How can educators engage students in learning, thinking, and inquiring? One consideration is teaching with a set of two contradictory texts--texts that have some contradiction between them. The authors find that when students read these books in tandem, they show an innate response of actively wanting to learn, think, and inquire in powerful ways.…

Joseph Campbell, a literature professor from Sarah Lawrence College, first recognized that the ancient story, the "Epic of Gilgamesh," followed a pattern of recounting the adventures of an archetypical hero that most stories and myths from all cultures across recorded history have followed. He called these similar patterns the monomyth…

Based on semi-structured interviews with Tibetan teachers in Qinghai Province in Northwest China, this article explores how the teachers, who hold subject positions as pedagogical professionals and local intellectual elites, understand the value and implications of education for Tibetan people, and how they navigate their profession in the local…

Encouraging students to 'believe that they can achieve' is a central element to teaching. The belief that it is one's efforts and techniques, rather than one's innate abilities which lead to success has a positive impact on learning behaviours. As such, Yvonne Skipper strives to promote this malleable view of intelligence (or growth mindset) in…

Having intense or "special" interests and a tendency to focus in depth to the exclusion of other inputs, is associated with autistic cognition, sometimes framed as "monotropism". Despite some drawbacks and negative associations with unwanted repetition, this disposition is linked to a range of educational and longer-term…

This qualitative study explored the affordances provided by the integration of the NAO humanoid robot in three preschool classrooms. Using the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework as a lens, the researchers qualitatively analyzed data from focus groups, observations, field notes and student artifacts, using grounded coding to uncover…

In a 2010 survey, superintendents in Massachusetts identified proficiency in math as an essential element of college and career readiness for contemporary students (Rennie Center, 2010). U.S. students fail math more often than any other subject, and as a result many students dropout of school, especially low-income and minority students (Schmoker,…

In response to the global imperative of nurturing all-round students, educational institutions and schools worldwide have been developing learning activities targeting holistic competency development of students. However, there have been resistance and challenges on how to develop such competencies. Extending the Presage-Process-Product (3P)…

Exploring classroom teaching reform centered on student development is a fundamental requirement for deepening education and teaching reform in undergraduate education worldwide. Shanxi Normal University places the reform of classroom teaching reform at the center of their efforts to raise the quality of undergraduate education. The implementation…

This paper describes the practice of students enrolled in an undergraduate Global Leadership course taking a Cultural Intelligence (CQ) assessment. The results of the assessment provided insight into the students' development across various dimensions of CQ, as well as their scores relative to their peers and global averages. This information was…

This study aims at identifying the reality of stimulating educational environment for creativity at the Najran University (NU), and the importance of the availability of certain influencing factors, which in turn contribute to the provision of innovative and creative projects. Reviewing the literature and related studies, the importance of the…

Recent efforts to define qualities of effective teaching practice have done little to capture the role of play, imagination, and creativity in classroom teaching. Drawing on theories of play and data from a two-year case study that included classroom observations, interviews, artifact collection, and surveys, the author examines the ways in which…

Being an educator is not a job. It is a calling. Educators cannot teach children if they cannot reach children. In this reflection, the author, a RAP trainer, describes the transformation that occurs as youth professionals discover the power of connecting with challenging students. (Contains 1 photo.)

In 1995 when "New Directions" issue No. 63, "Understanding Self-Regulated Learning," was published, the issue editor, Paul Pintrich, was one of the leaders in studying how college students learn and what helps or hinders them during the process. His contributions to the field have been tremendous and very significant both theoretically and…

Introducing creativity to the classroom is a concern for teachers, governments and future employers around the world, and there has been a drive to make experiences at school more exciting, relevant, challenging and dynamic for all young people, ensuring they leave education able to contribute to the global creative economy. "Creative…