This qualitative case study describes how 18 preservice teachers learned to nurture literary meaning-making via activities based on Louise Rosenblatt's Reader Response Theory within a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). Participants re-created and responded to scenes from selected works of children's literature in Second Life as a way to…

In this article, we argue that teaching is and should be a central element to learning to teach, particularly as teacher education once again turns toward practice. From this perspective, we must elaborate how such a shift addresses the need to bridge the gap between knowledge for teaching and knowledge from teaching, between theory and practice,…

The purpose of this study was to use a variety of techniques and data sources, to describe and to compare the self-reported educational technology integration proficiency levels with the evidence-based educational technology integration practices among select elementary language arts teachers. A collective case study design (Stake, 1995) was used…

This study examined special education teachers' knowledge and use of: brain-based teaching strategies, Common Core State Standards, formative feedback, and instructional efficacy for diverse students. The study identified the differences amongst special education teachers' responses on the dimensions of brain-based teaching strategies, Common Core…

It is not clear that the literary genre called poetry has a future in the face of a reduction in literary study that Common Core's English language arts standards implicitly mandate-- and in the context of Common Core's drive for workforce development. Common Core claims the standards will prepare students equally for "college and…

As a teacher-researcher concerned with the educational approaches and learning outcomes of urban students, the author believes it is important to explore hip-hop as a curricular and academic resource because hip-hop represents the ways in which urban youth speak, think, create, move, and relate to the world. This article explores the English…

A mentoring relationship that began as part of teacher preparation can evolve into a professional community that stays connected through several means of communication. While there are examples of mentoring relationships within schools and among former university cohorts, these authors took a slightly different approach. Rather than forming a…

The author critiques covers of "Ebony" and "GQ" magazines in order to expose race and class narratives, and he encourages teachers to help students to become more aware of the ways in which other images "connote cultural information." Because of the prevalence of images in contemporary society, it is imperative that…

This ethnographic study documents how a space for critical literacy practices emerged as one teacher attempted to make literacy learning authentic. The school lunch program in an urban elementary district provided the theme for an authentic and focused literacy unit. Throughout this focus unit, the students not only met state standards but also…

A common theme throughout physical education pedagogical literature is that interdisciplinary lessons can provide effective ways to help evidence that physical education can play a role in student learning in other disciplines (Fingon, 2011; Graham, Holt-Hale, & Parker, 2010; Lynott, 2008; Mohnsen, 2011). Educational scholars have also…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of the unit of study framework for teaching writing and explain how it sets the stage for developing "academic momentum" in students (Strahan, 2008, p. 4). To help readers understand the unit of study framework in action, the authors describe how a unit unfolds in one subject area,…

Literacy practices and sociocultural contexts have greatly defined and influenced each other. The role language plays in mobilizing both revolution and progress is well delineated in Congchao Hua's article comparing language learning curriculum in China over three decades, from the 1970s to the 2000s. The universality of the social and political…

One goal of high school teachers is to help students appreciate that reading does not end when they leave the classroom. When students find reading meaningful, they are more likely to see themselves as readers and choose to read long after they leave the classroom setting (Hinchman, Alvermann, Boyd, Brozo, & Vacca, 2003-2004; Wilhelm, 2001).…

Based on the results of an online survey, this report from the EPE Research Center provides an analysis of teachers' views on the Common Core State Standards. The National Survey of Teacher Perspectives on the Common Core report offers important insights into survey respondents' views regarding their awareness of the standards, the training they…

This dissertation examines the professional and personal growth of a teacher after he became frustrated and burned out after a successful career in education and in ministry. By looking through 15 years of data (notebooks, journals, lesson plans, books, etc.), I examine the professional pressures that I have faced working in the field of…