This investigation examined how documenting preservice teachers' work during engaging, authentic classroom experiences influenced their understanding of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A pragmatic action research design was used to systematically plan, document, and reflect on learning experiences to evaluate the impact of such…

It is ironic that in too many schools, educators label students' personal tools or digital containers, such as blogs, iPod, Instant Messenger, YouTube, and video games as hindrances to teaching. They have decided that these effective learning tools are inappropriate for school and learning. If educators could get past their fear of the unknown and…

This article describes a qualitative study into student teachers' learning processes through changes in their interactive cognitions. First, theoretical propositions about the relation between learning to teach, professional development, and practical knowledge are defined. Next, the procedure to grasp interactive cognitions as part of practical…

Two small studies, one an "eye-tracking" study and the other a "remote observation" study, have been conducted to investigate ways to identify two kinds of online learner interactions: users flicking through the web pages in "browsing" action, and users engaging with the content of a page in "learning"…

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries prehistoric earthworks were to be seen throughout North America. Fascinated colonialist and European settlers attributed these mysterious mounds to mythic Eurocentric sources rather recognizing them as evidence of prehistoric Amerinds. By the end of the nineteenth century interest in the…

Maps have been used as an illustrative device in children's books for a long time; however, they are an area of illustration that has been largely ignored by critics. Maps are most commonly used as frontispiece illustrations in adventure and fantasy books. They have also generally been aimed at the male reader when children's books were marketed…

This annotated bibliography is a selected guide to teaching resources available to educators interested in environmental education. The resources are located in the Curriculum Resource Center at Rhode Island College. The bibliography is divided into six parts: curriculum guides, textbooks, multi-media kits, visuals, reference materials, and…

In these two companion papers, a learning activity is introduced that teaches students how mathematics works through the visual aid of picture grids. The picture grids are composed of 60 different acrylic stained-glass window overlays. Each fractional part is represented by a different color: fifths are green, quarters are yellow, etc. The square…

This ERIC Digest discusses concept mapping, a technique for representing the structure of information visually. Concept mapping can be used to brainstorm, design complex structures, communicate complex ideas, aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old knowledge, and assess understanding or diagnose misunderstanding. Visual representation…

Focusing on slide and photograph collections that document art, architecture, design, and related fields, this book provides a comprehensive guide to more than 500 visual collections in libraries and institutions throughout the United States and Canada. Listings provide complete information about the collections, including the name and title of an…

The overhead projector (OHP) is described as one of the simplest and most versatile resources available to the language teacher, yet one that is frequently undervalued and underutilized. It can be used to support classroom practice in many ways: enhancing and expanding group and pair work; stimulating the use of target language by pupils; ensuring…

This paper provides a rationale for the selection of illustrations and visual aids for the classroom. The theories that describe the processing of visuals are dual coding theory and cue summation theory. Concept attainment theory offers a basis for selecting which cues are relevant for any learning task which includes a component of identification…

Designed to help create effective flip chart presentations, this guide contains the basic techniques and helpful hints necessary to produce professional, attention-getting flip charts in a step-by-step procedure format. Five topics are addressed in the guide: (1) eight steps to a successful meeting presentation; (2) advantages of flip chart…

Advising student writers to think constantly about their readers, this book provides thorough instruction in the technical writing process, organizing most chapters around easy-to-understand guidelines, and providing numerous annotated examples of writing done at work. New to the second edition of the book are chapters on persuasion, using the…

Detailed, illustrated instructions are given for construction and decoration of an indoor foreign language kiosk to promote interest in foreign languages among students and teachers. The kiosk can be constructed in a home shop or possibly by a college theater department, high school woodworking department, or institutional physical plant. Once…