This article outlines a sequential approach to unit and lesson planning for conceptual teaching in general music classes. Guidelines for the writing of well-articulated instructional objectives are provided. Two appendices show models of a unit plan and a lesson plan in which the assessment of objectives is clearly tracked and alternative…

In this article, we describe the development of a lesson plan template and its basis in research. In particular, we summarize research supporting the need for mathematics instructors to build students' conceptual understanding and to engage students throughout instruction. We explain how these elements were incorporated into the lesson plan and…

Although inquiry-based science teaching has been around since the 1960s, many teachers are slow to incorporate inquiry principles into their science lessons. The authors address this issue by using an analogy between a magician's card trick and open inquiry. This analogy was chosen to portray a difference of perspective and demonstrate how the…

Learners are multi-faceted, unique people. Discovering the whole individual is incumbent upon realizing the teaching/learning environments, common social and societal realities, and belief and value systems respective of academic and socio-societal factors that establish who one is as a learner and teacher. In "Learning and Teaching," the authors…

This quantitative study utilized the VARK learning style preference assessment instrument to examine how full-time sworn law enforcement officers learn and attempted to identify a predominant learning style preference among the participants. The primary question was: Which is the dominant learning style preference of full-time sworn law…

Today's students must be more than good test takers. They must be able to collaborate, innovate, and think critically to solve real-world problems. As content demands increase, how can teachers make time to teach these advanced skills? "Sparking Student Synapses, Grades 9-12" describes how master teacher Nigel Scozzi used Rich Allen's Green Light…

Teachers are forced to use state-adopted texts, approved materials and methods in order to facilitate learning. The creativity of designing a lesson plan that meets the needs of each student, while fostering the imagination and creativity, can be all but lost when constrained by such parameters. So what can teachers do to enhance the learning…

Developing sustainable professional development which facilitates teachers of mathematics to develop effective mathematics pedagogy has been a key aim in recent years. This paper examines how lesson study can be used with networks of teachers as a vehicle to promote and sustain professional development. Drawing on findings from a year-long study…

School librarians play numerous roles throughout a day. They are information specialists who keep up with the constant changes in information and technology. It is important for them to keep students up-to-date and teach them to use technology properly. Gaming and technology are both important concepts for 21st-century school librarians to…

A quantitative method of mapping the web usage of an innovative educational portal is applied to analyze the behaviour of users of the COSMOS Science Education Portal. The COSMOS Portal contains user-generated resources (that are uploaded by its users). It has been designed to support a science teacher's search, retrieval and access to both,…

Learning how to plan is recognised as a key skill that beginning teachers have to develop but there has been little research examining "how" they may actually learn to plan. This paper, based on the analysis of 10 post-lesson interviews with 17 secondary school teachers across three years (the PGCE year and the first two years in…

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore how user participation is practised in two courses at a local Learning and Mastery Centre with regard to the process of planning, implementation and evaluation of the courses and from these two cases to further discuss how user participation might be facilitated or hindered. Design: A…

A key concern for preservice teachers is classroom management, including student behaviour management, which also has been a factor associated with teachers leaving the profession within the first five years. This study investigates the mentoring practices used to guide the mentee's classroom management. Using multiple data sources (e.g., lesson…

Science teachers need specific strategies to develop writing skills along with science content. Fortunately, research has demonstrated that science-teaching methodology can accomplish both the teaching of science content and various language skills, including writing. A technique suitable for and utilized by science teachers is the "mode…

Professional development (PD) has been identified as a critical mechanism that helps teachers increase students' achievement. However, the content and form of this mechanism varies widely. This study examines an ongoing PD for school teachers, which has been explicitly founded on a set of guiding principles associated with quality professional…