Discusses the following six strategies for using positive discipline in the classroom: (1) develop appropriate limits; (2) teach expected behavior; (3) give cues for expected behaviors; (4) redirect behavior; (5) change situations by increasing options; and (6) change situations by decreasing options. Contrasts different caregiving styles and…

Despite government rhetoric, higher education lecturers and schoolteachers in the UK remain under pressure to focus on standards and measurement in the core curriculum at the relative expense of a wider and more creative education. This article argues that the balance needs redressing and explores the nature of creative teaching in the context of…

In this article, the author describes a technique she uses to achieve an autonomous student discussion. The technique involves setting up highly structured debates, whose content is informed by coherent sets of primary sources and whose form models one aspect of how professional historians work. Students are required to read about twenty to…

This preliminary analysis is part of the baseline phase of a longitudinal study designed to investigate the professional development of primary and secondary teachers across England. The study addresses four key research areas. The prevailing models of professional development for teachers in England are identified in this baseline phase and the…

This article seeks to explore the emotional characteristics of teaching through an ethnographic study. An elementary school teacher participated in a 3-year research project investigating the role of emotions in her teaching, her relationships with the students, and the political context of the school. The data sources were field observations,…

Many universities now deliver courses and programs in overseas markets such as China. Often these programs are delivered by foreign academics who teach in these overseas locations. This style and format of educational delivery raises the issue of the degree to which subject material and teaching styles need to be adapted to meet the needs of…

In an attempt to understand what was going on at the classroom level, the College Student Report was augmented to focus on specific classes. The survey draws on items from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) instrument and specific content items for courses were added. This article describes CLASSE, a two-component tool that compares…

Despite research into the factors that motivate prospective teachers and those already in post, relatively little attention has been paid to the perspectives of trainee teachers. This article is based on a survey of 550 undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teachers, using a Likert-type questionnaire, to discover whether particular patterns of…

Education research over the last few decades has focused on the debate over which classroom pedagogies best encourage learning: teacher-centred or student-centred. Although research appears to support the philosophy that student-centred teaching provides for better learning, the supporting research is frequently limited to observational studies or…

This self-reflective article addresses the experiences two professors encountered when teaching a class about the popular culture of girls and boys to undergraduates at a small liberal arts college. The issues addressed include student reactions, teaching strategies, and the use of an online discussion platform and assessment. The instructors note…

This article explores the teaching styles of the professor, learning styles of the students, characteristics of the students, comparisons of Pearson's correlation coefficients between student grades earned in the course versus their cumulative grade point averages, and factors to consider for future Web-enhanced courses. The objectives of the…

An overlooked framework that allows for clearer understanding of effective teaching is the field of rhetoric. Although the concept has changed over time, Aristotle defines rhetoric as observing the available means of persuasion. These means include ethos, a speaker's credibility; pathos, appeal to emotions; and logos, appeal to reason or…

To determine what traits characterize instructors who enjoy the greatest success in teaching composition to community college students, a questionnaire was sent to 17 community colleges throughout Washington State. Chairpersons were asked to give the questionnaire to those instructors they considered most effective in teaching freshman composition…

Multicultural education is still a relatively new trend in the American system of higher education. As with any new pedagogy, there is a tendency to reduce the genuine possibility of educational reform to mere superficiality--good intentions lacking substance. Behind the "camouflage" of politically correct language and actions,…

This preliminary case study examined the philosophical perspectives of mathematics teachers at a high school situated near the Texas/Mexico border along the lower Rio Grande river valley. Ninety-eight percent of the students and 69% of the teachers are Hispanic. The mathematics teachers were administered a questionnaire that gauged their…