Education Commons^™

Rethinking Combined History Departments: An Argument For History And Anthropology, Ageeth Sluis, Elise Edwards

Ageeth Sluis

Many opportunities for more integrated teaching that better capture the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary scholars' work and better achieve the aims of liberal arts education still remain untapped, particularly at smaller schools where combined departments are often necessary. The disciplinary boundaries between history and sociocultural anthropology have become increasingly blurred in recent decades, a trend reflected in scholarly work that engages with both fields, as well as dual-degree graduate programmes at top U.S. research universities. For many scholars, this interdisciplinarity makes sense, with the two disciplines offering critical theoretical tools and methods that must be used in combination to tackle …

Rethinking Combined History Departments: An Argument For History And Anthropology, Ageeth Sluis, Elise Edwards

Elise M. Edwards

Many opportunities for more integrated teaching that better capture the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary scholars' work and better achieve the aims of liberal arts education still remain untapped, particularly at smaller schools where combined departments are often necessary. The disciplinary boundaries between history and sociocultural anthropology have become increasingly blurred in recent decades, a trend reflected in scholarly work that engages with both fields, as well as dual-degree graduate programmes at top U.S. research universities. For many scholars, this interdisciplinarity makes sense, with the two disciplines offering critical theoretical tools and methods that must be used in combination to tackle …

The "Rap" On Reading Comprehension, Jessica Hagaman, Robert Reid, Kati Luschen

Robert Reid

Reading problems are one of the most frequent reasons students are referred for special education services and the disparity between students with reading difficulties and those who read successfully appears to be increasing. As a result, there is now an emphasis on early intervention programs such as RTI. In many cases, early intervention in reading instruction focuses primarily on foundational reading skills, such as decoding. However, with much of the focus on fluency, reading comprehension may be overlooked. How can special educators implement an effective reading comprehension strategy with young students who exhibit reading comprehension problems? The authors taught the …

A New Approach To Teaching Science, Gary Lewis, Gail Schiffer

Gary C. Lewis

After several years of hard work, the faculty of Kennesaw State College has adopted and begun to implement a new core of courses to be taken by all undergraduate students. Central to the core philosophy is the integration of knowledge from a wide array of disciplines and the teaching of skills essential to a well-educated college graduate. Course sequences in the area of humanities and the social sciences have been designed to meet these objectives, and the faculties of these disciplines have worked hard developing these courses.

'It Happened Just Like We Talked About' : Using Scenarios To Develop Professional Identity In Pre-Service Teachers, Ruth Hickey, Pauline Taylor

Associate Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy

The Medieval Writing Workshop, Alex Mueller

Alex Mueller

If we compare elementary and secondary school classrooms today with their grammar school predecessors of the Middle Ages, we might find few similarities. The terrifying image of the medieval schoolmaster, seated in a chair with his birch in hand, ready to strike supplicant schoolboys for incorrect answers, does not match our more recent and comforting portrait of the teacher who circulates throughout the classroom and nurtures students through a student-centered curriculum. Yet, as an educator trained as both a medievalist and a high school English teacher, I am regularly provoked by the affinities I discover in medieval and modern pedagogies, …

From Research To Practice : Using The Timss Video Study Findings To Enhance Australian Mathematics Teaching, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

The findings of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study have been reported at both international and national levels, however its impact on Australian mathematics teaching has yet to be realised. How can the results of the video study inform teachers' efforts toward excellence in mathematics teaching in Australia? This paper highlights some of the findings and recommendations in the national report, 'Teaching Mathematics in Australia: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study', and anticipates ways that the products of the study might be used for improving teaching and teacher development. The broad purpose of the …

Additional Assistance : Counting, Duality And Compression Of Number And The Counting Slide, Mary Delahunty, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

At the beginning of 2000 the principal and staff of St Catherine's, Moorabbin, Victoria, instituted an additional assistance mathematics program within their school to support those children identified as being at risk in the early years. Children in Grade 1 and Grade 2 were the focus for withdrawal and support and were offered three sessions a week withdrawal and some whole class skills activity sessions for the year. Classroom needs was the focus for Grade 3 and children who were specifically targeted in relation to place value and the laws of mathematics received one session per week withdrawal for two …

The Importance Of Efficient Strategies In Developing Numeracy In The Early Years, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

A mathematics intervention program has been established at Elm Primary School for children at risk of not succeeding with Grade 1 mathematics. The program is based on current research that shows that children become numerate by progressing through five counting stages. The development and results of clinical interviews used for testing are discussed along with strategies that have been used to assist children overcome common difficulties identified by the testing. The importance for classroom teachers to be able to identify each child's strategies and thus their counting stage is stressed as a starting point for numeracy teaching in early years. …