A variety of excellent method books aim to help student musicians develop skills in music reading and instrumental technique, but sometimes the best approach is not simply to move ahead line by line through the book. Rather, teachers will find it beneficial to consider apposite strategies to be used before, during, and after rehearsing a line so…

"What's Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them" examines the status of public education in North America and exposes many of the absurd instructional practices found in all-too-many schools. Written by three experienced educators, this book provides readers with a direct window into public education. The language is straightforward, the…

Over the last eight years, the primary focus in schools has been on passing standardized tests based on a core curriculum. The emphasis on learning content is in direct contrast to the world outside the school walls where the technological capability to provide access to content, i.e., information at lightning speed, already exists. In fact,…

Clickers are also referred to as classroom response systems. They are small-handheld electronic devices that resemble a television remote control, used by students to respond to questions posed by instructors. Typically, questions are provided to students using electronic on-screen presentations. Results of students' responses can be immediately…

Many college science educators have moved away from the traditional lecture format and toward learner-centered classroom environments. Yet many of us struggle to cover large content loads, reverting at times to rote memorization. This paper suggests rote memorization simply does not work and students must be actively engaged to learn. (Contains 1…

Value added measures (VAM) uses changes in student test scores to determine how much "value" an individual teacher has "added" to student growth during the school year. Some policymakers, school districts, and educational advocates have applauded VAM as a straightforward measure of teacher effectiveness: the better a teacher,…

Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether a student has a true understanding of a physics concept or whether they are very good at rote learning key words and phrases. Sometimes, when you are marking exams, you feel you have to give the student full marks because everything is there, even though it is not quite "right". This is where a diagram…

Despite recent investments in and rapid modernization of university campuses in places like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, higher education in the Middle East still faces many obstacles. One of the greatest has been a fundamental disconnect between education and employment, a possible factor contributing to many of the recent riots in the Arab World. In…

This conceptual research framework addresses the problem of rote learning by characterising key aspects of the dominating imitative reasoning and the lack of creative mathematical reasoning found in empirical data. By relating reasoning to thinking processes, student competencies, and the learning milieu it explains origins and consequences of…

Social Studies course aims not only the socialization of children but also providing them with some vital skills. And it is obvious that such aim can not be achieved only via the transfer of information and values. Taking as basis the USA practice, Social Studies course was started to be taught in primary schools of Turkey in place of history and…

The Center for Global Education at Marymount University offered unparalleled academic, experiential, and cultural exposure to 17 Marymount University graduate students and two professors who participated in a service-learning project in Porbandar, India, on January 1-18, 2010. The program focused on teaching PreK-7 grades through an integrated…

The Pahlavi Dynasty (1941-1979) was crucial in the modernization of Iranian history, particularly its higher education. However, the goal of education was "an aristocracy of culture", producing small numbers of technocrats, but not nurturing thoughtful and critical individuals. Rote learning was dominant, and the curriculum was imposed…

The traditional presumption in higher education that subject-matter knowledge is sufficient for effective teaching is breaking down. One cause of this change is the growing knowledge about how people learn, a consequence of which is a heightened focus on student-centered teaching practices. Another is the increasing diversity of students seeking…

High school teacher Megan Behrent reflects on the impact of Obama's election on the students in her high school classroom. Obliged to temper her students' joyful exuberance on the morning of November 5, 2008, Behrent found that the election fervor highlighted for her the ways that schooling under NCLB has constrained both educators and students,…

In this article, the author presents an innovative approach to teaching multiplication facts for children in middle school or younger. After introducing the dangers of some contradictions that persist, relating a brief summary of related research and guidelines regarding math facts and their relation to strategic approaches to more complex math,…