This essay argues for a particular form of student blogging as a powerful tool for generating and sustaining student engagement and conversation. After a brief discussion of pedagogical principles, "hub-and-spoke" blogging is presented as a means to facilitate a more student and discussion-centered classroom. Based upon recent research and the…

In this article, I critique a component of the highly structured Open Court Reading curriculum designed to teach elementary children "inquiry and higher-order thinking" skills. The intended outcome of this component is, I argue, the production of critically literate and informed consumers of information. However, both the critical…

While all comparisons are difficult, a consideration of the English national curriculum may offer some insights about the Australian version. In this paper, I suggest that there are some important similarities between the two approaches. I query the stated purposes of the Australian national curriculum and its adoption of a notion of equity which…