Emergency shelters for disaster relief are an ever present necessity. Anyone who has ever camped in a tent will understand that finding the perfect design, that will be simple and quick to erect, be stable in a variety of weather conditions, and will accommodate a number of people sleeping, sitting or even standing is not straightforward and…

The circles and patterns in a tree's stem tell a story, but that story can be a mystery. Interpreting the story of tree rings provides a way to heighten the natural curiosity of students and help them gain insight into the interaction of elements in the environment. It also represents a wonderful opportunity to incorporate the nature of science.…

In the first part to this article, the author described three stages that he believes are effective starting points for translating familiar classroom activities into mathematics-with-information and communications technology (ICT) lessons that exploit the power of variation to focus student attention. In this second part, the author continues to…

This article describes Mazahua children's participation in learning interactions that take place when they collaborate with more knowledgeable others in everyday activities in family and community settings. During these interactions they coordinate their actions with those of other participants, switching between the roles of "knowledgeable…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore in detail how teachers' perceptions of workplace conditions for learning are related to their informal workplace learning activities and learning outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: From a sample of 32 teachers, a purposeful sampling technique of maximal variation was used to select two cases…

The authors are both teachers in the Economics Department at Fairfield University, where they share responsibility for the introductory and intermediate economics courses. Student's comment illustrates that they were apparently not reaching their students in ways that achieved their goals: developing students' abilities to understand economic…

The current study examined the accuracy of the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment for identifying preferred common classroom activities as reinforcers with children with behavioral disorders. The accuracy of predictions from the MSWO regarding high, medium, and low stimulus preference was tested by providing…

Science literacy for all students is an education goal in the United States, as well as in many other parts of the world. Habits of mind are the skills and attitudes that students need to develop in order to understand science as a way of thinking. In this standards-based era, habits of mind can be readily incorporated to teach multiple content…

Fundamentalists and modernists seem, at times, to work in contrapuntal interdependency. While the fundamentalist's rhetoric markets its image as celebrating the renewal of an authentic past identity in modernity, modernists state the need for and possibility of adapting a cherished past to modern assumptions. Yet, it seems as if it is the…

The authors review the types of experiential peace education programs available to teens in the US and provide a classification guide for educators, parents, other concerned adults and teens who may be interested in developing conflict, peace and/or violence prevention knowledge, skills and attitudes. The authors identify experiential programs in…

This study examined how teachers respond when children engage in inquiry-based deviations from a planned task. Thirty-one teachers each completed a brief science activity and accompanying worksheet with a student confederate. Teachers were given one of two goals for the study: help the students complete a worksheet or help the students learn more…

While looking for labs for his pre-engineering class, the author came across an idea for a marine engineering project from the Future Scientists and Engineers of America website. The author thought the lab looked fun, and it was not too expensive. These were two important criteria as he chose labs for the class. Another important criteria he had…

Although it has been given qualified approval by a number of philosophers of education, the so-called "therapeutic turn" in education has been the subject of criticism by several commentators on post-compulsory and adult learning over the last few years. A key feature of this alleged development in recent educational policy is said to be the…

Young children are most attracted to classroom centers that offer the lively social interaction of play, stimulating construction activities, or animated computer programs. Efforts to create an attractive art center with abundant shelves of markers, crayons, various kinds of paper, and assorted materials attract a few children who want to…

This study presents an experiment aimed at the design of short learning courses in the context of LAMS, using a number of specific context-free collaboration design patterns implemented within LAMS. In fact, 25 Prospective Computer Engineers (PCEs) participated in this experiment. The analysis of the data shows that PCEs fully used these context…