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The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods research is to (1) analyse research on the problems in music education management in Thailand in the past 5-10 years and (2) explore the current resources of music education in Thai institutions under the Office of The Basic Education Commission (OBEC). The study found that (1) the problems regarding music education in Thailand were lack of experts, lack of music curriculum, lack of musical instruments and proper classrooms, administration systems, lack of budget, lack of music-related activities and disagreement in the perceptions of school directors and teachers; and (2) under the OBEC, there were 30,112 schools in total with 6,781,130 students in the 2018 academic year. As for music teachers, the majority, 68.9%, possess an educational background in music or music education. Overall, most of the schools of all sizes tend to lack Thai, Western and Thai folk musical instruments.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study raised the concern that the United States (US) mathematics teachers place less emphasis on topics and teach a variety of content strands (Goldsmith, Mark & Kantrov, 2000; Kerachsky, 2008). The overall pattern in the US mathematics classrooms today is that primary and upper elementary teachers cover numerous topics before students achieve mastery (Cogan & Schmidt, 1999; National Center for Education Statistics, 1997). To solve this problem, US teachers need to find ways to focus fewer curriculum and study topics with a more in-depth agenda. Curriculum Focal Points for pre-kindergarten through grade 8 mathematics: a quest for coherence (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2006) provides a strong framework that may assist teachers in creating a more coherent and focused mathematics program for students. In this article, the authors discuss example lessons that were implemented and observed in pre-kindergarten, fourth grade and sixth grade classrooms during a year-long professional development program. The overarching goal of this program was to provide appropriate instruction for teachers to organize mathematics standards-based curriculum in geometry, algebra and measurement, using a curriculum that emphasizes a strong conceptual framework. As an outcome of this exploratory research agenda, the authors' intentions were to circulate "best practices" and encourage international connections and discussion when using Curriculum Focal Points (CFP) in global classrooms.

A teacher's role was dramatically changed from that of an educator to that of a facilitator with the adoption of semi-scripted curriculums. This case study explores teachers' perception and implementation of a state's English Language Arts curriculum in first-grade classrooms. Four first-grade teachers from a large urban school district were observed during the 90-minute literacy instruction block for four weeks each using Spradley's Developmental Research Sequence. In addition, data were collected from multiple teacher interviews. Qualitative analyses yielded the following themes: (a) teachers were minimally supported in professional development for using the curriculum; (b) they often ventured beyond the scope of the curriculum in resource usage; and (c) their planning was eased with the adoption of a semi-scripted curriculum. Furthermore, this sampling of first-grade teachers implemented English Language Arts curriculum through integrating both phonics and reading instruction. Findings are relevant to classroom teachers, curriculum coaches and administrators alike. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.)

At a recent professional development program, the authors asked teachers to recall the ways in which they learned about history in the course of their own schooling. The teachers at this professional development gathering not only identified some of the key challenges facing elementary teachers charged with teaching social studies curricula, they also were able to identify a promising response to these challenges. They recognized that without reflection, their approach to teaching could be negatively influenced by the textbook-directed pedagogy that had failed to engage them as learners. Fortunately, their own experiences also pointed to the potential that historical fiction offered in response to this concern. This article examines the potential of using literature to strengthen students' understanding of history and explores research-based pedagogical strategies that bring history to life in elementary and middle school classrooms. (Contains 6 figures.)

Internet tools associated with Web 2.0 such as wikis, blogs, and video podcasts are increasingly available in elementary classrooms. ("Web 2.0" is a vaguely defined, folk-tech term that means, roughly, the Internet and all software and devices, constantly improving, that strive to exploit it in creative and useful ways.) Today, elementary students can communicate with other young people on the other side of the globe in a matter of seconds. How can teachers prepare themselves, and their students, to make good use of these new powerful tools of communication? eMINTS (Enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) is a national center at the University of Missouri that promotes quality teaching with technology. The eMINTS "pedagogical approach allows students to be more self-directed and takes advantage of their prior knowledge and skills in the use of new technologies." As eMINTS teachers, the authors (Michelle Nebel and Barbara Jamison) explore how new technologies can be integrated into the curriculum and classroom environments. To prepare students for participating fully in the world of the Internet, they designed learning experiences to address some of the concerns of "digital citizenship," which is defined as one's roles and responsibilities as a user of the Internet. In this article, the authors provide some examples of Internet sites and activities that a teacher can use to incorporate the skills, knowledge, and responsibilities of digital citizenship into an elementary classroom setting. (Contains 24 notes.)

A significant proportion of the teaching and learning in PhD programs is conducted independently by the candidate under the supervision of one or more supervisors. Supervisors and students are usually expected to meet regularly to ensure that students are on track to produce a dissertation as independent researchers. Yet few studies to date examine how teaching and learning within supervision meetings is interactionally achieved. In this paper we use a conversation analysis approach to study how supervisors formulate their student-solicited feedback. Specifically, we show that equivocation in giving feedback serves a pedagogical purpose that balances competition between the institutional goals of teaching with the expectations that PhD students should already be competent researchers. While supervisors provided equivocal feedback in both early and late stages of candidature, we show here how the nature of this feedback changes, showing the sensitivities of supervisors to the developing capacities of their supervisees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explicates the codes that prescribe and shape the marine engineer student in times of massification and high attrition rates in Danish non-university higher education. In a case study of a Danish school of marine engineering, the Bernsteinian concept of knowledge structures and Legitimation Code Theory support analysing the official curriculum along with teacher and student interviews to determine what is considered knowledge and whose knowledge is deemed important. We find that teachers' pedagogical decisions are embedded in the epistemological and social conventions of their individual educational backgrounds. Their struggles on content and pedagogic approach make it difficult for students to understand what is legitimate knowledge and who can claim to be a legitimate knower. To offer more students epistemic access to non-university academic study and increase student success, the epistemic and evaluative logics of the pedagogic discourses to which students are exposed must be clarified and made explicit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) practices often require brokering across academic and disciplinary boundaries. As a group of seven diverse international SoTL scholars, we utilise scholarly personal narratives (SPN) as our methodology to document and explore our experiences of brokering across our multiple roles, disciplines and contexts. Guided by Simmons's 4M framework, we examine brokering within and across micro, meso, macro, and mega levels, illuminating the complexity of brokering. Our focus in this article is on the ways that brokering strengthens one's sense of identity, sense of legitimacy, and sense of community as a SoTL practitioner. Our study contributes to the broader SoTL literature by seeking to reaffirm SoTL as its own unique and legitimate field, emphasising the importance and complexity of brokering, and encouraging and supporting others who work within SoTL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak forced universities to immediately shift to online teaching, and the transition presented unprecedented challenges. This paper reports our findings from a collaborative autoethnography study with a special focus on the challenges we encountered and our agentive responses in teaching online. Data reveal four major challenges (1) unpredictable situations, (2) shifting teacher roles in online context, (3) issues on course design, expectations, grading, and feedback, and (4) technology issues. Also, we reported four agentive responses (1) adopting a positive attitude, (2) reexamining our teaching practices and educational goals, (3) exploring alternative pedagogical approaches, and (4) strategically implementing technology to enhance teaching and learning. These intentional reflections became opportunities for us to revisit our positionality, analyze our teaching experiences, and transform them into tools in supporting students. This study calls for more resources for professional development, as well as further conversations and collaborations among teachers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smart classroom, as a product of advances in information technology, has garnered wide attention in academia in recent years. Using the method of literature review, this article delves into the construction and application of smart classrooms in China on the basis of 93 prior studies retrieved from the database of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Research results show that there is a lack of uniform evaluation criteria for the construction of smart classrooms despite the prominent advancements in their systems and facilities, and that in the dimension of applications, there has been growing interest in the alignment between smart classroom technologies and instructional needs but a dearth of research on teaching activity design for smart classroom instruction. Recommendations are also proposed based on the issues detected, with a view to contributing to the widespread deployment and ongoing optimization of smart classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of students with exceptional needs receive most of their formal education in general education or inclusive classrooms. These students often need a variety of accommodations to ensure their success with the general education curriculum. The purpose of this article is to explore accommodation approaches and strategies for teaching students with exceptional needs in inclusive classrooms. We first discuss the relationship of classroom assessment and IEP goal development, followed by a discussion on how to accommodate learning objectives for classroom assessment. We further discuss how to use classroom assessment to document IEP progress. Finally, we present assessment accommodation categories by providing vignettes of students with exceptional needs who receive appropriate and adequate accommodations in inclusive classrooms. We conclude with a brief discussion on practice, policy, and research implications of accommodations for inclusive practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text contains an analysis and reflection exercise around some components of the epistemic model that delimits the 2022 Curriculum of the Degree in Special Education seen in the light of the complexity paradigm, as well as the relationship it has with the activities of teaching that some teachers still replicate in classrooms at the higher level; The recovery of some professional biographical components allows us to take advantage of this qualitative research tool to recover worrying information about what the teacher thinks and decides regarding his didactic work and the possible contradictions that may arise between the epistemic approach that supports the teacher training and what happens on a daily basis in the classroom; The constant reflection of doing and the presentation of some changes in teaching activities are also presented in this writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing racial diversity within British and Spanish societies, teacher education and school curricula continue to be Eurocentric and taught by predominantly White teachers. This quantitative research sought to explore the perceptions of student teachers in relation to their attitudes and preparedness to teach in ethnically diverse school contexts. Data were gathered at two universities, one in Southern Spain and the other in Northwest England. The article employs critical race theory and critical whiteness studies as frames to understand outcomes of an online questionnaire. The majority White student teacher sample across both countries register an acceptance of racial diversity and report the need for better preservice teacher education in this respect. Despite preservice teachers' positive responses to racial diversity, teacher education in both countries fails to equip them for increasingly diverse classrooms. This failure serves to replicate the enactment of whiteness and, does not develop student teachers' stated commitment to racial diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The form of assessment which grade four teachers use to determine the learning outcomes of the learners who are studying English First Additional Language (EFAL) in South African schools demands urgent attention. This urgency stems from the necessity to critically examine the post-apartheid educational system's assessment practices and how effectively they align with the evolving needs of society. To maintain a more discreet approach, this investigation specifically centered on teachers of EFAL and utilized a qualitative case study methodology. A purposive sampling technique led to the inclusion of 10 grade four EFAL teachers from schools in the King Cetshwayo District for data collection. The primary tool employed for this purpose was a semi-structured interview, skillfully developed to explore the perspectives of teachers and beliefs on assessment techniques. The researchers opted for a thematic analysis approach, allowing for a thorough examination of the data while respecting the privacy and confidentiality of the participants. The findings of classwork and teachers predominantly leaned towards traditional approaches such as engaging students through question-and-answer interactions, conducting tests, evaluating classwork, and assessing comprehension abilities. These methods were the primary means through which teachers assessed their students' understanding and performance within the learning environment. The study recommended that diversifying assessment techniques could provide a more comprehensive understanding of learners' development, catering to varying abilities and better addressing individual learning needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines how material resistance (limitations posed by the physical world) and graph interpretation intersected during a high school biology investigation using digital sensors. We use an extended episode from a small group to illustrate how, in an inquiry-based unit, measuring near the resolution limit of a sensor caused scaling issues in graphs. Qualitative videotape analysis focuses on both the students' attempts to make sense of a perceived lack of variation in the collected data and the teacher's and classroom researchers' misinterpretation of the students' difficulties with graph interpretation. We suggest that these educators, though experienced, could have benefited from additional strategies to help them recognise and respond to graph interpretation issues introduced by digital representations of real-world data, and that the students could have benefited from explicit prompts to discuss the limitations of their equipment. We describe several implications for researchers, teachers, and curriculum developers interested in implementing inquiry-based biology investigations using sensor data. We argue that students should be supported to recognise that encountering unexpected results from their investigations and working to understand what these results have to say about the real world is an important and valid part of the practice of real science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research has underscored the importance of inquiry-based methods in history teaching, yet the organisational and cultural contexts within which teachers work and how these impact teachers' practices have received little attention. This article employs the job demands-resources theory to examine factors that inform the classroom methods of secondary history teachers in Ghana. A qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews and lesson observations was used to explore this issue. Results show that teachers in Ghana report high levels of workload that are disproportionate to the resources available in their schools of practice. This resulted in pressure and anxiety to achieve curriculum coverage in response to testing and accountability regimes. The article concludes that tensions between job demands and resources form a disincentive against the implementation of inquiry-based pedagogies in Ghanaian schools. The article draws implications for curriculum design and stakeholder engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vision behind the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is that all students engage in explaining phenomena and designing solutions with three-dimensional learning. Authentic sensemaking involves opportunities for learners to share, analyze, and critique ideas in collaborative groups. However, it can be challenging to structure classroom discourse so that all students actively participate. This article outlines the success of two teachers using Group Learning Routines (GLR), or peer-to-peer discussion protocols, to support diverse learners. The routines are embedded in the New Visions for Public Schools Biology Curriculum which is open source and storyline-based. The unit described here engages students in an exploration of the mismatch between how our bodies and our environments function. Embedded routines structure student talk throughout a learning sequence culminating in class consensus discussion, in which students collaboratively decide on a class-wide explanation of the phenomenon. Resources, such as rubrics, descriptions of the routines, and example student work are provided to support classroom implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flipped classroom model (FCM) is currently a prominent topic in education circles. While there's been discussion about its positive impacts, there's limited empirical evidence in the literature regarding whether FCM can truly improve the oral proficiency of non-English major learners. In this study, FCM was utilized to explore its benefits in terms of improving students' oral proficiency. The data was collected through one set of questionnaires, in-class observations and a pre- and post-test with a speaking rubric to check the effect of FCM on students' speaking skills. In this study, there were 60 non-English major students of Dong Nai Technology University (DNTU) in Vietnam. In class A (the flipped group), 30 students studied the course using FCM, while the remaining students in class B (the traditional group) studied the course using traditional methods. Findings reveal that the use of FCM not only improved students' speaking skills but also enhanced learners' motivation. The results can serve as a guide when developing oral proficiency for non-English major students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the complex dynamics between school interaction and the school environment is critical to promoting children's academic achievement and overall development. This research explores how positive school interaction influences academic engagement, social development, and emotional resilience among students, while also examining the role of the school environment in facilitating learning and development. Using the literature review method, the study reveals a significant correlation between positive school interaction and various indicators of student success. Furthermore, it highlights the central role of the school environment, which includes factors such as classroom design, resources, curriculum structure, and administrative policies, in shaping the overall learning climate and educational outcomes. Positive school interaction, defined by active engagement, supportive relationships, and effective communication among students, teachers, and peers, is consistently associated with improved academic achievement and well-being among students. Research shows that when students feel valued, supported, and connected to their school community, they are more likely to demonstrate higher levels of motivation, persistence, and self-efficacy in their academic pursuits. In addition, positive school interaction fosters a sense of belonging and social connectedness, which are essential for promoting emotional resilience and psychological well-being among students. Complementarily, qualitative insights from classroom observations and interviews of the studies reviewed provided rich contextual information about the nature and quality of school interaction. Observations of classroom dynamics, teacher-student interactions, and peer relationships shed light on the factors that contribute to positive or negative interactions within the school environment. Interviews with teachers and students offer perspectives on the role of communication, trust and support in promoting positive interaction at school and creating a conducive learning environment. The study also explores the influence of the school environment on student outcomes, emphasizing the importance of physical, organizational and socio-cultural factors in shaping the overall learning climate. Classroom design, resources, curriculum structure, and administrative policies play a critical role in creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment that promotes student success. Schools with well-designed facilities, adequate resources, and supportive policies tend to create a more positive learning environment that enhances student engagement, motivation, and academic achievement. Based on the findings, the study draws several conclusions about the relationship between school interaction, the school environment, and student outcomes. First, positive school interaction is a key predictor of student success, influencing academic achievement, social development, and emotional well-being. Second, the school environment significantly influences the quality of school interaction and student outcomes, highlighting the importance of creating supportive and inclusive learning environments. In conclusion, this research highlights the critical importance of encouraging positive school interaction and optimizing the school environment to promote student well-being and academic success. Recommendations emerging from the study support evidence-based strategies to enhance school interaction, create inclusive and supportive learning environments, and implement leadership practices that enhance collaboration and communication among stakeholders. Additional data collected from followup surveys and focus groups further strengthen the study's conclusions, highlighting the need for continued efforts to cultivate schools that empower all students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current policy in England, informed by a version of cognitive science, enforces an absolute distinction between experts and novices, or teachers and learners; from this binary, operating in tandem with regimes of performativity instantiated in a curriculum shaped by high-stakes testing, are derived particular forms of pedagogy and particular pedagogic relations. And yet what happens in classrooms is seldom reducible to the prescriptive dictates of policy. Even in tightly constrained contexts, teachers and students act in ways that open up other possibilities, other ways of responding to each other and to the texts that are read together. An account of a single observed lesson, taught by a pre-service teacher, explores some of these tensions and suggests the need for different ways of understanding what is accomplished within English as a school subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Digital Education is the property of Haiyan Publishing Co. Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Digital Education is the property of Haiyan Publishing Co. Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the technologisation of the pedagogical space "classroom". We will discuss the development and establishment of the subject-specific classroom system in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany, 1949–1989) by taking a closer look at organisational-structural conditions and responsibilities, as well as at the functioning and challenges that emerged during the implementation of subject classrooms. The furnishing of the subject classroom with seating, desks, teaching and learning objects including technical equipment, and storage furniture was planned down to the last detail and aligned to the requirements of the curriculum. We will concentrate on the classrooms for Physics and Music to highlight the peculiarities of this principle of school spatial organisation and its impact on social school practice. Our paper will focus on the political agenda and regulations, by drawing on sources from state-led research programmes. The article uses the concept of the classroom dispositif as a description of the programmatic claims. Thus, the subject-specific classroom could be considered as a technically shaped apparatus whose architectural structure determines pedagogical practices in their spatial, temporal, social, institutional, and technical dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "geographic reasoning", in Brazil, gained breadth and centrality in the debate on Geography teaching after the approval of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), in 2017. This term, since then, has been frequently used in proposing school curricula in response to these new guidelines of the Brazilian national curriculum. However, the search for guidance through which geographic reasoning is processed predates the BNCC and has been the subject of discussions among Brazilian education researchers for at least two decades. Given the relevance that the term has gained in teaching in Brazil, this article is based on the following questions: Are there, in the field of Geography teaching, epistemically robust proposals that indicate how to develop geographic reasoning in the classroom? And, if they exist, in what dimensions would these proposals contribute to the development of School Geography, especially in response to the curricular changes underway in Brazil? In the search to answer these questions, a bibliographical survey was carried out that identified three proposals for geographic reasoning built from systematic research conducted by their authors: one Belgian proposal and two Brazilian ones. The analysis of these proposals is presented and problematized in this article, to favor the cognitive understanding inherent to the action of reasoning geographically. This action reveals itself to be a didactic strategy based on Geography teaching committed to scientificity, notably when based on the use of a conceptual network epistemically approved by geographic science, in the search for answering a geographic question inherent to a given situation, also, geographic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the use of an avatar named Truti to involve a chronically ill student named Lilly in daily lessons. Due to her illness, Lilly was unable to physically attend classes for over eight months, but thanks to the avatar, she was always present. The avatar allowed Lilly to follow the lessons, communicate with teachers and classmates, learn, and play. The integration of the avatar into the lessons and the classroom community went smoothly, and Lilly was able to easily keep up with the curriculum thanks to the avatar. [Extracted from the article]

Food, cooking, and eating are commonly used as contexts or legitimations to teach and communicate science. However, for teaching to have contextual credibility, the relationship between subject and context is a relevant area of study. The present contribution describes an analysis of curricula from three Nordic countries shedding light on conditions for interdisciplinarity and/or curricular integration between the subjects science/chemistry on the one side, and home economics on the other. A two-phase documentary analysis was conducted on curricula from Finland, Norway, and Sweden from 2006 to 2020, revealing substantial potential for interdisciplinary collaboration and/or curricular integration. This is seen both in common declarative knowledge content ('declarative knowledge overlap') and, more interestingly, meeting points between subject-dependent practices and ways of thinking ('transfer of practices and ways of thinking'). The second inductive phase produced 11 themes common to the subjects. Possibilities and challenges are discussed in relation to the subjects' epistemologies and ontologies, as well as practitioners' competencies, attitudes, and creativity for subject boundary-crossing. Consequently, we conceptualise teachers' roles as lying in the span between 'teacher as polymath' and 'teacher as collaborator'. The present work also provides a instrument for exploring curricular conditions for interdisciplinarity between subjects on a more general basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the didactic educational use of Web GIS in the framework of SMART learning and its potential to help students' practice geospatial thinking. Using qualitative, exploratory action research methods, four classroom experiences were designed, developed, implemented, and analyzed. The findings support the claims that the use of Web GIS facilitates geographic knowledge and enhances spatial and digital competencies and skills. Additionally, in line with the SMART framework and perspective on learning, these findings indicate that such classroom approaches promote autonomous learning, is adaptable in diverse settings, and is motivating for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to produce a product to evaluate students' critical thinking skills that departs from physics content where students often have misconceptions. This research is a development research with research stages covering a) research and review literature; (b) planning chapter objectives; (c) developing a preliminary form; (d) field-testing the preliminary form; (e) Revise the preliminary form; (f) conducting a main field-test. The Waves Critical Thinking (WCT) test developed consists of 7 questions with 15 specific domains. Total percentage of content validity test was obtained 87.98% with appropriate criteria and based on the construct validity WCT test, the Goodness of Fit criteria were obtained which were classified as fit. The test instrument being tested consists of 15 objective items. The reliability of WCT test results 0.597 as a Cronbach's alpha score with the medium category and all the components have a good level of composite reliability. The outcome of the study was the WCT test with a valid state for measuring students' CT in a specific domain of physics wave material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teaching of speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes in the Province of Aceh did not rely on the suggested techniques and methods. This teacher-designed technique, which was mainly textbook-based, has left an unpleasant learning experience among students. Therefore, we conducted a quantitative research study to experiment with how students responded to contextual teaching and learning (CTL) to see the effect of transitioning from a teacher-established method to a systematically planned learning approach and compare how students progressed over time. The experiment was carried out by teachers who had received assistance in preparing the lesson and practicing the lesson plan. The six-meeting experiment was conducted in 11 small classes, with a total sample of 132 students. The student improvement after the first four meetings (cycle 1) was compared using inferential statistical analyses with that after eight meetings (cycle 2). The results show that the student's achievement significantly improved in the first cycle and continued to improve, although at a lower rate, in the second cycle. This result suggests that CTL can be used to transition from a traditional teaching method to a more established method in EFL teaching. Therefore, teachers need help planning their teaching and practicing how to implement the teaching plan accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biographies are one of our best tools for diversifying the curriculum. In this article, we describe The Biography Clearinghouse, a free resource designed to inspire teachers to use high‐quality biographies in their classrooms. We then elaborate on curricular possibilities in K‐8 classrooms. We end with a discussion of the Investigate, Explore, and Create framework established by The Biography Clearinghouse and provide examples of teaching suggestions using two picturebook biographies and a chapter book biography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education support staff work closely with students with disability, yet often receive little training or professional learning in evidence-based practices. This study sought to provide an initial indication of the effectiveness of novel, co-designed, evidence-based online professional learning courses (AllPlay Learn) for education support staff. A total of 323 education support staff working in primary and secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, completed the courses and participated in this study. The results indicated significant improvements in their self-reported knowledge about disability (r = 0.68 and 0.71) and self-efficacy in engaging in inclusive classroom practices (r = 0.62 and 0.62) after taking part in the professional learning course. Analysis of open-ended questions found further support for these gains. These findings provide support for co-designed, evidence-based online professional learning that addresses disability-specific domains of inclusive classroom practices in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the extraordinary literacies of four Haitian and Haitian American Girls enrolled in a middle grades out-of-school literacy program in Miami, Florida. I examine how the girls narrated Black transnational girlhood through autobiographical writings, classroom discussions, and media analyses. I define the girls' intellectual contributions to the classroom as the superpower of dyasporic dreaming. The concept calls on scholars to affirm the global negotiations of Black transnational girls as literacies. Further, I argue that the superpower of dyasporic dreaming manifested through learning dynamics grounded in Haitian empyreal logics of Vodou and the Diasporic Lakou. Lastly, I make a case for an increased focus on the transnational nature of Black Girls' Literacies, and curriculum specifically oriented towards the Black Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research indicates pandemics have a traumatic effect on individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic has been traumatic for all students of all races and socioeconomic households. The pandemic has, however, intensified racial trauma by exacerbating racial disparities already existing in American society. Racial trauma has been linked to poor socioemotional health and academic performance in racial minority adolescents. For this reason, an examination of classroom strategies to address racial trauma is imperative in the conversation about Youths of Color's (YoC) return to the classroom post- COVID-19. This paper reviews racial trauma within the context of COVID-19 pandemic and posits antiracist pedagogies teachers may be an effective strategy to support YoC in processing racial trauma exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The L1 subject is a central meeting place for all students regardless of their linguistic backgrounds. Thus explorations of multilingualism in the L1 subject provide the potential for enhancing all students' multilinguality. In Norway, several policy papers have emphasised the important role of the L1 Norwegian subject in promoting students' multilingualism as a resource, but guidelines are lacking on how this should be facilitated. Consequently, L1 teachers' beliefs about multilingualism are central to understanding how and to what extent they implement a multilingual pedagogy. Whereas previous research in the Norwegian context has mainly explored foreign language teachers' beliefs on multilingualism, this study investigated L1 Norwegian teachers' beliefs on how the subject can be taught in an increasingly diverse language classroom. Ten upper secondary school teachers discussed these topics in focus groups. Most of the teachers had a language-as-problem orientation to their students' multilingualism. In particular, they found it challenging to improve minority students' Norwegian skills. Moreover, they rarely encouraged the use of minority students' multilingualism as a resource in the classroom. They also reported little guidance from textbooks. The findings suggest a strong need for supporting L1 subject teachers in developing a multilingual mindset and for creating suitable teaching materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]