Outlines how the Writing Response Groups function. This is a cooperative learning atmosphere where trained student peers respond to other students' writing with the Praise-Question-Polish technique. Includes references. (MD)

Outlines the components of direct instruction. Research demonstrates that the types of questions asked, the detailed step-by-step breakdowns, and the extensive practice with examples (illustrated in the three studies discussed) significantly benefit students' comprehension. Includes references and five figures. (MD)

To explore the principal's role as instructional leader in school improvement strategies, this research brief focuses on characteristics of effective schools, a profile of effective principals, and a discussion with Dr. Steven Bossert, Associate Laboratory Director for Research and Development at Far West Laboratory in San Francisco, California,…

Research has found that effective teachers teach concepts and skills using a systematic, step-by-step instructional process. The six teaching functions are: review, presentation, guided practice, corrections and feedback, independent practice, and weekly and monthly reviews. Includes two tables and extensive references. (MD)

Presents a series of questions to help rural school administrators assess their readiness to include distance learning as part of the instructional program. The questions address program need or purpose, school resources (human, facilities, and equipment), and selection of distance learning technology system. Lists brief explanations of common…

Administrators and teachers must gain more knowledge of new research on the gifted and use this information to create new educational programs that make optimal use of gifted students' learning styles and appropriate teaching methods. (CB)

Research on educational standards and school discipline shows that curriculum reform may also improve discipline by engaging students in a challenging environment. The widespread decline in high school standards seems to have come from diluting both the high school and college liberal arts curricula of the past, with students abandoning careers in…

Asserts that education cannot be limited to the confines of a textbook but must be a true window to the world. Argues that this can be achieved through curriculum and thematic teaching. Provides suggestions for designing and teaching integrated, thematic units. (CFR)

This collection contains 19 articles which address the themes of helping teaching and research come into balance, improving the art of teaching, seeing and envisioning teachers as developers, modeling effective faculty development practice, and looking at the faculty spectrum. The essays are grouped under six major subject headings: (1) Teaching…

Reviews reports from several professional organizations on recommendations about education for participatory citizenship. Reports on a study of 3,000 teachers in grades 1-3 from 7 midwestern states on the characteristics of social studies programs. Recommends four approaches to foster developmental social studies instruction. (CFR)

Instructional leadership is the principal's role in providing direction, resources, and support to teachers and students for the improvement of teaching and learning in the school. This handbook reviews factors affecting that role in four broad domains: keeping informed about trends, planning for instructional improvement, implementing…

The purpose of this report is to identify changes that need to be made in the Saskatchewan mathematics curriculum and to provide the curriculum writers and advisory committee with sufficient background information to develop a revised program and to evaluate teaching materials currently available. The purpose of Part 1 of the guide is to examine…

Explores aspects of successful foreign language teaching and learning that could be pertinent to the design of school policies; defines the current conception of "communicative competence"; discusses how cultural studies can be related to foreign language instruction; and describes a model policy developed during case studies across various…

Asserts that the early childhood social studies curriculum should enable children to rethink and revise their tentative understandings of the world in light of new information and experiences. Argues that teachers must have knowledge of history, the social sciences, and cultural pluralism to design and teach social studies effectively. (CFR)

Maintains that courses in curriculum studies should be evaluated on "why" they should be part of teacher education and "how" they should be taught. Asserts that curriculum studies occupies a more tenuous position in teacher education than do established disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, and psychology. (CFR)