Teachers improve society by helping the students to read and write and by exercising authority, not relinquishing it. The advocacy of inquiry method by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner and the impact of the critique of conventional schooling on the preservice teachers in the English language arts classroom are discussed.

One of the most important concerns expressed in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1984) was being related to how effectively classroom instruction time was being used in America's schools. In response to that report, many concerned educators and community patrons at national, state, and local levels argued that…

The purpose of this article is to explore the evidence suggesting the effectiveness of literacy instruction through communicative and visual arts, according to Flood, Heath, and Lapp (1997). Visual arts includes everything from dramatic performances to comic books to television viewing. The communicative arts, such as reading, writing, and…

Most arguments in support of teacher research have been epistemological and political. They have focused on its potential benefits for improving instruction and for reforming the culture of schooling. Advocates of the teacher-research movement have claimed that it can empower the teacher as a maker of knowledge, encourage collaborative inquiry…

In this article, the author talks about the changing role of the elementary library media specialist. Unfortunately, library media specialists (LMSs) are too often left out of the literacy loop. Traditionally, their roles in literacy were to be the support team, the purveyors of books, the sometimes nearly invisible element in literacy, but this…

A considerable body of previous research has demonstrated that differences between schools and classes have an impact on students' learning and acquisition of skills. It is not yet clear, however, whether the effects persist in the longer term. The present study examines the effect of primary schools and classes on language and mathematics…

Schmoker asserts that the kinds of skills students need to succeed in college--skills like clear thinking, effective writing, and the ability to analyze international and policy issues--are equally needed for non-college-bound youth. He maintains it is possible--and necessary--to provide an intellectually challenging and culturally enriching…

The authors examined whether taking a first-year "Inquiry" course, Inquiry in Social Science (1SS3), makes a difference in students' learning and performance. Using five years of data from McMaster University, they compared students who took first-year "Inquiry" with comparable students who did not in terms of how well students performed during…

This study was designed to examine the effects of looping, a practice whereby teachers and students stay together for more than one year, on perceived values and academic achievement in language arts at a Fresno Unified School District elementary school in Fresno, CA. Looping has many perceived advantages, such as the development of long-term…

Validation of assessments intended to improve instruction and learning should include evidence of instructional sensitivity. This study investigated the instructional sensitivity of a standards-based ninth-grade performance assessment that required students to write an essay about conflict in a literary work. Before administering the assessment,…

Podcasts are a great way to expand learning beyond the four walls of the classroom or library. Just imagine taking the students on a tour of the great halls of the Louvre one day and the high-altitude plains of the Peruvian altiplano the next. This and more can be done with podcasts, episodic digital files that are the 21st-century equivalent of…

One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. By the time they complete the core, students must be able to read and comprehend independently and proficiently the kinds of complex texts commonly found…

The OEYP state-funded program provides extended learning for students who are at risk of academic failure. This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's OEYP activities during 2008-2009.

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2009 and 2010. Summary data for the district are also provided.…

In this self-study, a teacher educator and an experienced teacher analyze an unexpected shared opportunity to mentor pre-service elementary educators. Our partnership arose during a graduate course on literacy development for elementary students, serendipitously captured during an extended electronic conversation with the pre-service candidates.…