This article takes a look at tech guru Will Richardson's new book, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms." Whether it's blogs or wikis or RSS, all roads now point to a Web where little is done in isolation. The biggest, most sweeping change in the people's relationship with the Internet may not be as much the ability…

"Informal Forum," grounded in constructivism has been developed to foster active learning and deep understanding. Learning is an interdependent process, and is most effective when students construct their own meaning of knowledge. If one believes in the value of constructivist learning, it is important to teach how we preach in higher education.…

How should a teacher respond when a student makes off-base guesses about meaning in a literary text because that learner is trying to genuinely understand the story rather than find the "right" meaning? Aukerman argues that when teachers jump in to correct students' interpretations, they short-circuit students' processes of reading and thinking.…

A particularly innovative use of laptops is to enhance the music appreciation experience. Group listening and discussion, in combination with a new Web-based application, lead to deeper understanding of classical music. ["Appreciating Music: An Active Approach" was written with Joshua Austin.]

Research on minimal groups demonstrates that arbitrarily creating 2 groups leads to the development of in-group favoritism. Experiments using the minimal groups paradigm show students how easily in-group biases can be created simply by categorizing others. This article describes an in-class activity that demonstrates the power of categorization.…

Assessment for learning, as opposed to assessment of learning, requires educators to make a major shift--from quality control in learning to quality assurance, from assessing at the end of teaching to assessing while learning is still taking place. Five nonnegotiable strategies define the territory of assessment for learning: clarifying and…

Teachers at two urban elementary schools with a history of low student achievement in reading met in weekly study groups to engage in structured dialogue about teaching practice. These groups were established through the support of the Urban Literacy Institute, a joint project of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and the Dayton, Ohio,…

One hundred and eighty British secondary school pupils aged 11-12 and their six trainee teachers in five schools participated in an action research project, designed to improve the quality of children's group talk in English lessons, particularly their engagement in higher-order thinking through "exploratory" talk. The programme,…

Working within a theoretical framework of sociocultural theory, with a particular focus on the construct of scaffolding, this five and a half month qualitative study explored the ways in which one third-grade teacher supported students' move towards literature discussion groups. Data sources including expanded field notes, video and audiotape…

This article is the sequel to the use of "Flatland" with beginning algebra students reported in Sriraman (2003). The use of "Flatland" with beginning algebra students resulted in the positive outcomes of cultivating critical thinking in the students as well as providing the teacher with the context necessary to introduce sophisticated mathematical…

Technology reshapes our thinking about learning in multiple ways. This article proposes that middle school students can use asynchronous online discussions to improve their responses to literature, increase their engagement with the classroom community, and recenter the classroom around student voices. Working in small groups, students read the…

Traditional lectures generally force students to play a passive role in the classroom. In an effort to promote active learning, we added discussion sections to a large lecture hall course. Field trips, student journals, and group-based assignments, in particular, enhanced the learning experience. To ensure the success of the new format, course…

Students analyze a contemporary geopolitical event from a comprehensive geographic perspective using role play simulation, discussion, and decision-making. The three-day activity provides teachers with a realistic, ready-made classroom lesson that combines powerful conceptual learning with drama and surprise. The task of the teacher is to…

Ongoing behavioral research has documented the growing prevalence of adolescent health risk behaviors, such as tobacco use, sexual activity, alcohol and other substance use, nutritional behavior, physical inactivity, and intentional injury. Newer youth risk behaviors, such as pathological gambling, are emerging as threats to public health. Risk,…

This study explores the extent to which small group argumentation and discussion was used as part of a series of three practical inquiry-based science lessons in each of two Year 8 (age 12-13) classes. The actions and talk of the teacher and two target groups of students in each class were recorded using video-recorders and audiorecorders.…