A teacher describes using some of the Foxfire core practices to teach a "last chance" program for students in grades 7-8 who were angry, oppositional, and defiant. After a cooperative classroom planning process in which counselors helped students articulate their ideas, the students began revealing their interests. These interests, in…

Describes how grade 3-8 inner-city students created multimedia, multicultural dictionaries. Highlights student reflections on the project using Kid Pix software, and their ideas for future uses for the dictionaries. Argues that technology-driven lexicography can serve as a catalyst for engaging students. (PEN)

A high school teacher describes how her classroom methods changed from traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to the active and democratic involvement of students in developing their own learning communities. Sidebars describe class projects: an oral history project that blossomed into a "Forties Festival" with 1940s alumni and the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate 8th graders with different learning styles their motivation outcomes after implementing 10 weeks (40 hours) inquiry-based teaching. Two hundreds and fifty four 8th graders were involved in experimental group, this group of students experienced inquiry instruction. Two hundreds and thirty two 8th graders…

Teachers have incorporated active-learning techniques into the sociology classroom for many years, but the types of applications and evaluations are quite varied. In this paper, the authors quantitatively test a particular form of active learning that they call "living-data exercises," which instructors can use to introduce sociological research…

When elementary students collaborate in active learning projects that integrate the social studies they greatly advance their literacy skills and civic awareness. They can improve their analysis and ability to solve social problems by using reading and writing to construct knowledge about historical events. In the lessons described in this…

Research literature on writing storybooks overlooks first graders. This is puzzling as children enter first grade having emergent literacy, in reading, writing, and story composition. It may reflect the belief that at this age children should learn to read and write (conventionally) as the curriculum demands, while elaborate writing is assumed to…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of the active learning models that supports flexibility and creativity in learning, and takes individual differences into consideration. The basic principle of PBL is to make students come face-to-face with conditions that could be similar to real ones in their professions. This objective is accomplished by…

In the past two years, three graduate students and a senior faculty member have co-taught a participatory action research (PAR) course to undergraduate and graduate students. In this article the co-teachers advocate a set of pedagogical principles and practices in a PAR-oriented classroom that establishes congruency with community PAR projects in…

This paper provides readers with an overview of the unique issues present in secondary classrooms and their impact on the practice of collaborative teaching between general and special educators. The authors focus on the changes that are occurring in secondary classrooms related to varied structures (such as block scheduling), higher standards,…

This article examines the key concepts of active learning, metacognition, and transfer of knowledge, as put forth by the National Research Council's approach to the new science of learning, in relation to ways that E-Learning applications might improve learning both inside and outside the classroom. Several initiatives are highlighted to…

The faculty learning community project at Howard University involved a diverse group of men and women, tenured, tenure-track, and future faculty across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The purpose of the group was to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning by learning about teaching, reflecting on…

Field Trip to the Moon uses an inquiry-based learning approach that fosters team building and introduces participants to careers in science and engineering. The program components include the Field Trip to the Moon DVD [not included here], Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Activities, and…

The Field Trip to the Moon program uses an inquiry-based learning approach that fosters team building and introduces young people to careers in science and engineering. The program components include the Field Trip to the Moon show (either on DVD or presented in a planetarium dome) and workshop investigations. The compelling show provides…

As a profession, engineering is not well understood by the general public. Engineers are perceived as "geeks" who love math and who have few interests outside of technical work. In short, the engineering profession has an image problem. In order to counteract this negative stereotyping, an engineering course for non-majors was developed…