Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2006

Curriculum and Instruction

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Education

Technological Literacy – Not Just You And Your Computer, Joseph Scarcella, Susan Daniels May 2006

Technological Literacy – Not Just You And Your Computer, Joseph Scarcella, Susan Daniels

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

One might argue that the word technology is one of the most misunderstood and misused terms in common usage today. Many believe technology to be synonymous with computers, the internet and other high-tech media. This is limited and short sighted view indeed! Technology encompasses both simple and complex artifacts used daily. Pencils, toothbrushes, zippers and toothpicks – not to mention Velcro (!) – for instance, are all examples of what might be considered relatively modern examples of technology. Often, the wonder of “everyday” invention is lost in our current notions of technology. Yet, it is an investigative inquiry into the …

Go to article

Five Approaches To Literacy In Correctional Education, Thom Gehring, Gary H. Sherwin May 2006

Five Approaches To Literacy In Correctional Education, Thom Gehring, Gary H. Sherwin

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This article introduces literacy from a few “big picture” perspectives, and then reviews five paradigms that have shaped the teaching and learning of literacy in residential confinement institutions for juveniles and adults. The paradigms are specific to correctional education, but they will be familiar to all alternative teachers and advocates of literacy instruction.

Go to article

The Power Of Visuals: Picture Books As Invitations To Literacy, Mary Jo Skillings May 2006

The Power Of Visuals: Picture Books As Invitations To Literacy, Mary Jo Skillings

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

When young children are exposed to picture books, they are building important bridges to literacy. Picture books are sometimes defined as a storybook with a dual narrative. That is, the illustrations and text work interdependently, the integration of the visual and the verbal tell the story. The illustrations add a new dimension that extends beyond the words on the page; together, the text and pictures make the story stronger. A well crafted picture book is a feast for the eyes of a young child. The illustrations awaken and develop the child’s visual, mental, and verbal imagination.

Go to article

In Our Own Backyard: Critical Theory And The Development Of The San Jacinto Center For Environmental Education, Susanna Hamilton, Darleen Stoner, Randall Wright May 2006

In Our Own Backyard: Critical Theory And The Development Of The San Jacinto Center For Environmental Education, Susanna Hamilton, Darleen Stoner, Randall Wright

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This research addresses the topic of nature centers from a critical theory perspective. This research assumed in part, the question: what are the characteristics of a functional and successful nature center that includes environmental education goals and programs? Nature center administrators from across the United States were surveyed and asked to share their opinions on this topic. Six overall characteristics pertaining to management and vision were identified through an exploratory mixed‑method design. Other components of these characteristics were discovered during the analysis of the data, and include factors such as approaches to education. Recommendations for improving nature centers and their …

Go to article

Aesthetic Knowing: Essential To The Development Of Heart And Mind., Laura Howzell-Young, Susan Daniels May 2006

Aesthetic Knowing: Essential To The Development Of Heart And Mind., Laura Howzell-Young, Susan Daniels

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Children are biologically wired to experience their world through rich sensory, affective, aesthetic, and imaginal experiences. Children thirst for art, music and movement, and these modes are utilized widely to learn the varied languages of literacy: the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary, body-sense and more. Yet, in response to meeting higher and more prescribed standards at the elementary and secondary levels, there is a tendency to narrow the curriculum, to consider art and music expendable, to view social-emotional development as external to the schoolhouse. This narrowing is happening just as our global culture is moving again toward multiple kinds of communication: toward …

Go to article

Where Visual Literacy And Identity Meet: Adolescents Define Themselves Through Participation In A University Video And Art Enrichment Program, Susan Daniels, Patricia Little, Linda M. Reynolds, Alayne Sullivan May 2006

Where Visual Literacy And Identity Meet: Adolescents Define Themselves Through Participation In A University Video And Art Enrichment Program, Susan Daniels, Patricia Little, Linda M. Reynolds, Alayne Sullivan

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This article summarizes a project that oriented one hundred and twenty-five gifted and talented middle-school students to university culture through a series of summer workshops that emphasized visual media. Various workshops introduced students to methods of video and art production. The middle-school students created short videos and artistic collages to represent their identity in response to two activities: (a) in-depth explorations of the California State University campus at San Bernardino; and (b) literary reading. Art and video production are revealed as a powerful means of middle-school students’ identity formation and expression; the work summarized herein gains credence through its alignment …

Go to article

Developing High School Multiple Intelligence Learning Centers: An Action Research Project In History., Jessica Cannaday May 2006

Developing High School Multiple Intelligence Learning Centers: An Action Research Project In History., Jessica Cannaday

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Research that provides results which can be almost instantaneously put into use is looked on by some teachers as a path to better student learning. Accordingly, action research is a form of critical reflection that some experts believe can achieve instant change. Although, action research is sometimes denigrated as lacking in precision, the critical reflection necessary in any well done action research project demonstrates that such research while, not quantitatively rigorous can still be qualitatively useful. As such, the author discusses her own implementation of MI learning centers as a form of action research in the classroom.

Go to article

Meaningful Assessment Promotes Meaningful Learning, Diane K. Brantley May 2006

Meaningful Assessment Promotes Meaningful Learning, Diane K. Brantley

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Since the enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, America’s schools have faced enhanced scrutiny by the public sector. Larger demands have been placed on children to perform at increasingly higher levels of achievement in reading and math, often beginning as early as kindergarten. Teachers and institutions of higher education have also felt the surge of outside pressure to “perform” wash over them.

Go to article