Engaging students in meaningful applications of their knowledge is a key aspect of both addressing the standards and providing greater access. Not only do the standards emphasize the importance of meaningful engagement in real-world tasks, but evidence shows that engagement is strongly related to student performance on assessment tasks, especially…

This article describes a teacher-research project in which a class of fifth-grade English language learners demonstrated that learning about photography and using it as inspiration for their creative writing authenticated their writing task, helped them bring their outside-school worlds inside school, increased their enthusiasm for writing, and…

Designing an assessment system for complex thinking in mathematics involves decisions at every stage, from how to represent the target competencies to how to interpret evidence from student performances. Beyond learning to solve particular problems in a particular area, learning mathematics with understanding involves comprehending connections…

One of the greatest concerns in schools today is how teachers can bring together assessment and learning in a way that is meaningful for students' thinking skills, while focusing on content standards. Better understanding of how different types of technology based thinking tools can be used for improving classroom teaching and learning,…

Tzur and Simon (2004) postulated two stages of concept development, participatory and anticipatory. The distinction between the two stages was exemplified by what they termed "the next-day phenomenon" in which learners who could solve a task one day in the context of the activity through which they made the abstraction, could not solve…

Many recent models of learning and instruction center learning on real-world tasks and problems to support knowledge application and transfer. Among these models are problem-based learning and task-centered learning, two different approaches to learning that are often mistaken for one another. However, there are important distinctions between…

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), many teachers are changing their classroom structure from teacher-directed to student-centered. When the author began designing and using problem-based tasks she saw a drastic improvement in student engagement and problem-solving skills. The author describes the Cake…

One possible hurdle to implementing the Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach is uncertainty about how to turn target tasks into materials that can be used in the classroom. This article discusses the steps taken to create materials for one target task (communicating with a police officer during a traffic stop) in a manner that provides a…

This article discusses a three-course sequence which has been designed to aid students' attainment of Advanced Low proficiency according to ACTFL guidelines. A cycle of iterative tasks (with increasing learner autonomy) within and between the courses in the sequence are highlighted and their implementation discussed. Additionally,…

We describe and use an analytical framework to document mathematics discourse in instruction (MDI), and interpret differences in mathematics teaching. MDI is characterised by four interacting components in the teaching of a mathematics lesson: exemplification (occurring through a sequence of examples and related tasks), explanatory talk (talk that…

Currently, there is a shift in language learning from the "acquisition" metaphor to the "participation" metaphor. This involves viewing learners as active constructors of knowledge who can collaborate together to create meaningful language learning situations and contextualised practices. Thus, this worksheet aims at exploring…

In this work we introduce the system for adaptive practice of foundations of mathematics. Adaptivity of the system is primarily provided by selection of suitable tasks, which uses information from a domain model and a student model. The domain model does not use prerequisites but works with splitting skills to more concrete sub-skills. The student…

Students used a compass trail to show how they could perform service to their school. When students performed service learning, they completed a real task that was needed for a grateful audience conjoined with academic content in the lesson. Students worked on the school grounds and used content from their regular curriculum while looking for…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of engineering and the engineering design process, and describe the steps they took to develop a fifth grade-level, standards-based engineering design task titled "Getting the Dirt on Decomposition." Their main goal was to focus more on modeling the discrete steps they took to create and…

In twenty-first-century language teaching, the class should be student-centered and provide learners with skills that empower them in real-life situations. In this regard, it is commonly said that practice makes perfect. It therefore makes sense for teachers to ask themselves how much their listening activities demand from students and to evaluate…