The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it aimed to determine whether the application of backward design model has any significant effect on improving the writing ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Second, the study sought to evaluate the superiority of backward design to conventional forward models in the improvement of the…

A quarter of a century has passed since lawmakers enacted the New Jersey Holocaust education mandate, and it seems responsible and timely to ask if it, the original Holocaust education mandate, actually encouraged substantive learning about the Holocaust. Despite repeated fanfare about the mandate and its inclusion in educational curricula…

Over the past several decades, music education scholars have put forth a variety of convincing rationales for world music education. Yet the gap between theory and practice in this area persists. In theoretical ways, practicing music educators acknowledge the value of world music learning experiences, but many remain reluctant to fully embrace and…

This article reports on an analysis undertaken in the field of African philosophies using selected conceptual tools from Maton's Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). In response to calls by South African students for 'decolonising' the Humanities curriculum, the practical purpose of the analysis was to generate theoretically-informed guidelines for…

This article outlines the 'Big Ideas' approach to curriculum reform, as applied in the 'Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education' project. A critical analysis follows of the outcomes of the University of Exeter's 'Identifying Principles and Big Ideas for Religious Education' project, which sought to apply the same approach to Religious…

With lots of examples and color images, this resource is both a foundational text and a practical guidebook for bringing contemporary art into elementary and middle school classrooms as a way to make learning joyful and meaningful for all learners. Marshall shows how asking questions and posing problems spark curiosity and encourage learners to…

This dissertation examined possible factors that preservice teachers encounter during initial teacher preparation programs that may impact their attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom, their efficacy regarding teaching students with disabilities and their epistemological development. This…

This research focuses on the ways in which preservice teachers evolve in their beliefs and understandings of literature while they are enrolled in a semester-long course, TLS 480, Children's Literature in the Classroom. I was the instructor of the course and served as a teacher researcher using qualitative research and Louise Rosenblatt's…

Exploring ways to develop a transformative curriculum vision for mathematics education that is inclusive to opposing perspectives and ideologies, this mindful inquiry explores "mindless" views embedded in the mathematics curriculum of Nepal; explores narrowly conceived disempowering assumptions within it; engages in dialectical…

Recently there has been a renewed interest in the development and use of pedagogical games, as they provide an interesting approach to the appropriation of knowledge in the context of active learning. However, most didactic games fail to completely implement a cycle of reflection and action, thereby fostering mostly lower-order thinking skills and…

This commentary is a response to Larsen and Harrington's article titled "Developing a Learning Progression for Place" (2018). Within the author focuses on the development of learning progressions in geography and future research directions. [For "Developing a Learning Progression for Place" by Thomas B. Larsen and John A.…

The purpose of this short article is to offer a critical perspective on Larsen and Harrington's ambitious and stimulating review article. It does so by drawing a distinction between teaching and learning and discussing how progression metaphors for describing the latter can distort the moral purpose of the former. My response to the provocation…

Teachers' knowledge of STEM education, their understanding, and pedagogical application of that knowledge is intrinsically linked to the subsequent effectiveness of STEM delivery within their own practice; where a teacher's knowledge and understanding is deficient, the potential for pupil learning is ineffective and limited. Set within the context…

Students need real-world experience. Industry needs graduating students entering the workforce to be skilled in relevant subject matter, critical thinking, and communication skills. Community-based nonprofit organizations, as well as small businesses, need help in building organizational capacity. Instructors also benefit from periodic observation…

Drawing on qualitative case study research in four small schools, this paper explores the relationship between the professional contexts of schools--specifically supports for: (1) collaboration focused on improving instruction; (2) professional development and teacher learning opportunities; and (3) the degree to which teachers have authority and…