films (movies). It investigates one case of historical empathy in the classroom by analyzing what a high-school teacher and her students do and talk about in class. The observed…

Understanding How Teachers Guide Evidence Construction Conversations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manz, Eve; Renga, Ian Parker

2017-01-01

Many classroom units and lessons are now organized around engaging students in developing claims and evidence. An aspect of teachers' work that is understudied is how teachers manage the complexity inherent in navigating between claims and empirical data. In other words, what do teachers do when students do not see what they are "supposed…

From Dark to Clear Thinking: Cognitive Restructuring in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudish, Deb; Millice, Nancy

1997-01-01

Describes cognitive restructuring approaches that can be used for students ages 10 to 17 years. Discusses how the approaches are used in a class and in one-to-one sessions, focusing on thinking habits and cognitive therapy in behavior management. Also offers observations of how these lessons affect the lives of students. (RJM)

Developing Conceptual Understanding of Fractions with Year Five and Six Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Judith

2016-01-01

This paper presents findings from classroom observations of one teacher (Beth). It focusses on the development of conceptual understanding of fractions with her students, articulated in Kieren's sub-constructs (Kieren, 1980,1988), and Hansen's progressions (Hansen, 2005). The study covers three lessons within a six week unit. Findings from this…

Using Argumentation as a Strategy of Promotion of Talking Science in a Physics Classroom: What Are Some of the Challenges?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qhobela, Makomosela

2012-01-01

This paper discusses lessons learnt from a bigger study which investigates teaching approaches that could be employed to address the problem of classrooms that are dominated by teacher-centered approaches with minimal students' talk. The purpose of this paper is to establish the feasibility of success when argumentation is introduced as a part of…

Hershey Museum. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Museum: A Secondary Curriculum Project To Bring the Museum to the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, William J.

Lesson plans for secondary teachers based on documents and objects found in the Hershey Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania comprise the document. The Museum seeks to make its resources available to teachers who are not able to bring their students from the classroom to the Museum. Photocopied reproductions of the documents are provided for the…

Triumphs Show: Taking Students outside the Classroom "inside" the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osowiecki, Maria; Francis, Robin

2014-01-01

Year 9 think they know a lot about the First World War. After all, they read Michael Morpurgo's novel Private Peaceful in their English lessons all the way back in Year 7, they have seen Blackadder so many times they can recite it, and in the centenary year of the war's outbreak, they can hardly avoid it on television. But their view of the war…

Impact of a Brief Ego Depletion Procedure on Creative Behaviour in the Upper Primary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Deborah Ann; Yates, Gregory C. R.

2015-01-01

In the course of normal classroom lessons, 103 students (median 11.10 years) were asked to spend 15 min writing "anything you can think of" about the number 50 on a blank page. The products were independently scored by 2 specialist art teachers and 2 specialist mathematics teachers on criteria relevant to their specialisations.…

Development of Lesson Plans and Student Worksheets Based Socio-Scientific Issues on Pollution Environmental Topic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahayu, S.; Meyliana, M.; Arlingga, A.; Reny, R.; Siahaan, P.; Hernani, H.

2017-09-01

The aim of this study is to develop lesson plans and student worksheets based socio-scientific issues on pollution environmental topic for seventh-grade junior high school students. Environmental pollution topic split into several subtopics namely air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution. The composing of lesson plans were developed based on socio-scientific issues with five stages, namely (1) Motivate; (2) Challenge; (3) Collect scientific evidence; (4) Analyse the evidence; (5) Build knowledge and make connections; and (6) Use evidence. While student worksheets contain articles on socio-scientific issues, practice, and there are a few questions to determine students’ reasoning. The method that is used in this research is research and development (R & D method). Development model used in this study is a model of Plomp that consists of four stages, namely: (1) Initial Research; (2) Design; (3) Realization or Construction; (4) Testing, evaluation and revision; (5) Implementation, while the research was limited to the fourth stage. Lesson plans and student worksheets based on socio-scientific issues was validated through an expert validation. The result showed that lesson plans and student worksheets based socio-scientific issues on pollution theme have a very decent and be able to apply in science classroom.

Digital exploration via Skype: connecting your classroom with the experts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hay, Rachel

2014-05-01

This presentation describes experiences of using Skype in the classroom to connect learners with scientists and explorers all over the world in order to deepen learners' knowledge and understanding of course material, develop their enquiry skills, and broaden their perspectives on life beyond the classroom walls. In a session organised by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) in partnership with Digital Explorer, twenty-five Perth High School students who were studying coral reefs took part in an exciting live Skype chat with researchers on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Students spoke to a marine biologist and a geographer who were on-board their research vessel some 15,000km away. They learned about the Catlin Survey's cutting-edge research, which was set up to study conditions on the reef, take 50,000 images, and create a baseline for future comparisons. In addition, the scientists aimed to develop an underwater equivalent of Google Streetview, called Seaview, which will allow people everywhere to engage with this incredible ecosystem. We heard about the divers' encounter with Tiger sharks earlier that same day, and had a tour of the research vessel, as well as asking the experts questions about their research findings and career paths. Feedback from the students was extremely positive, and it was clear that the experience had greatly enhanced their studies. For myself and the other teachers involved, it was an exciting (and surreal!) experience, and helped to update our knowledge of our subjects. Between July and December 2013 I volunteered as Community Manager for Digital Explorer in their partnership with Skype in the classroom. Digital Explorer is an educational social enterprise dedicated to engaging young people in global issues, and preparing them to tackle environmental and technological changes in the 21st century. We offered seventeen lessons as part of Skype in the classroom's Exploring Oceans event in October and November, which aimed to educate and enthuse young people about the world's oceans. It was fascinating to connect with other teachers and with the guest speakers, and there is huge potential for future events on different themes. This presentation will outline what I think are the main benefits of, and challenges to, embedding the use of Skype in more classrooms, and offer some tips for successful Skype lessons. Value is added when Skype lessons are incorporated into a well-planned scheme of work that utilises high-quality, innovative resources, such as those produced by Digital Explorer. The use of this technology in schools increases student engagement in course material, as well as in local and global issues, thus facilitating the development of successful learners and informed global citizens. In addition, it provides opportunities for learners to take responsibility for, and direct, their own learning and skill development. I hope that more teachers will develop their confidence in using Skype with their students, as it offers exciting opportunities for creating interactive lessons and bringing the world into your classroom. Acknowledgements: Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop - Director, Digital Explorer http://digitalexplorer.com @de_updates Charlotte Moore - Made By Many/Skype in the Classroom https://education.skype.com/ @SkypeClassroom Dr Joyce Gilbert - Education Officer, Royal Scottish Geographical Society http://www.rsgs.org/ @RoyalScotGeoSoc

A Lesson in Complexity: Seabed Minerals and Easter Island.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Druker, Kristen

1984-01-01

This high school-level classroom activity presents a hypothetical situation based on scientific fact concerning the likelihood that seabed mineral deposits lie off Easter Island. Activity goals, instructional strategies, and instructions for students are included. (JN)

Re-designing an Earth Sciences outreach program for Rhode Island public elementary schools to address new curricular standards and logistical realities in the community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, N.; Vachula, R. S.; Pascuzzo, A.; Prilipko Huber, O.

2017-12-01

In contrast to middle and high school students, elementary school students in Rhode Island (RI) have no access to dedicated science teachers, resulting in uneven quality and scope of science teaching across the state. In an attempt to improve science education in local public elementary schools, the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS) at Brown University initiated a student-driven science-teaching program that was supported by a NSF K-12 grant from 2007 to 2014. The program led to the development of an extensive in-house lesson plan database and supported student-led outreach and teaching in several elementary and middle school classrooms. After funding was terminated, the program continued on a volunteer basis, providing year-round science teaching for several second-grade classrooms. During the 2016-2017 academic year, New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were introduced in RI public schools, and it became apparent that our outreach efforts required adaptation to be more efficient and relevant for both elementary school students and teachers. To meet these new needs, DEEPS, in collaboration with the Providence Public School District, created an intensive summer re-design program involving both graduate and undergraduate students. Three multi-lesson units were developed in collaboration with volunteer public school teachers to specifically address NGSS goals for earth science teaching in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. In the 2017-2018 academic year DEEPS students will co-teach the science lessons with the public school teachers in two local elementary schools. At the end of the next academic year all lesson plans and activities will be made publically available through a newly designed DEEPS outreach website. We herein detail our efforts to create and implement new educational modules with the goals of: (1) empowering teachers to instruct science, (2) engaging students and fostering lasting STEM interest and competency, (3) optimizing volunteer resources, (4) meeting new state curricular standards, (5) developing publicly available lesson plans for other teachers and outreach programs, (6) institutionalizing the outreach program within the DEEPS community, and (7) cultivating STEM retention at the grassroots level.

Conflicting Frames: A Case of Misalignment between Professional Development Efforts and a Teacher's Practice in a High School Mathematics Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heyd-Metzuyanim, Einat; Munter, Charles; Greeno, James

2018-01-01

We examine the case of a lesson planning session within the context of professional development for dialogic instruction, and the lesson enacted following this session, which was intended to provide opportunities to 11th and 12th grade algebra students to explore polynomial functions in terms of their roots and linear factors. Our goal was,…

Latin American Marketing Project. Grade 10 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antilla, Madeline; DeMonet, J.

In this lesson, students work as marketing teams hired by a U.S. fast food company to study the feasibility of selling fast food in Latin America. Teams are composed of cultural, production, marketing, and advertising experts. Each marketing team will investigate a product and a Latin American country. Teams will present their research and…

Lesson Development for English Learners in Content Area Settings: Key Considerations. Q&A with Sarah Catherine K. Moore, Ph.D. 2016 Educator Effectiveness Webinar Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Sarah Catherine K.

2016-01-01

In this webinar, Dr. Sarah Catherine K. Moore, Program Director at the Center for Applied Linguistics, outlined factors for content area teachers to consider as they design and deliver lessons for mainstream classrooms that include English learner (EL) students. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Moore following the…

Chromosomes on the move: The educational and neurological advantages of using body movement to teach cellular division

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumwoll, Alma Aron

As education and neuroscience begin to merge, creating the new field of brain-based education, teachers are working to integrate scientific research into the classroom. While working to improve my own teaching, I developed a lesson plan to teach mitosis and meiosis through movement. My thesis reviews education theory and neuroscience to support using movement as a teaching tool in high-level, subject-based classrooms. I then outline my lesson plan and present my investigations of its effectiveness as demonstrated through short-term memory, long-term memory, and students' personal responses to the class. Two experiments were completed with biology lab sections at Northeastern University between 2009 and 2012; I taught my lesson to experimental groups while control groups learned through video-based lessons. The short-term study showed significant improvement in both the grades and enjoyment of the experimental groups. The long-term, retroactive study yielded no significant data, possibly due to weaknesses in the experimental design.

Teacher`s guide: Profile of terror from the New Explorers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

This Teacher`s Guide is designed for use with fourth, fifth or sixth graders and is constructed to accompany the Bill Kurtis episode called, {open_quotes}Profile in Terror.{close_quotes} The main goal of these activities is to teach children about police department activities and jobs. Accordingly, the children are given lessons in logic, observing and inquiry, physical and psychological characteristics, before they see the video. Accompanying the video is a chronology and some questions to answer about the video. After the video, a police officer visits the classroom and demonstrates his equipment. The officer takes the badges that each student has filled outmore » back to the station for lamination. Further description on police careers are contained in lessons on evidence technicians and police detectives. The class field trip is a visit to the police station which includes getting the newly laminated badges and seeing many parts of the station. The culminating activity is a play which is read aloud in the classroom. The students write a conclusion based on information that has been provided. The activities have been created in an attempt to let students understand themselves and the life of a police officer. Because of the age of our target classes, the lessons do not go into depth on the criminal psyche.« less

The Tibet Question. [10th Grade Lesson]. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

La Porte, Mark

In this interdisciplinary curriculum unit, students examine and debate the relationship between China and Tibet. Students are expected to produce a mock television report covering topics related to the Tibet question, such as historical issues, the policies of the U.S., Chinese, and Tibetan governments, and human rights concerns. Students are…

Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Altered States: Encouraging Preparation for Learning in the Classroom for Students with Special Educational Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kudliskis, Voldis

2013-01-01

In seeking to identify the processes associated with the immediate engagement of learning for students with mild special educational needs, this study examined the responses of an extraction group (n = 7) of 11- to 13-year-old students who participated in a number of lessons in which the opening episode involved the use of visualisation techniques…

Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions Across the Inquiry Continuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biggers, Mandy

2018-02-01

Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in this study. A dataset of 120 elementary science classroom videos and associated lesson plans from 40 elementary teachers (K-5) across 21 elementary school campuses were scored on an instrument measuring the amount of teacher-direction or student-direction of the lessons' investigation questions. Results indicated that the investigation questions were overwhelmingly teacher directed in nature, with no opportunities for students to develop their own questions for investigation. This study has implications for researchers and practitioners alike, calling attention to the teacher-directed nature of investigation questions in existing science curriculum materials, and the need for teacher training in instructional strategies to adapt their existing curriculum materials across the continuum of teacher-directed and student-directed investigation questions. Teachers need strategies for adapting the teacher-directed questions provided in their existing curriculum materials in order to allow students the opportunity to engage in this essential scientific practice.

Process of Argumentation in High School Biology Class: A Qualitative Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramli, M.; Rakhmawati, E.; Hendarto, P.; Winarni

2017-02-01

Argumentation skill can be nurtured by designing a lesson in which students are provided with the opportunity to argue. This research aims to analyse argumentation process in biology class. The participants were students of three biology classes from different high schools in Surakarta Indonesia. One of the classroom was taught by a student teacher, and the rest were instructed by the assigned teachers. Through a classroom observation, oral activities were noted, audio-recorded and video-taped. Coding was done based on the existence of claiming-reasoning-evidence (CRE) process by McNeill and Krajcik. Data was analysed qualitatively focusing on the role of teachers to initiate questioning to support argumentation process. The lesson design of three were also analysed. The result shows that pedagogical skill of teachers to support argumentation process, such as skill to ask, answer, and respond to students’ question and statements need to be trained intensively. Most of the argumentation found were only claiming, without reasoning and evidence. Teachers have to change the routine of mostly posing open-ended questions to students, and giving directly a correct answer to students’ questions. Knowledge and skills to encourage student to follow inquiry-based learning have to be acquired by teachers.

Improving 6th Grade Climate Literacy using New Media (CLINM) and Teacher Professional Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, G.; Schmidt, C.; Metzger, E. P.; Cordero, E. C.

2012-12-01

The NASA-funded project, Improving 6th Grade Climate Literacy using New Media (CLINM), is designed to improve the climate literacy of California's 450,000 6th-grade students through teacher professional development that presents climate change as an engaging context for teaching earth science standards. The project fosters experience-based interaction among learners and encourages expressive creativity and idea-exchange via the web and social media. The heart of the CLINM project is the development of an online educator-friendly experience that provides content expert-reviewed, teacher-tested, standards-based educational resources, classroom activities and lessons that make meaningful connections to NASA data and images as well as new media tools (videos, web, and phone applications) based on the Green Ninja, a climate-action superhero who fights global warming by inspiring personal action (www.greenninja.info). In this session, we will discuss this approach to professional development and share a collection of teacher-tested CLINM resources. CLINM resources are grounded in earth system science; classroom activities and lessons engage students in exploration of connections between natural systems and human systems with a particular focus on how climate change relates to everyone's need for food, water, and energy. CLINM uses a team-based approach to resource development, and partners faculty in San José State University's (SJSU) colleges of Science, Education, and Humanities and the Arts with 6th-grade teachers from local school districts, a scientist from NASA Ames Research Center and climate change education projects at Stanford University, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and the University of Idaho. Climate scientists and other content experts identify relevant concepts and work with science educators to develop and/or refine classroom activities to elucidate those concepts; activities are piloted in pre-service science methods courses at SJSU and in teacher professional development workshops offered through the Bay Area Earth Science Institute (BAESI); workshop attendees frame the activities as lessons appropriate for their 6th grade students; participants who use the lessons and resources in their classrooms provide iterative feedback, which is used to improve the resources for other teachers involved in the project.

Motivation and engagement in mathematics: a qualitative framework for teacher-student interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durksen, Tracy L.; Way, Jennifer; Bobis, Janette; Anderson, Judy; Skilling, Karen; Martin, Andrew J.

2017-02-01

We started with a classic research question (How do teachers motivate and engage middle year students in mathematics?) that is solidly underpinned and guided by an integration of two theoretical and multidimensional models. In particular, the current study illustrates how theory is important for guiding qualitative analytical approaches to motivation and engagement in mathematics. With little research on how teachers of mathematics are able to maintain high levels of student motivation and engagement, we focused on developing a qualitative framework that highlights the influence of teacher-student interactions. Participants were six teachers (upper primary and secondary) that taught students with higher-than-average levels of motivation and engagement in mathematics. Data sources included one video-recorded lesson and associated transcripts from pre- and post-lesson interviews with each teacher. Overall, effective classroom organisation stood out as a priority when promoting motivation and engagement in mathematics. Results on classroom organisation revealed four key indicators within teacher-student interactions deemed important for motivation and engagement in mathematics—confidence, climate, contact, and connection. Since much of the effect of teachers on student learning relies on interactions, and given the universal trend of declining mathematical performance during the middle years of schooling, future research and intervention studies might be assisted by our qualitative framework.

Cultural Lessons Learned: When a U.S.-Trained Chinese Professor Meets Home-Grown Chinese Pre/In-Service Teachers in a Hong Kong Teacher Education Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Weili

2018-01-01

What is special about the pedagogical interaction between the mainland Chinese in/pre-service teachers and the author in a Hong Kong classroom? Trained at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a critical curriculum scholar, the author highly endorses and has implemented a student-centered research-based project-learning pedagogy with the…

Using the CLEAN educational resource collection for building three-dimensional lessons to teach the climate system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gold, A. U.; Sullivan, S. M.; Manning, C. L. B.; Ledley, T. S.; Youngman, E.; Taylor, J.; Niepold, F., III; Kirk, K.; Lockwood, J.; Bruckner, M. Z.; Fox, S.

2017-12-01

The impacts of climate change are a critical societal challenge of the 21st century. Educating students about the globally connected climate system is key in supporting the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Systems thinking is required for students to understand the complex, dynamic climate systems and the role that humans play within them. The interdisciplinary nature of climate science challenges educators, who often don't have formal training in climate science, to identify resources that are scientifically accurate before weaving them together into units that teach about the climate system. The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) supports this work by providing over 700 peer-reviewed, classroom-ready resources on climate and energy topics. The resource collection itself provide only limited instructional guidance, so educators need to weave the resources together to build multi-dimensional lessons that develop systems thinking skills. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) science standards encourage educators to teach science in a 3-dimensional approach that trains students in systems thinking. The CLEAN project strives to help educators design NGSS-style, three-dimensional lessons about the climate system. Two approaches are currently being modeled on the CLEAN web portal. The first is described in the CLEAN NGSS "Get Started Guide" which follows a step-by-step process starting with the Disciplinary Core Idea and then interweaves the Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCC) and the Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) based on the teaching strategy chosen for the lesson or unit topic. The second model uses a climate topic as a starting place and the SEP as the guide through a four-step lesson sequence called "Earth Systems Investigations". Both models use CLEAN reviewed lessons as the core activity but provide the necessary framework for classroom implementation. Sample lessons that were developed following these two approaches are provided on the CLEAN web portal (cleanet.org).

Implementing Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom: Four Teachers' Accounts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kovalik, Cindy; Kuo, Chia-Ling; Cummins, Megan; Dipzinski, Erin; Joseph, Paula; Laskey, Stephanie

2014-01-01

In this paper, four teachers shared their experiences using the following free Web 2.0 tools with their students: Jing, Wix, Google Sites, and Blogger. The teachers found that students reacted positively to lessons in which these tools were used, and also noted improvements they could make when using them in the future.

The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook: Lessons Learned and Best Practices From Classrooms, Districts, and Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lick, Dale W.; Murphy, Carlene U.

2006-01-01

The Whole-Faculty Study Group (WFSG) System is a student-centered, teacher-driven process for facilitating major staff development and schoolwide change. When applied properly, it has produced extraordinary results for thousands of educators and students in schools and school districts across the country. The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook…

Engaging Students in the Writing Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oster, John E.

One of the most disconcerting findings of researchers who have looked at the way writers write is that their processes bear little resemblance to what is expected of students in the classroom. Some aspects of the lesson that do not correspond to our current understanding of the composing process are (1) providing no time for the conception and…

Saving Energy and Money: A Lesson in Computer Power Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazaros, Edward J.; Hua, David

2012-01-01

In this activity, students will develop an understanding of the economic impact of technology by estimating the cost savings of power management strategies in the classroom. Students will learn how to adjust computer display settings to influence the impact that the computer has on the financial burden to the school. They will use mathematics to…