LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

CEU courses open for enrollment

The Civil Rights Movement in Context
Investigate the precursors to the Civil Rights Movement, its leadership, its opposition, and its legacy, including lesser-studied events of the movement and primary sources.
Take this course: Begins February 2.

From the education reference

authentic assessment
Assessment that seeks to evaluate students' abilities in "real-world" contexts, including the application and demonstration of skills and knowledge to authentic tasks or projects likely to be encountered in adult life.
service learning
Intentional combination of community service objectives and learning opportunities that benefits both the recipient and provider of the service. Student service learning projects should be structured to link learning tasks to self-reflection so that they enrich learning, strengthen communities, and teach civic responsibility.
discovery learning
Learning that takes place, not through instruction, but through examination, analysis, or experimentation.
cooperative learning
Instructional method in which students work together in small, heterogeneous groups to complete a problem, project, or other instructional goal, while teachers act as guides or facilitators. This method works to reinforce a student’s own learning as well as the learning of his or her fellow group members.
collaborative learning
An umbrella term for the variety of approaches and models in education that involve the shared intellectual efforts by students working in small groups to accomplish a goal or complete a task.
learning contract
An agreement between a teacher and a student regarding how that student will achieve specified learning goals or objectives.
learning disability
A discrepancy between expected achievement and observed achievement, also known as "unexpected underachievement."
Dimensions of Learning model
Model of learning developed by Marzano et al (1988) that links content area knowledge, metacognition, and critical and creative thinking with a taxonomy of thinking skills and thinking processes.
project-based learning
Teaching approach that engages students in sustained, collaborative real-world investigations. Projects are organized around a driving question, and students participate in a variety of tasks that seek to meaningfully address this question.
problem-based learning
Model of instruction in which the teacher poses an authentic problem for student resolution. PBL may be one among many strategies in a classroom or an entire curricular and instructional approach. In the course of problem-solving, students work cooperatively in groups to learn content and skills related to real world problems. The teacher acts as a facilitator to learning.
digital game-based learning
Instructional method that incorporates educational content or learning principles into video games with the goal of engaging learners. Applications of digital game-based learning draw upon the constructivist theory of education.

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Ongoing assessment for reading
Ongoing, informal assessment is crucial to teaching reading. Using audio and visual examples, this edition explains the use of running records and miscue analysis, tools that help a teacher to identify patterns in student reading behaviors and the strategies a reader uses to make sense of text.
Format: series (multiple pages)
Running records as authentic testing
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.2
In many school systems, running records are administered using preprinted running record sheets that contain the exact text the student is reading in a matching leveled book. To allow a teacher to administer multiple assessments with a single student, two...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Math for multiple intelligences
How a middle-school math teacher realized she was boring and jump-started her career — and her students — by using thematic planning, emphasizing problem solving, and teaching to multiple intelligences.
Format: series (multiple pages)
Running records and you
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.1
If you teach in North Carolina, you are already "doing" running records. Your school mandates them as a means of assessing student reading. Hopefully you received some training for these assessments, but if your experience was like that of many teachers, you...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Opening an Hispanic restaurant
This lesson focuses on vocabulary and currency associated with food, restaurants, and menus. Students conduct research to create an authentic menu with a companion recipe books. The lesson culminates in short presentations and food samples.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Second Languages)
By Susan Canipe.
Bridging Spanish language barriers in Southern schools
These articles provide background on Latino immigrants in North Carolina, administrative challenges in binational education, and strategies through which teachers can build on what Latino students bring to their classrooms to create a learning environment that meets the needs of all students.
Format: series (multiple pages)
Professional development by email
Conducting professional development by email can be an effective way to reach busy teachers, tailor the content to their needs, and provide an authentic context for learning.
By Bobby Hobgood.
Selection policy and disclaimer for "Best of the Web"
The purpose of LEARN NC's Best of the Web collection is to provide web resources that support the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. These resources have been selected according to our selection policy.
Format: article/help
Interdisciplinary teaching
This education reference article explains the concept of interdisciplinary teaching and discusses considerations for developing interdisciplinary curriculum.
Format: article
By Heather Coffey.
Instructional assessment: Finding teaching points
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.8
Over time, running records can show patterns in student use of cuing systems and self corrections. But individual running records can also be useful in instruction. After each running record, a teacher can choose a teaching point, using the student's...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Project-based learning
Project-based learning is a teaching approach that engages students in sustained, collaborative real-world investigations. Projects are organized around a driving question, and students participate in a variety of tasks that seek to meaningfully address this...
Format: article
By Heather Coffey.
Why problem-centered learning?
In Problem centered math, page 2
The world our students will live and work in will require them to gather, organize, and interpret data in the process of finding solutions to complex problems. Problem-centered learning creates a model where the student becomes the thinker.
By Mike Kestner.
Helping Latino students feel comfortable in your classroom
In Bridging Spanish language barriers in Southern schools, page 2.2
Most Latino students have experiences, family backgrounds, and expectations that conflict with the expectations of the American classroom environment. By understanding the expectations of Latino students and their parents, teachers can help them to succeed.
By Sarah Plastino.
Carolina Online Teacher Program (COLT)
Now you can earn a LEARN NC Certificate in online instruction through the Carolina Online Teacher program (COLT). In five core courses and two electives, totaling a minimum of 17 CEUs, you’ll master the component skills of online teaching: effective collaboration and facilitation, creating learning communities, navigating the virtual classroom, and developing student-centered instruction.
Format: article/help
Japanese tea ceremony: A critique for screens and scrolls
The last part of a larger unit on discussing and evaluating Japanese screen and scroll paintings as well as creating one. The purpose of this unit plan is to introduce descriptive aspects of art criticism while teaching them the art and culture of Japan. Students critique illustrations of classmates' descriptions of Japanese screens or scrolls.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Visual Arts Education)
By Michelle Harrell.
The Declaration of Independence
In Where English and history meet: A collaboration guide, page 5
In this interdisciplinary lesson, students will examine the role of the Declaration of Independence in the development of the American Revolution and as part of the American identity. They will also analyze the argumentative structure and write their own declaration.
Format: article (grade 10 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By Karen Cobb Carroll, Ph.D., and NBCT.
Wow! A powwow!
Powwows have long been a tradition in the Native American culture. Even today, powwows are held across the United States and Canada. This lesson plan allows students the opportunity to research powwows, and in the process see that modern day Native Americans have a diverse culture.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
By Betsy Bryan.
Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course: Online course syllabus
Syllabus for the online class, Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course, which provides a collection of resources and exercises that define the unique assessment process of online courses.
Format: syllabus
Reading comprehension: What works?
Teach reading comprehension in the elementary grades with flexible strategies that connect reading to the real world, promote independence, and keep students engaged.
By Mary Rogers Rose.
Grouping skills for mastery
In Math for multiple intelligences, page 4
Thematic planning helps relate mathematics to students' lives.
By Gretchen Buher.