You can acquire knowledge, understanding, and habits of mind by studying James Joyce that are invaluable in a variety of ways and that many employers would like to see in their employees. What multinational organization, for instance, does not want professionals who, blending accepted wisdom with forward thinking, can critically assess business…

Montessori's writing, and particularly her underlying principles, requires study and discussion. It is hard work to understand the depth of carefully sequenced lessons and experiences that she designed to create a genuine experience for the child. This work avoids simple answers. It evades black-and-white opinions. It frowns on bullet points.…

The authors begin this article noting that they believe gathering data on student behaviors, traits, and characteristics is essential for understanding how students affect instructional communication processes. They write here that what is equally essential, however, is exploring how student developmental processes (i.e., the ways in which…

Given how China has been the top source of international students worldwide, there has been growing media and research interest in Chinese international students. However, much of the narratives tend to focus on their struggles. In this commentary, I draw upon insights from my personal experience as an international student and, consequently,…

In this wide-ranging interview, Krista Tippett, a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and the New York Times bestselling author of "Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living" (Penguin Press, 2016) shares her perspective on wisdom, the reemergence of hope, and the need to talk about values.

This commentary serves as an introduction to multiple scholarly fields about the value of digital media for providing contexts for and provoking learning. The author proposes that rather than considering a dichotomy between reading physical books and reading digital media, as encouraged by Cavanaugh et al. (2015), instead consider a scale of sorts…

Although scientific research has clearly shown that preschool programs prepare children for kindergarten, increasing attention has been drawn to whether these early investments in children's education have long-term impacts. Here, we argue that long-term impacts of preschool cannot be viewed in isolation from children's subsequent experiences and,…

Brian Tomlinson is a Visiting Professor at The University of Liverpool and a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Professor at Anaheim University. He has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, university academic and soccer coach in Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Vanuatu, UK and Zambia and has…

How learning relates to development in children of school age is the most central and fundamental question. Without an answer to this, problems of pedagogical psychology and analysis of the pedagogical process can neither be properly resolved nor even stated. Nevertheless, this question remains the most obscure and unexplained of all the basic…

The practicum is an important part of teacher education and has been widely studied from a variety of perspectives, including teacher candidates, associate or cooperating teachers, and supervisors. In this issue of "Studying Teacher Education," each author has written a self-study describing a personal journey of coming to understand…

This article explores how TCTELA's 2024 Teachers of the Year forged the future through their literacy teaching at the elementary, middle school, high school, and college levels. Each essay captures how they understand their work as literacy educators and intentionally educate their students toward a brighter future amid trying local contexts. The…

Mitja Sardoc's interview with John White discusses a neglected aspect of the educational goal of equipping learners to lead a life of autonomous well-being--trying to ensure that they have adequate options from which to choose worthwhile activities and relationships. Following a brief account of the nature of autonomous well-being, White outlines…

Liberal education has been, since the creation of the republic, America's "signature" higher learning curriculum. There have been three enduring purposes for a liberal education: (1) developing the powers of the mind; (2) cultivating an examined sense of responsibility to self and others; and (3) acquiring empowering knowledge--the kind…

Ten years ago, in "Kappan," the author published a detailed account of the old-fashioned and unengaging instruction used at his son Max's Chicago elementary school. Now he updates readers with a reflection on Max's high school years, describing a curriculum and teaching practices that desperately need an overhaul. Thanks to its…

The author, chairman of the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, examines how the proportion of students who participate in schooling as a real--as opposed to a virtual--undertaking has shrunk through the growth of online courses. This situation could be a tragedy or it could be acceptable. At the moment,…