When the "for teachers" courses were first introduced at San Diego State University (SDSU) by Frank Stites in U.S. history and Ross Dunn in world history in the 1980s, they represented pioneering efforts to augment the History faculty's commitment to training K-12 teachers. From the start, the courses challenged students to move beyond…

In the recent past, during the 36 hours of required coursework necessary to become a certified teacher in the state of New York, not a single course deviated from the same model of teacher centered lectures and a long list of "to dos" that would presumably enable pre-service students to face 30 odd children in their own classrooms with…

The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…

Teaching the ability to find, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information is an important part of creating an environment in which ESL students feel empowered in the information age. However, a preliminary search of professional literature shows that there is a lack of research in information-literacy programs for ESL learners in higher…

In recent years, learning management systems (LMS) have become very popular in almost all traditional universities, generating a new learning strategy approach, mixing elements from both traditional and online learning: the blended learning or b-learning. How these new environments influence teaching activities and learning processes are the main…

Creating effective mathematics lessons can be a challenge for any teacher. One approach to design an effective lesson is using a before-during-after (BDA) format. This article describes what a BDA format is and provides two examples of how it is implemented in high school mathematics classes. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

The assessment of student writing is an essential task for writing teachers, and yet many graduate programs do not require students to take a course in assessment or evaluation, and courses on teaching writing often devote only a limited amount of time to the discussion of assessment. Furthermore, teachers frequently need to prepare their students…

Abstinence-based sexuality education includes a discussion about the various types of contraception available today. This lesson addresses the knowledge and skills identified in the National Health Education Standards, and can be used with two different audiences-students and teachers. Included in the lesson are step-by-step procedures, a…

Relationship abuse is among the most challenging topics sexuality educators have to address in their classrooms. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, it is important to allow time for content (which is to be provided in a subsequent session) as well as an exploration of one's own values and beliefs. This full-session activity is designed to…

Teachers should organize their instructional programs on objectives that relate to student and teacher understandings, attitudes, and appreciation rather than on objectives that emphasize performance or competencies. Studies to identify differences in schools achieving lower than expected results on state tests of basic skills indicate three…

Survey Says is a lesson plan designed to teach college students how to access Internet resources for valid data related to the sexual health of young people. Discussion questions based on the most recent available data from two national surveys, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 2003 (CDC, 2004) and the National Survey of…

Discusses the use of suggestopedia and accelerated learning (AL) techniques in a 10-week French-as-a-Second-Language course for 13 adult learners. Course organization, lesson plans, and results, focusing on the effectiveness of AL techniques in short-term courses, are examined. (two references) (MDM)

This bulletin is for those who sincerely want to understand the nature of a modern elementary school program. It presents a point of view, offers many illustrations of what happens in a classroom in the course of a school day, and interprets what children do, say, and learn as they work together with their teacher. Education should consist of…