Nationwide the effects of the current economic situation are trickling down to impact our schools. School transportation options are narrowing, the housing market is impacting property taxes, and efforts in technology are at a stand still (Bobkoff, 2009; Hopkinson, 2009; Mummolo, 2008). Simultaneously there is a need for schools to meet society's…

As the nation witnesses a distinct decline in civic engagement among young adults, political science instructors across the nation face the formidable task of engaging students in lower-level, general education courses outside students' primary domain of interest. The research presented here seeks to understand if visually enhanced lecture…

The amount of investment that has been made in interactive whiteboards (IWB) in the Turkish educational system during the past several years is quite striking. This investment is part of a plan to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) into the Turkish educational system, with the goal of increasing the qualitative and…

The rate of children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has risen dramatically, to an estimated 1 in 150 children. Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), children with ASD are entitled to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. To ensure this, school…

The purpose of this study was to examine the instructional effects of a computer-generated agent in providing verbal and visual prompts as needed to facilitate student achievement of educational objectives. Sixty-seven college students were randomly selected into two instructional treatment groups and a control group. Significant differences in…

This paper presents and discusses students' learning process of chemical equilibrium from a modelling-based approach developed from the use of the "Model of Modelling" diagram. The investigation was conducted in a regular classroom (students 14-15 years old) and aimed at discussing how modelling-based teaching can contribute to students…

Student boredom within the school system has been widely studied and shown to be linked to various negative consequences such as diminished academic achievement, school dissatisfaction and truancy. However, little attention has been given to the issue of boredom within higher education and the current study aims to redress this balance. Two…

Both of the national efforts to reform education (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996) promoted professional development experiences that engage teachers in authentic scientific research. This qualitative multiple case study used legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) as a way to examine the process by which teachers became a part of the laboratory community…

"Vocabulary Plus" is an interactive strategy which links vocabulary development with content area learning for English learners. This strategy uses interactive read-alouds of thematically- connected informational text matched to the grade-appropriate state standards and content of core subjects. When using "Vocabulary Plus",…

Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) have been widely introduced to English primary schools (5-11 years) in the last decade and this has generated much research interest. In the past, research has focused on IWB-use in teacher-led sessions, attending particularly to the nature of teacher-pupil interaction at the IWB and the apparent motivational…

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary school teachers' perceptions of interactive whiteboard (IWB) training workshops in Taiwan. This study also sought to identify potential problems associated with the design of IWB training workshops in order to improve their effectiveness. This research employed observations and interviews to…

In this discussion piece the authors reflect on work over the past decade, arguing that mathematics teachers have developed technical proficiency in the use of interactive whiteboard hardware and associated software before using this to develop confidence in creating and modifying materials to be used with commercially produced programs in…

National educational groups have recommended the use of universal screening to assist in the early identification of reading problems. One of the most widely used measures used for the universal screening of reading is oral reading fluency (ORF) (Fewster & Macmillan, 2002). However, ORF is somewhat time consuming to administer and has been…

This article presents a collection of postcards, titled "postcartographia," which is excerpted from an atlas of Mapwork and is one component of a gallery exhibition with the same title. Incorporating photography and poetic text, the postcards explore aesthetic approaches to knowing in the world, specifically, aesthetic ways of knowing places and…

The genre of tall tales is characterized by fictional, often intentionally ridiculous, stories that provide a reason for or origin of a natural phenomenon. Tall tales are often based on characters who are unusually adept or powerful; they are particularly appealing to children who are cognitively capable of understanding the tongue-in-cheek humor…