This article makes a case for SoTL practitioners to engage in what we term a pedagogy of slow. Here, "slow" connotes with waiting and patience. It takes time to learn and acquire the skills that a SoTL scholar needs. "Doing SoTL" we therefore argue, requires a pedagogy that takes time and sees time as an ally instead of as an…

It is 1932 and this is not a bad dream: A massacre. 32,000 Indigenous peoples massacred in the name of economic development followed by decades of shedding unsalted tears. This historical incision may not be the ideal lesson to include in a teaching plan for students whose education depend exclusively in the imbalance of an Excel sheet where As…

Using the simplest possible quantum system--the qubit--the fundamental concepts of quantum physics can be introduced. This highlights the common features of many different physical systems, and provides a unifying framework when teaching quantum physics at the high school or introductory level. In a previous "TPT" article and in a…

In order for students to move from using concrete materials to using mental strategies and from additive to multiplicative thinking, the use of arrays and visualisation is pivotal. This article describes a lesson in which students are taken through a Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) approach that involves noticing structure, using…

The complexity of professional practice requires that educators on all levels "re-think current methods and strategies (rubrics and checklists) that impede the notion of teaching as complex and nuanced" (Klein, 2008, p. 119). Current practices of reflection within teacher education continue to privilege quantitative methods for…

In this article, we promote the use of controversial images to enhance the discussion of social justice issues in schools. Controversial images provide rich opportunities for students to question what is occurring currently in society as well as what has occurred in the past. We provide an example set of activities to be used in teacher education…

It is often difficult for students to develop an intuition about molecular processes, which occur in a realm far different from day-to-day life. For example, thermal fluctuations take on hurricane-like proportions at the molecular scale. Students need a way to visualize realistic depictions of molecular processes to appreciate them. To this end,…

This paper presents a new theoretical model of creative imagination and its applications in early education. The model sees creative imagination as composed of three inter-related components: vividness of images, their originality, and the level of transformation of imageries. We explore the theoretical and practical consequences of this new…

This article describes a visual approach to integrating observational data into self-evaluation and peer review of teaching, practices that can lead to adoption of evidence-based active-learning strategies in STEM. This approach was designed to be implemented for undergraduate courses across disciplines. The presentation of observational data in a…

It is surprising to students to learn that a natural combination of simple functions, the function sin(1/x), exhibits behaviour that is a great challenge to visualize. When x is large the function is relatively easy to draw; as x gets smaller the function begins to behave in an increasingly wild manner. The sin(1/x) function can serve as one of…

Why is chemistry so difficult? A seminal paper by Johnstone (1982) offered an explanation for why science in general, and chemistry in particular, is so difficult to learn. He proposed that an expert in chemistry thinks at three levels; the macro (referred to as the observational level in this article), the sub-micro (referred to as the molecular…

Susan M. Fulgham and Michael F. Shaughnessy, Contributing Editors for this journal, present their interview with Marcia C. Linn, Professor of Development and Cognition, specializing in education in mathematics, science, and technology, in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Linn is currently investigating…

Learning to use visualisation techniques in the classroom enables pupils and teachers to gain new insights into how concepts are formed and how to strengthen them, but visualisation is sometimes not what it seems. Learning by constructing meaning is a long-standing principle underpinning much of today's school science. In "Primary Science…

The author discusses four specific strategies for enhancing and supporting the spatial aspects of the science, mathematics, and social studies curricula. However, these four strategies are examples of what can be done, not an exhaustive list. The overarching concept is to embrace the spatial visualizations used for discovery and communication in…

Professors who teach the introductory accounting course should ask themselves: "What are the core concepts that I wish to have my non-majors remember if I meet them at their ten-year alumni class reunion?" There is a fundamental logic to financial accounting. This teaching note presents foundational accounting concepts in a manner that…