Research studies show that all students--young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural--benefit immensely from classrooms filled with art, creativity, and laughter. Fun, playfulness, creative thinking, and individual expression reinforce positive experiences, which in turn lead to more engaged students, better classroom environments, and…

This book provides the most up-to-date research on identity safe practices and how to ensure that they occur both at home and at school. Today's schools serve students and families with a diversity of identities. While diversity enriches the school community, educators are becoming increasingly aware of the vast number of students subjected to…

This report analyzes recent learning sciences research and provides nine recommendations to address a critical need: how can education policy support and align with the science of learning and development? Research on how students learn and develop is providing teachers, practitioners, and policymakers with insights on how to help students learn…

Teachers play a significant role in their students' lives. To support this important work, "A Teacher's Guide to Excellence in Every Classroom" details how K-12 educators can use the Hierarchy of Instructional Excellence and the Student Excellence Support System to maximize their impact and increase student success. Discover how to build…

This article explores the influence of chronotopes on pre-service teachers' professional becoming in a school-university partnership model. It draws upon dialogue from professional conversations which included multiple stakeholders in the partnership. The results illustrate the complex process of becoming for pre-service teachers as they navigate…

How do we ensure that all students are engaged each day in meaningful, challenging, and joyful work and have equal opportunity to learn? That is the central question Regie Routman addresses in "Literacy Essentials: Engagement, Excellence, and Equity for All Learners." Her response is that such an outcome is only possible within a culture…

"The Practice Base for How We Learn: Supporting Students' Social, Emotional, and Academic Development" outlines promising practices that show how students, teachers, parents, and administrators can integrate social, emotional, and academic learning in preK-12 education. The report, which represents the vision of the 34-member Council of…

According to Johnson and Johnson, group work helps increase student retention and satisfaction, develops strong oral communication and social skills, as well as higher self-esteem (University of Minnesota, n.d.). Group work, when planned and implemented deliberately and thoughtfully helps students develop cognitive and leadership skills as well as…

The teacher's guide presents a set of eight lessons designed to help students develop the skills necessary for making responsible and effective decisions. The lessons focus on: (1) the need to make many decisions daily; (2) alternatives to decisions; (3) decisions based on values; (4) the future consequences of decisions; (5) decisions that are…

Discussion of the use of creative dramatics with gifted students considers the value of creative dramatics; components of creative dramatics (structure, open-endedness, a safe environment, and feedback); the actor's elements (voice, body, character or imagination, and group work). Specific exercises to develop the actor's elements are described.…

Minnesota plays an integral role in the worldwide increase in the exchange of goods, services, and ideas. It is imperative that the state's citizens be able to relate to an increasingly interrelated world and to gain the skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed to participate intelligently in such exchanges. Educating to these ends is essential.…

Teachers may unconsciously convey stereotypic notions or behave in discriminating ways. Teachers have been observed to pay more attention to male students and to praise female students more for nonacademic performance. A quiz to help teachers assess their sex bias is included. (DF)

Curiosity can be developed and nurtured through application of such educational principles as the rewarding of questioning, the use of open questions, delaying answers, accepting incompleteness in existing knowledge, etc. Teaching techniques for stimulating curiosity include brain questioning, role playing, hypothesizing, and pursuing curiosity.…

Discusses "Object LOGO," a symbolic computer programing language for use in the creative arts. Describes the use of the program in approaching arts projects from textual, graphic, and musical perspectives. Suggests that use of the program can promote development of creative skills and humanities learning in general. (SG)

The paper discusses problems with traditional definitions of dyslexia and reviews research that suggests a more comprehensive definition, viewing dyslexia as a developmental language disorder that involves a deficit in phonological processing. The disorder is seen as manifesting itself in various phonological difficulties as well as in a specific…