This study reports on the strategies (overt and subtle) employed by students in one senior secondary school in Botswana to keep their teachers in an information-giving position. Contrary to the prevailing view that the 'teacher dominance' of classroom activities so often reported in classroom studies results from teachers' desire for social…

An acronym, a word formed from the first letters of other words, is often used to name products or organizations. For example, when Hermione Granger, a very clever student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is enraged over the wizarding world's treatment of house-elves, she creates an organization to help put an end to this injustice.…

The Web is mistakenly viewed by too many as the panacea for a teacher's ills. Sending students to the Internet for information has done little to turn the tide in students' perceptions of learning. The problem, though, is not necessarily that the Web is not loaded with excellent learning resources; rather the problem is in sticking to the…

If a teacher were to ask his/her students what they do when they find ants or other insects in their homes, their most common response would probably be, "Get the bug spray!" Because students are not only being exposed to pesticides but are also developing patterns of behavior likely to continue throughout their lives. Discussions about…

Providing sun-safe environments, schedules, and activities; teaching and modeling sun-safe behaviors; and implementing a sun-safe school policy are ways that schools can help protect children from sun overexposure and lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle at an early age. This article presents the SunWise program and examples of classroom…

Middle school students can be apprehensive toward the subject of science because, "we give them the message that science is the most important of subjects" (Flannery 1993). Why not consider using humor proactively as an effective teaching resource in the science classroom? The use of appropriate content-related humor can initiate and liberate…

Making magic in the classroom or library media center is as simple as imitating what choreographers do. Just as they demonstrate and teach a dance routine a few steps at a time before asking the performers to put all the steps together for a presentation, many teachers find that breaking a unit of study into several parts, or mini-lessons, is a…

The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework of learning and to develop a pedagogical (TTRACE) model that might be useful to teachers teaching statistics online or at a distance. We describe our graduate-level hybrid statistics course and the technological tools we utilized to illustrate how our model and design features can…

Math and information searching skills might be effectively combined for a fun and informative unit in the library media center like the Number Hunt unit which gets students using math and library search skills to find answers to some tough numerical questions. Some of the objectives of Number Hunt Lesson plan are discussed giving a detailed…

Most mathematical problems can be solved using different methods. We tested the effectiveness of presenting more than one solution method by means of worked-out examples. In Experiment 1, a 2x3-factorial design was implemented ("multiple solutions": multiple/uniform; "instructional support": none/self-explanations/instructional explanations).…

The Classroom Assessment Project to Improve Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) set out to understand how teachers attempt to modify their classroom practices as they grapple with new ideas about using assessment in their own classrooms to improve learning. CAPITAL documented the classroom activities and discussions among groups of middle school…

On January 18, 1803 President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress to fund an expedition to the source of the Missouri River. This expedition would become known as the Corps of Discovery, which would spend twenty-eight months exploring, studying, and documenting the wonders of the western frontier. Led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark,…

Greek society of the eighteenth century did not have the institutional or theoretical background for the development of an original interest in scientific pursuits. The contact with the new scientific ideas aimed basically at the assimilation of these ideas in the body of the existing contemplative philosophy and the context where such undertaking…

Using computer technology to support authentic learning activities produces effective learning environments when two situations occur-the teacher understands how technology tools can be used in delivering instruction and the students have access to the tools anywhere and anytime. The use of handheld computers in classrooms hints at the possibility…

The contributions to this issue share a focus on design of e-learning environments. Instructional designers stand at very early stages of knowledge in this area, but with great potential for growth and progress. This commentary offers an activity-based perspective on e-learning environments, resulting in a flexible stance toward instructional…