Education Commons^™

Reaching All The Students In Your Classroom, Kathleen Vantol

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This presentation discusses scaffolding: distinct instructional techniques which provide the supports that struggling learners may need to learn challenging lesson content. Planning for inclusion of appropriate scaffolding requires that teachers know both their students and their content well.

Iron Sharpens Iron: Co-Teaching In A Teacher Education Program, Patricia C. Kornelis, Gwen R. Marra, Ed Starkenburg

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Recently the Education department at Dordt College revamped its program. We were implementing co-teaching during our year-long student teaching experience for seniors, but we felt it would be more effective if students had experience with co-teaching before being one of the main participants. As changes were discussed, we were challenged to look for opportunities to implement co-teaching so students would benefit from it as a student as well as seeing it modeled and explained. As a result of this, Ed Starkenburg and Gwen Marra have been co-teaching an undergraduate Children’s and Adolescent Literature course. They will share their experiences of …

Informational Texts And Vocabulary For Young Children, Gwen R. Marra

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Informational texts are encouraged in the primary grade classroom. Why are they important? How can they be used effectively?

Team Work Boosts Student Learning And Professional Community, Thomas M. Van Soelen

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A team of kindergarten teachers in rural Georgia dig deeply into student work and standards to build a common understanding of writing expectations.

Group Retesting To Promote Learning Self-Awareness And Individual Accountability, Robbin Eppinga, Kayt E. Frisch, Jeff Ploegstra

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Allowing students to retake tests in groups provides them with the immediate opportunity to learn from their mistakes while improving their perceptions of a course. We explore Group Review Advancing Content/Concept Essentials (aka GRACE), a variation on group retesting, which creates a peer learning environment and emphasizes individual metacognition, concept articulation, and accountability. Through an interactive demonstration, we introduce the process, relate some of the literature-reported benefits of group retesting, and share our experiences using GRACE in a variety of disciplines at different course levels.

Subject-Centered Approach To Integrate Faith And Learning, Valorie L. Zonnefeld

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No abstract provided.

Sola Gratia: Grace In The Engineering Curriculum And Profession, Ethan Brue

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Integral Christian higher education is in vogue. Most Christian institutions of higher education who take their mission seriously make the claim that the education offered to students is one where faith and learning are not separate. It is a belief that their entire educational enterprise is inexorably tied in some way, shape, or form to our new life in Christ. Most engineering programs on Christian campuses are the outgrowth of this perspective. Over the last fifty years, numerous philosophers, writers, scientists, and engineers have developed a solid foundation from which engineering can be understood as an essential calling in the …

Please Help Your Teachers Play Hookey With Us, Leah A. Zuidema

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Posting about the 2014 National Council of Teachers of English annual convention and why it's good for both teachers and students from Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care - a blog advocating for authentic writing instruction.

http://writerswhocare.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/please-help-your-teachers-play-hookey-with-us/

Forum: Teacher-Writers: Then, Now, And Next, Anne Elrod Whitney, Troy Hicks, Leah A. Zuidema, James E. Fredricksen, Robert P. Yagelski

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In this article, the authors reflect upon “the teacher as writer” and describe how they see this concept and movement developing. They articulate a view of the teacher-writer as empowered advocate. Using examples from their scholarship, they illustrate how this powerful idea can transform research conducted about and with teachers. Finally, they draw attention to the potential of the teacher-writer stance as a means of resistance to current reform efforts that disempower teachers.

Using Design Hierarchy In A Linear Circuits Class To Illustrate The Scientific Method As A Human Invention, Douglas Deboer

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There are various ways to classify academic studies. One might make a “two cultures” division, separating academic studies into the humanities and sciences. Or one might have three divisions: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Or one might choose to classify academic studies along the lines of traditional academic disciplines such as theology, law, art, music, economics, social studies, languages, political studies, history, psychology, biology, physics, chemistry, math, etc. In our era of global commerce, where does engineering fit in these types of classification? What should engineers study? In a 2008 presidential debate, candidate Barack Obama said that, “Ensuring that …

Using Dialogic Discussion To Boost Vocabulary, Gwen R. Marra

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Workshop presentation on reading aloud to young children given at the 2014 Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children Conference in Altoona, Iowa.

Technology- Infused Teacher Preparation: Connecting Technology And Pedagogy, David J. Mulder

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Mulder asserts that as teacher educators move away from stand-alone technology courses towards the integration approach, clear descriptions for what knowledge and skills pre-service teacher must develop are needed. and once decided, faculty in teacher preparation programs will need to clearly articulate an approach for integrating technology into the program. He goes on to explain the TPACK framework, which currently serves as a preeminent model for exploring technology integration in education.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Designing A High School Or Middle School Course (Or Unit) In Professional Writing, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article offers information on the development of professional writing course in English middle school or high school classroom. It mentions that a good syllabus not only provide answers to basic questions, but also to questions that Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins have pertained to as the essential questions. It notes that students learn from writing activities and assessments including how to write in genres, evaluate the settings of professional tools, and manage their writing processes.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Professional Collaborative Writing: Teaching, Writing, And Learning -- Together, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article discusses the significance of writing professionally and collaboratively in English learning. It states that if people consider writing as just an individual act, they miss the big part of the value of professional writing. It says that oftentimes, professional writing explicitly represents an organization. It adds that collaborative writing involves the work of two or more members of a team.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Let's Get Real: Using Usability To Connect Writers, Readers, And Texts, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article discusses the application of the concept of usability and user-centered design in the interaction between the writers and the readers in the English classroom. It is inferred that the interaction with readers is essential during the process of writing. The elements of effective lessons on usability and user-centered design are highlighted.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Are You A Writing Bully? Considerations For Teachers And Students, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article focuses on discussing the implications of bullying in writing when teaching professional writing in English classrooms. It states some of the forms of bullying include through memorandums with threatening and aggressive languages, forwarded emails aiming to embarrass, and general directives. The authors relate their experiences of being bullied and as a bully to others. It presents examples to help students consider issues related the audience, format, and timing in writing.

Grammar Workshop: Systematic Language Study In Reading And Writing Contexts, Leah A. Zuidema

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Responding to claims that grammar instruction has become too limited, Zuidema describes field notebooks, mentor text, show-and-tell essays, and other strategies for engaging students in systematic language analysis.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Literature-Based Professional Writing: An Oxymoron Whose Time Has Come, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema, Kelley R. Newhouse, Michele L. Propper, Ruth M. Riedel, Barbara S. Teitelzweig

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The article discusses a study regarding the integration of professional writing in English classes. It mentions the proposal of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in its annual convention on associating professional writing with literature. It also states that connecting literature with technical writing in English classrooms provides students with opportunities to absorb real life writing experiences.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Student Writers As Problem Solvers In Literature Classrooms, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema, Dawn Reed, Katie Greene

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The article reports on the role of student writers in the U.S. to enhance the study of literature in the classroom. High school teacher Dawn Reed shares how students' professional writing served as a starting point for deeper study and advocacy of American literature. It provides an overview of Katie Greene's assessment system that creates flexibility while providing a model of evaluation which can be adapted for other professional writing experiences.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Good Writing: The Problem Of Ethics, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article focuses on good writing in the English classroom. It mentions that the way to know if one has good writing is to see how the audience reacts to it. Writing professionals argue that good writers anticipate readers' reactions as they shape style, page design, and content and every aspect of their writing. It notes that one of the main goals in professional writing is to teach students to use of rhetoric tools to influence their audiences and to emphasize ethical decision-making.

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Beyond Language: The Grammar Of Document Design, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article offers guidelines in teaching professional writing in an English classroom. It highlights the elements in deciding for a good document design which include layout, fonts and color. It outlines the CRAP acronym (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity) formulated by Saul Greenberg which summarizes the essential techniques in grammar design.

Innovative Education In Agroecology: Experiential Learning For A Sustainable Agriculture, C.A. Francis, N. Jordan, P. Porter, T.A. Breland, G. Lieblein, L. Salomonsson, N. Sriskandarajah, M. Wiedenhoeft, Robert Dehaan, I. Braden, V. Langer

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The transdisciplinary field of agroecology provides a platform for experiential learning based on an expanded vision of research on sustainable farming and food systems and the application of results in creating effective learning landscapes for students. With increased recognition of limitations of fossil fuels, fresh water, and available farmland, educators are changing focus from strategies to reach maximum yields to those that feature resource use efficiency and resilience of production systems in a less benign climate. To help students deal with complexity and uncertainty and a wide range of biological and social dimensions of the food challenge, a whole-systems approach …

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Professional Writing: What You Already Know, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

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The article offers the authors' insights on professional writing that are taught in the English classroom, in which it is defined as writing within professional context with genres such as formal reports, directives, and proposals. They state that many teachers learn professional writing not only from advice, but also from experience and practice. They also mention that professional writing can be integrated in all fields of English language arts classrooms that can be taught to students.

Spinning Tubes: An Authentic Research Experience In A Three-Hour Laboratory, Arnold E. Sikkema, Steven D. Steenwyk, John Zwart

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We discuss a three-hour laboratory that is a microcosm of physics research, starting with the discovery of an intriguing phenomenon, and including participation in “research conferences” and the interplay of theory and experiment. Students are given a small segment of PVC pipe marked at opposite ends with different symbols and asked to observe what happens when the pipe is placed on a horizontal surface and one end is pushed downward by a finger to initiate a rotation. Most students immediately recognize that the symbol at one end is visible while the other is not, and set about trying to understand …

Viewing And Visual Representation In The Physical Education Classroom, Craig Heynen

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Visual representation and viewing are integral parts of language arts, communication, and physical education. Time constraints often limit a self-contained classroom teacher, or even the language arts teacher's ability to adequately address all areas of language arts. Therefore, it is important to include language arts in other content areas. Visual representation and viewing can be effectively integrated into physical education, and can enhance the physical education learning experience as a result. In this article, the author discusses several strategies to integrate viewing and visual representation in a physical education classroom.

Defining The Phenomenon Of Teaching Christianly At A Christian College: A Study Conducted At Dordt College, Barb Hoekstra

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Despite the high value that Christian colleges place on teaching, there is scant literature on teaching christianly in higher education. Pedagogy that promotes Christian beliefs resides in the K-12 literature. Using the work of Van Brummelen (1988) and Van Dyk (2000) originally developed for teaching christianly at the K-12 level, a conceptual framework was developed. This study investigated what it means to teach christianly at a small Christian college. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used to explore teachers’ perceptions and beliefs about teaching christianly in higher education. A criterion sampling strategy was used in selecting 10 participants who had the …