Connecting Instruction and Management in a Student-Centered Classroom
Ms. Thompson's seventh grade stu dents have been studying the solar system and are busily working in cooperative learning groups. Each group has been assigned one planet and their objective is to create a description of a being that could live on "their" planet. Because Ms. Thompson has done a good job of orches trating positive interdependence, students are relying on their groups to achieve their objective while the teacher serves as a facilitator (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, & Roy, 1988). The noise level here is slightly higher than in the typical classroom as students interact with each other and fulfill their assigned roles. The teacher explained the rules for behavior to the students prior to beginning the project: "Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself," "Let others have a chance to speak," and "Contribute to your group." She has predetermined consequences for both appropriate and inappropriate behavior and shared those with the class. Ray and Bill have been having trouble getting along together and today does not seem to be an exception as they continue to "pick on" each other. Even though a warning has been issued to both students, there is yet another altercation between them. Ms. Thompson explains, "Boys, this means detention for both of you." Ray turns pale and looks upset. Bill continues poking Ray with his pencil and says, "Detention's no big deal. I don't care." Ms. Thompson explains to Bill that a call to his par ents will be made. The classroom environment promoted by this teacher is typical of many middle school teachers. The instruction was creative and student centered, but the classroom management techniques were expedient and teacher centered. There can be little doubt that an inter
Restructuring for Inclusion: Changing Teaching Practices (Part II)
Coral Springs Middle School teachers took Coalition of Essential Schools' (CES) principles seriously. They were the topic of workshops, facul ty meetings, retreats, and summer training at Brown University. Over time they became especial ly interested in the view that children are natural learners and that it was the teacher's responsibility to find strategies that work for individual children. Placing at-risk students in every class forced every teacher to abandon old methods that worked well
Science fairs as learning tool for teaching excellence
Science fairs are usually considered to be a pedagogical and cultural activity that involves the students actively. Gifted students need challenges to further develop their skills while maintaining the motivation level. Science fairs may provide the informal environment that will request and allow these students of excellence to challenge themselves by developing a scientific research project. Despite being well known in different countries, in Portugal first steps are being made on the use and implementation of science fairs as effective pedagogical tool. In this work, we will present a 4 years study that was developed on a Portuguese school with the main goal of evaluating the advantages of this informal way of teaching. The study includes an analysis of the evolution of the students’ knowledge that have participated, or visited, the different science fairs. Some advices for the implementation of these projects will be given. The motivation of the students was monitored as well as the knowledge and skills effectively improved by this activity.