Primary sources, as defined by the Library of Congress, are the "raw materials of history--original documents and objects which were created at the time under study" (Library of Congress, 2014, p. 1). Primary sources differ from secondary sources, which interpret events without the benefit of firsthand experience. While often employed in…

The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST, 2010) defines Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as "a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single,…

This article offers a rationale for the contributions of qualitative research to evidence-based practice in special education. In it, I make the argument that qualitative research encompasses the ability to study significant problems of practice, engage with practitioners in the conduct of research studies, learn and change processes during a…

The "Amazing Race" activity utilizes experiential learning by encouraging students to venture outside the classroom to collect and cite sources for an upcoming assignment. In the popular TV show, "Amazing Race," teams compete to complete tasks that take them around the world. Similarly, in this classroom activity, groups…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a new interactive online program titled Healthy Eating on a Budget. It is an addition to the popular ChooseMyPlate.gov programs, such as the SuperTracker program. The Healthy Eating on a Budget program helps consumers plan, purchase, and prepare healthful meals. This article discusses materials and…

Existing pedagogical approaches to research source use commonly frame sources as materials to be incorporated "into" texts. The worknets project presented in this article provides an alternative concerned with slowly tracing associations "along" semantic, bibliographic, affinity-based, and choric aspects of the research source…

Most education reporters from time to time will tread into the world of education research, whether to gauge charter school achievement, the impact of teacher quality, or the effects of a reading program, among myriad possibilities. But making sense of the research, with its often-impenetrable prose, dizzying figures, and mathematical formulas,…

As internet access and use increase exponentially, pedagogical practice becomes increasingly embedded in online platforms. We report on an online initiative of engaged student learning, the peer-led, staff-assisted e-helpdesk for research methods and statistics, which we evaluated and redeveloped using the lens and guiding principles of the…

Over the past 50 years, the United States has experienced the disappearance of moderate politics replaced by a more divisive political ideology. As the country has become more polarized, universities, schools of social work, and professors have increasingly leaned left. In this era of extreme political polarization, social work educators have a…

Pre-service teacher education on LGBTI rights and inclusion is impacted by multiple conflicting education governance provisions carrying different risks and duties for teachers. Pre-service teacher education has an international reach -- catering to both international pre-service teachers and domestic pre-service teachers destined for careers and…

At this moment in history when so many of teachers feel constantly pressed for time and deluged with information, they need to rethink why they address, or do not address, current events in K-8 classrooms. Children are persistently interacting with images on screens of all sizes and shapes. Teachers need to consider how they can best use their…

The Cowen Institute has a deep commitment to helping students in New Orleans access financial aid for college. They have previously monitored Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates in New Orleans and Atlanta, provided resources to help FAFSA completion, and currently convene collaboratives of college counselors and youth…

This teaching note describes the design and implementation of an activity in a 90-minute teaching session that was developed to introduce a diverse cohort of first-year criminology and sociology students to the use of documents as sources of data. This approach was contextualized in real-world research through scaffolded, student-centered tasks…

The way that information users select information and news sources is impacted upon by the way that information providers package their material. This packaging has the potential to reinforce already-held beliefs and diminish social diversity. A group of scholars convened at iConference 2016 in a session for interactive engagement to discuss how…

Crystallographic information provides the fundamental basis for understanding the properties and behavior of materials. This data, such as chemical composition, unit cell dimensions, space group, and atomic positions, derives from the primary literature--that is, from published experimental measurement or theoretical calculation. Although the…