Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and OpenOffice Impress are relatively common tools in the classroom and in the boardroom these days. What makes presentation software so popular? As the Chinese proverb declares, a picture is worth a thousand words. People like visual presentations. Presentation software can make even a dull subject come to…

The purpose of this article is to discuss how images and historical reviews of substance use and abuse from different time periods can be used to provide a better understanding of the historical background of the discipline. Historical reviews of various substances, as well as approaches to addressing substance abuse at different time periods, and…

Three-dimensional mind maps are a highly effective tool for providing engaging, kinaesthetic and sensory experiences for young children, with real objects used to promote the sharing of knowledge and the creation of connections. The use of real objects allows children the opportunity to connect with those objects at a personal level, thus placing…

This note describes the use of a student poster session as an innovative approach to student learning. The local context for the assignment is provided, followed by a description of the course for which the poster was prepared, details about the assignment including its evaluation, and practical considerations for planning a poster session. The…

School psychologists are often called upon to give presentations to staff, parents, or other stakeholders such as school board members or local politicians. The purpose can range from providing simple strategies on a specific issue to advocating for support (policy and funding) for a particular program. While all presentations are genuine…

Documentaries can be used as a pedagogical tool to better understand social policy. This medium is especially suited to provide perspectives that often go unheard in policy debates, academic discussions, and textbooks. While many social work educators use documentary films, there is little discussion about this media in the social work literature.…

Students often find the difference in the electromagnetic and the acoustic Doppler formulae somewhat puzzling. As is shown below, geometrical diagrams and the concept of "event"--a point in spacetime having coordinates (x,y,z,t)--can be a useful and simple way to explain the physical background behind the fundamental differences between the two…

Asking students to manipulate digital photos on the computer is one of the easiest ways the author knows to engage their attention. It's fabulous fun for them and a great teaching tool for educators. In this article, the author presents 10 ways to impress students with image-editing software. These are: (1) filters are fascinating; (2) get a move…

Semiotic work is principled engagement in the making of meaning. The semiotic work of school-based learning entails interpretation and expression framed by the curriculum and the social practices of the classroom, and realized multimodally in diverse pedagogic interactions and activities. Micro-examination of the relationship between a teacher's…

In this paper, we devise a diagrammatic conceptualization to describe and represent the complex interplay of a teacher's knowledge (K), goals (G) and beliefs (B) in leveraging technology effectively in the classroom. The degree of coherency between the KGB region and the affordances of the technology serves as an indicator of the teachers'…

To acknowledge both conceptual and situational factors, children's understanding of the Earth was considered from three angles: 1. the perspective as the physical point or direction from which something is seen or depicted; 2. conceptual frameworks; 3. the relevance of explanations in a situation. Fourteen children were interviewed individually in…

This study examined children's tendency to confuse events that varied in source similarity, which was manipulated using different media of event presentation. In Experiment 1, children in two age groups (3- and 4-year-olds and 5- and 6-year-olds) experienced a live presentation of an event, and another event was either heard from a story (low…

Get an in-depth understanding of how to create fun, engaging, and challenging performance assessments that require students to elaborate on content and demonstrate mastery of skills. This update of an ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) classic includes new scoring methods, reading assessments, and insights on navigating…

"Science Learning and Instruction" describes advances in understanding the nature of science learning and their implications for the design of science instruction. The authors show how design patterns, design principles, and professional development opportunities coalesce to create and sustain effective instruction in each primary scientific…

When a child has disabilities, families and professionals must communicate their concerns and goals for the child. Often these concerns are expressed as weaknesses within a deficits-based framework. The use of a strengths-based, family-created portfolio is a communication strategy for reconceptualizing a child from the family's perspective in…