A Maine study found that homework often disrupts family life, interferes with parents' own teachings, and punishes children in poverty for lacking computer access and/or a supportive home environment. The standards movement requires teaching in a more tightly controlled system, leaving no room for homework, an unknown variable. (Contains 13…

Discusses 10 misconceptions about the substance, methodology, and efforts of teaching and learning via interactive television networks (ITN), including the idea that ITN will replace teachers, ITN will save money, ITN will rescue failing schools, all students will succeed in ITN classes, and all teachers can teach well on ITN. (SM)

The top-down, heavy-handed "Tougher Standards" movement has taken over many schools, with full support of business groups, politicians, and many journalists. Primary opponents are classroom teachers and parents. Raising standards translates into higher scores on poorly designed tests. Best teaching builds on actively learning students. (MLH)

Responds to the article "Reconstructing Multicultural Education: a Response to Mike Cole" in which Cole defends his views of antiracist education and the role of cultural racism, the teaching of controversial aspects of other cultures, reconstructed multiculturalism as opposed to student misconceptions, and nationalism within the context…

The concept of waves is fundamental due to its occurrence throughout the natural world. Because the concept occurs in so many places, students come to the classroom with prior knowledge, as well as misconceptions, about waves. Students have misconceptions about what is waving in a wave, what properties of the medium determine wave speed, and how…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Extension, and Evaluation (5E) learning cycle, conceptual change texts, and traditional instructions on 8th grade students' understanding of photosynthesis and respiration in plants. Students' understanding of photosynthesis and respiration in…

Books, music, films and other media sources are identified in terms of their unique value in teaching career development.

Some time ago a flyer on "Medics in Primary School" came the author's way. It described a programme for making placements in primary schools available to medical students. The benefits of the program to medical students and participating schools were highlighted, including opportunities to develop communication skills and demystify…

Many people believe that educational games are effective because they motivate children to actively engage in a learning activity as part of playing the game. However, seminal work by Malone, exploring the motivational aspects of digital games, concluded that the educational effectiveness of a digital game depends on the way in which learning…

Although all of us must teach against the text at times, I find myself doing this most often when teaching about qualitative methods in the context of a general introductory methods course. Myths about the nature and practice of qualitative research are both embedded in the folklore of mainstream sociology and supported by the textbooks that we…

Cabri3D is a potentially very useful software for learning and teaching 3D geometry. The dynamic nature of the digital diagrams produced with it provides a useful aid for helping students to better develop concept images of geometric concepts. However, since any Cabri3D diagram represents three-dimensional objects on the two dimensional screen of…

In this article, the author uses a comparison of various measures of success for developmental students at Patrick Henry Community College with the faculty's perceptions of these measures to break down misconceptions and stereotypes about developmental education and provide ever-needed credibility and acceptance for developmental programs.…

In a classroom, a teacher attempts to convey his or her knowledge to the students, and thus it is important for the teacher to obtain formative feedback about how well students are understanding the new material. By gaining insight into the students' understanding and possible misconceptions, the teacher will be able to adjust the teaching and to…

Becoming a teacher is hard work. A sizable body of research indicates that student teaching internships or other field-based practica are a particularly difficult part of this process. Many preservice teachers have misconceptions about the work of teachers and teaching; when they begin their field placements they often feel disillusioned by the…

Geography is at once described as valuable and misunderstood. Its continued place in the curriculum arguably depends on reconciling these contrasting perceptions, and ensuring that curriculum decisions are based on realistic assumptions. This includes students' assumptions about the subject. This research employed synergetic focus groups to…