Teaching socioscientific issues (SSI) necessitates dialogic discourse activities. However, a majority of science teachers prefer monologic discourse in SSI contexts. In addition, some of these teachers are resistant to change (from monologic to dialogic discourse) despite certain professional development attempts. The purpose of the present…

Dinosaurs have been a very popular science topic since signs of their presence on earth were first discovered. They have represented so-called "edutainment" for some people. Learning from informal sources and in- an out-of-school environment can be effective and motivating. In this study, 12-year-old pupils (N = 366) visited a dinosaur…

Two key areas identified for research are differences in practice between nurture groups and mainstream classrooms, and nurturing approaches in rural and low-density populations. This study compared classroom practice in a nurture group serving a wide rural area with the four mainstream classes to which the five children in the group belonged. The…

When teaching foreign languages to very young learners, motivation is an issue that needs to be taken into account even more than in the case of any other age group. Teaching materials and students' textbooks used in schools and preschools, however carefully crafted, often fail to cater for the genuine interests of children and to invoke intrinsic…

Women use technology to mediate numerous aspects of their professional and personal lives. Yet, few design and create these technologies given that women, especially women of color, are grossly underrepresented in computer science and engineering courses. Decisions about participation in STEM are frequently made prior to high school, and these…

Research calls for teacher education to prepare early childhood educators for the needs of diverse and marginalized young children and their families in the U.S. With an increasing cultural divide between teachers and students, some early childhood educators may demonstrate limited understanding for how diverse cultural, linguistic, racial, and…

This study explores the experience of becoming an elementary teacher in an educational climate where standardization and accountability increasingly affect what happens in classrooms across the country by following two beginning teachers. Specifically, this longitudinal study in which two first-year teachers' stories are analyzed and restoried…

Pre-service teachers need support in developing their teacher identities as they navigate the uncertain and complex terrain of student teaching and face the pressures of high-stakes accountability. This support is particularly important for bilingual pre-service teachers as they negotiate the many complexities of the bilingual classroom, and as…

Islamophobia has become increasingly evident in the sociocultural landscape of the United States. The current political climate which centers on the influx of refugees and concerns of extremists has in effect othered individuals of Arab ancestry as a bounded group. Arab students represent a heterogeneous group of individuals, encompassing a…

This evaluation study examined a state-wide professional development program composed of two institutes, one for mathematics teachers and one for science teachers, each spanning two weeks. The program was designed to help teachers transform their practice to align with Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science…

In this three-year qualitative study we investigated the experiences and perspectives of university undergraduate students who were peer mentors for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in a postsecondary education certificate program at a public university in the northeastern United States. The findings were…

The purpose of this study is to understand the phenomenon of the "professional journey" of elementary teacher candidates (ETC) both as learners and as teachers by exploring their learning experiences and practices regarding the virtual reality (VR) platform called Second Life (SL). Using the grounded theory approach, we designed an…

Purpose: This study investigated rural English teachers' perceptions of factors which influence the literacy development of young learners in rural school settings. This investigation led to a further enquiry on the dimensions of an affective literacy framework to support the English learning of rural young learners. Methodology: The study…

Transnationals are people who are residents in the post colony yet continue to maintain socio-economic relations in their country of origin, are hired for unskilled labor, and are often identified as immigrants. The children involved in transnational movements leave their respective countries of origin and corresponding ways of cultural, social,…

This article reports an investigative study on the target language use in and outside business English classrooms for non-English major undergraduates in a Chinese university context. The aims of the study are to identify the actual situation of target language use in business English teaching and to suggest ways for improvements. The study uses…