| "Remember the Ladies" Women in the Curriculum |
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ERIC |
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This ERIC Digest examines (1) treatment of women in standard textbooks and curricula, (2) strategies for including women in the social studies curriculum, (3) available resources for teachers and students, and (4) justifications for improving treatment of women in the curriculum. |
| Alternative Assessment and Technology |
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ERIC |
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Two approaches are performance-based assessment and portfolio assessment. In these approaches, judgments about students' achievement are based on their performances of complex tasks and selections of work over time. |
| Charlotte Mason |
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Linked |
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Aimee R. Natal examines the life and work of this extraordinary educator who looked to atmosphere, habit and living ideas. |
| Curricula for Teaching about Fractions |
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ERIC |
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This digest describes curriculum guides which offer help to teachers wanting to extend student ideas of fraction concepts, use manipulative materials in powerful ways, and help students connect fraction concepts. |
| Developing Self-Directed Learners |
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Linked |
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Various disciplines within education have long promoted self-directed learning as desirable. Research within the fields of adult education (Garrison, 1997), gifted education (Schillereff, 2001), and Web-based and distance learning (Scheidet, 2003) has shown the effectiveness of this strategy. But, will the concept work for K–12 educators and administrators as a way to enhance their responsibility to teach students within the current context of strict accountability systems and state standards? |
| Fruit Bats, Cats, and Naked Mole Rats: Lifelong Learning at the Zoo |
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ERIC |
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This digest focuses on how learners process information and how professional staff and visitors can promote learning at the zoo. |
| Fundamental Skills in Science: Observation |
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ERIC |
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Though human senses are limited in range and are easily deceived, observation remains at the heart of science and is the final arbiter in
constructing and testing scientific ideas. Observation in science is more than "seeing"; it refers to skills associated with collecting data using all the senses, as well as instruments that extend beyond the reach of our senses, and it is influenced by the assumptions and theoretical knowledge of the observer. |
| Grammar and it's Teaching: Challenging the Myths |
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ERIC |
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Grammar is often misunderstood in the language teaching field. The misconception lies in the view that grammar is a collection of arbitrary rules about static structures in the language. Further questionable claims are that the structures do not have to be taught, learners will acquire them on their own, or if the structures are taught, the lessons that ensue will be boring. |
| Handwriting Instruction: What Do We Know? |
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ERIC |
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There is increased emphasis on children's writing today, but the emphasis is on writing stories and essays that demonstrate that children are learning to think. However, before children can write anything, they must learn printing or cursive handwriting. |
| Handwriting Instruction: What Do We Know? |
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ERIC |
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In the search for effective handwriting instructional practices, researchers have examined the following questions: How are printing and cursive handwriting usually taught? Should printing be taught first and then discontinued? What should be done with the children who are poor printers? Are special paper and pencils necessary? and Is there a single "best" method for teaching handwriting? |
| Helping Your Child with Science |
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ERIC |
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"Being "scientific" involves being curious, asking how things happen, and learning how to find the answers. Curiosity is natural to children, but they need help understanding how to make sense of what they see. |
| Homeschooling Teaching Strategies |
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ERIC |
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Although little research has been done specifically on homeschooling teaching strategies, homeschoolers can find research-based guidance from general education research literature and experience-based literature prepared by homeschoolers. |
| Journal Writing in Experiential Education: Possibilities, Problems, and Recommendations |
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ERIC |
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Educators who work in the field of experiential education often encourage or require
their students to keep journals. Journals are a time-honored venue for facilitating reflection, an important component of experiential education. |
| Learning History through Children's Literature |
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ERIC |
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Teaching history using children's literature, both fiction and non-fiction, is an old idea enjoying new vitality in the elementary and middle school curriculum. This Digest discusses (1) the revival of interest in teaching history through children's literature, (2) research-based guidelines for teachers of history and children's literature, and (3) an innovative method of teaching history using children's literature. |
| Learning to Learn |
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ERIC |
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Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach that challenges students to "learn to learn". Students work cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real-world problems and more importantly, to develop skills to become self-directed learners. Here, the goal of problem-based learning is viewed as learning for capability rather than learning for the sake of acquiring knowledge. PBL is unique in its integral emphasis on core content along with problem solving (Gallagher, 1997). Within the context of reading in the PBL classroom, learning thus becomes much more than the process of mere knowledge seeking. Students develop critical thinking abilities by constantly relating what they read to what they want to do with the information. They question the writer's assumptions and analyze information presented, all within the context of finding answers to "What can I do with this information?" and "What does understanding this mean to me?" This digest discusses some of the challenges in learning that students face, and identifies web resources that teachers can use to support student learning. |
| Literature Circles |
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ERIC |
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The purpose of this Digest is to introduce some procedures for implementing literature circles and to review some recent findings regarding the benefits of literature circles on students' learning. |
| Motivations and Attitudes Affecting High School Students' Choice of Foreign Language |
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Linked |
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Why do students choose to take a particular language? Do students gravitate toward it because it is widely thought to be the easiest language to learn or because they perceive greater career opportunities with proficiency in this particular language, or is it simply because there are more classes offered? |
| Multiple Intelligences: Gardner's Theory |
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ERIC |
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This digest discusses the origins of Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, his definition of intelligence, the incorporation of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences into the classroom, and its role in alternative assessment practices. |
| Odyssey of the Mind and Homeschooling |
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Original |
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I’ve been involved in the creative problem solving program, Odyssey of the Mind, for the past four years. When I read the following, I was immediately struck by how many of these skills children learn participating in Odyssey of the Mind. |
| Portfolios for Assessment and Instruction |
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ERIC |
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Because there is no single correct way to "do" portfolios, and because they appear to be used for so many things, developing a portfolio system can spell confusion and stress, much coming from not realizing that portfolios are a means to an end and not an end in themselves. More specifically, confusion occurs to the extent there is lack of clarity on: (a) the purpose to be served by the portfolio, and (b) the specific skills to be developed or assessed by the portfolio. |
| Rural Home Schooling and Place-based Education |
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ERIC |
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This Digest identifies ways that place-based education can counter common concerns about homeschooling so that homeschooled students--especially those living in rural areas--receive academic, social, and individual benefits. |
| Self-Directed Learning |
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ERIC |
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Self-directed learners demonstrate a greater awareness of their responsibility in making learning meaningful and monitoring themselves. They are curious and willing to try new things (Lyman, 1997), view problems as challenges, desire change, and enjoy learning. Taylor also found them to be motivated and persistent, independent, self-disciplined, self-confident and goal-oriented. |
| Six Questions Educators Should Ask before Choosing a Handwriting Program |
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ERIC |
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With the teaching of any skill there are choices to be made regarding the method(s) of instruction used. When teaching handwriting, is it better to teach using the vertical manuscript letterforms, such as the Zaner-Bloser method of handwriting, or is it better to use a slanted alphabet, such a D'Nealian. What ware the differences between the methods and how do those differences affect children who are learning to write? |
| Skills for Self-Directed Learning |
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Linked |
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By Huey B. Long. Self-directed learning is an increasingly popular topic. Educators and trainers who are attracted to potential self-directed learning applications often have questions about the skills needed to be an effective self-directed learner. Some answers are now available among the nuggets of information scattered through out a large body of research literature. |
| Teaching Learners to be Self-Directed |
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Linked |
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By Gerald Grow. Based on the Situational Leadership model of Hersey and Blanchard, the Staged Self-Directed Learning Model proposes that learners advance through stages of increasing self-direction and that teachers can help or hinder that development. Good teaching matches the learner's stage of self-direction and helps the learner advance toward greater self-direction. |
| Using Primary Sources in the Primary Grades |
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ERIC |
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What do a stamped Christmas postcard dated 1910, a Confederate one hundred dollar bill, soda pop bottles from Egypt, ice tongs, a rug beater, and a woven prayer rug from the Middle East with a picture of the Kaaba at Mecca all have in common? These and many other artifacts can become primary sources, the very real "stuff" of the social studies that can so effectively engage the young learner in active learning. The use of primary sources in the classroom is a way for students to develop the intellectual curiosity that leads to further research and increased awareness of the world around them. |
