Choosing texts for the high school classroom is a delicate undertaking. If students are to transact authentically with a text, they must believe that the effort is worthwhile. This belief is especially true when it comes to "difficult texts"-- that is, texts that, according to James S. Chisholm and Kathryn F. Whitmore, challenge students…

Z402 Youth Theatre Tour was designed from a critical performative pedagogical positioning (Weltsek, 2019). Here learning emerges from how individuals and communities perform their emergent identities as they cross literal and metaphorical socio-cultural borders. Z402 resulted in a 100% student created new play, parallel workshop, and study guide.…

Evolution has been recognized as a key concept for biologists. To enhance comprehension and motivate biology undergraduates for the contents of central energetic metabolism, we addressed the Krebs cycle structure and functions in an evolutionary view. To this end, we created a study guide that contextualizes the emergence of the cyclic pathway, in…

"The Final Journey: How Judaism Dignifies the Passage" is a trailblazing curriculum developed to teach Jewish death rituals to high school seniors. For the students, it served as a transformative experience. They emerged more reflective, more spiritual, and with a greater sense of the importance of community involvement. The article…

Students perform poorly on assessments primarily because they don't see the relevance of the content they are expected to master, they think they know the material but really don't, or teachers don't recognize that students aren't learning. Now there's a way you can overcome all of those challenges by using the improved formative assessment system…

As general education classrooms become more diverse, teachers continue to explore ways to support students' learning. Study guides support students in learning their material, focus their attention on important topics, and help them review for quizzes or tests. This article provides successful classroom-tested ideas for developing and using study…

After years of applying more pressure on schools to raise achievement levels for all students, particularly those who underperform their mainstream peers, the achievement gap today remains virtually unchanged. But the reality is that there's proof that, under the right conditions, all students can achieve at high levels. Instead of "quick-fix…

Inspired by his ability to teach algebra to low-income and mostly African American and Latino urban students--and have them outscore the state averages for high-income and Caucasian students on standardized tests--Kadhir "Raja" Rajagopal, the 2011 California Teacher of the Year, provides you with a model for teaching that unleashes the…

Describes the development and use of a study guide in a general psychology class. Especially valuable were definitions that eliminated the need for classroom dictation. (CS)

This book makes it much easier to implement a staff development, teacher education, or self-help program to improve the six research-based teacher qualities that are most apt to raise student achievement. Use the dozens of assessments, observation guides, planning tools, and other resources to: (1) Strengthen teachers' verbal abilities, content…

WebQuests are gaining popularity as teachers explore using the Internet for guided learning activities. A WebQuest involves students working on a task that is broken down into clearly defined steps. Students often work in groups to actively conduct the research. This article suggests a variety of methods for adapting WebQuests for students with…

A trend is emerging to open enrollment for honors and AP classes to all students who wish to take them. Teachers of these open enrollment classes may be facing several dilemmas. How can the high standards and academic rigor of the course be maintained? How can students who struggle to learn be supported in their endeavors to keep up with the…

The Activating Learning in the Classroom (ALC) program at Middlesex Community College (MCC) is a year-long instructional and professional development program in which eight professors representing each college division volunteer to re-develop a course that they plan to teach within a year to promote active learning. The program begins at the close…

Learning styles vary among individuals, and understanding which instructional tools certain learning styles prefer can be utilized to enhance student learning. Students in the introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition course (FSHN 101), taught at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were asked to complete Gregorc's Learning Style…

To help meet the needs of adult students who find it difficult to attend classes regularly on campus, New York's Iona College developed video distance learning courses in psychology that combine independent reading, guided study, video program viewing, and faculty mentoring to provide a challenging learning experience for students. Video courses…