In his article in the second volume of "Tradition Renewed: A History of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America," Jonathan Sarna argues that the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) has always had two incompatible visions of its role. On the one hand, there were (and are) those who see it as "a centre of Jewish 'Wissenschaft' pure and simple",…

Grading essays and research papers can be the most trying part of any writing instructor's job. Fitting corrections, suggestions, and notes between double-spaced lines of text and into margins often creates a legibility problem, which only worsens when grading stacks of papers to meet deadlines. This essay describes electronic grading, a method…

The marks awarded to 130 second year undergraduate word processed essays were assessed in relation to their use of different typographic features. By and large most of these features had little effect on the essay grades. However, essays printed in 12-point type gained significantly higher marks (mean = 56.8) than essays printed in 10-point type…

Do seemingly motivated students with learning disabilities work hard in general education classes only to receive lower grades than their peers? Donahoe and Zigmond (1990) found that 60-70% of students with learning disabilities passed their mainstreaming classes but received a below-average (below a C-) grade. A similar finding was reported by…

This article explores the use of structure in the encoding and retrieval of music and its relation to level of skill. Twenty-two pianists, classified into four levels of skill, were asked to learn and memorize an assigned composition by J. S. Bach (different for each level). All practice was recorded on cassette tape. At the end of the learning…

Sketched in somewhat general terms, there are two basic ways of going about teaching ethics: (1) the moral indoctrination approach, which is essentially a rote learning exercise; and (2) the moral engagement approach, which emphasizes listening to others in an open-minded manner and coming to carefully considered conclusions only after thoughtful…

Teaching and learning radically changed with advances in technology. Research shows that the computer can be an effective tool in both teaching and learning, and for that reason, school districts throughout the United States support schools by purchasing computers and software for individual classrooms. As a result, many school districts are using…

Included herein is the conference proceedings of the 26th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Psychology: Ideas and Innovations, sponsored by the Psychology Department of the State University of New York at Farmingdale. The conference theme for 2012 was: The value of an undergraduate degree in psychology: Why psychology--Why now?. The Conference…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Quality Counts: Doesn't It? (Kate Walsh and…

In addition to any discoveries that teachers might make about student learning while that learning is in progress, they must still assign grades. Consequently, educators need to develop and implement a system that supports both the formative and summative functions of assessment--formative, in that teachers can use evidence of student achievement…

The authors report on an interpretive case study that investigated how three elementary teachers summatively assessed their own students' written work over a three and one-half month period. Their collaborative assessment sessions reflected their ongoing routines that created productive social spaces that sowed the seeds for transformational adult…

This article argues that the engagement of teachers in collaborative discussions about assessment can provide a fruitful context for valuable professional learning. It is of interest to those who provide Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for teachers and teachers themselves. It looks particularly at the value of writing…

Research has established that a variety of factors predict educators' perceptions of students' performance; however, no studies have looked at the impact of educators' political views. The present experiment investigated the effect of educators' political biases on their grading of student essays. Participants included 122 volunteers who were…

At the University of the Free State (UFS) blended learning (a combination of face-to-face and online modes of delivery) is regarded as a relatively new practice with possibilities of addressing many of the context-specific teaching and learning problems at the institution. During the planning phase for the third cycle of an action inquiry project…

An undergraduate student offers reflections and observations on college course syllabi. Since the syllabus is the student's guide through the course, it should be clearly organized allowing students to find information quickly. It should outline the expectations that students and instructor will have during the course. In addition a syllabus must…