This study focused on parents' relationships and involvement in their children's lives and the effects on the students' school engagement and school performance. The study used the Wave I data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The data on seventh and eighth grade students' school and family experiences were…

Biographies provide the opportunity for identification, not only with those who are great today but also with those who have lived greatly in the past. Biographies fulfill students' needs for identification with someone who is admirable. Examples of inspiring life stories, sources of such stories, and questions are included. (JD)

Both a guide and an anthology, this book is for teachers (and self-teachers) who would like to explore the list poem, a flexible poetic form that can be used by beginning writers (from kindergarten to 12th grade) as well as by the most sophisticated. The book: offers practical advice on how to teach list poetry; describes how to work with students…

Examines the Relevance-Competence-Desire (RCD) model of training needs assessment to speculate about the instructional design implications of interactions among these components. Ways in which different types of instruction can be designed to capitalize on various configurations of perceptions of relevance, competence, and desire exhibited by…

Three relatively simple conceptual frameworks are suggested to help trainers diagnose optimum learning situations. At their present stage of development, the models are theories that have not been empirically tested. The models are titled the Integral Learner, Understanding versus Application, and the Diagnostic Cube. (CT)

Modeling is an important step in the engineering process. In this activity, students create a model of an object of their choice using LEGOs (plastic building blocks), giving them skills and practice in techniques used by professionals. Students sketch as they build their objects. This activity facilitates a discussion on models and their…

The social psychological constructs postulated by Garner, Clement et al. are integrated into a proposed new framework of second/foreign language (L2) learning motivation. The proposed model comprises three levels: language, learner, and learning situation. Practical examples for motivating L2 learners are presented. (55 references) (LB)

The Department of Education's Secondary School Recognition Program (SSRP) was developed to identify and recognize unusually effective public secondary schools and, through publicity and other means, encourage the emulation of their successful programs, policies, and practices by practitioners in other schools. This directory describes a small…

Explains how to debrief students after participation in simulation and/or other educational games. Debriefing should increase students' ability to experience, identify, analyze, and generalize. (Author/DB)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), a system intended to nurture behavioral giftedness without reliance on gifted identification procedures. The study found SEM positively influenced the attitudes of elementary school students (n=1,935) in six middle class schools. SEM may provide schoolwide benefits…

This paper discusses theories and techniques of motivation in the context of special education. Cognitive, need/drive and instinct theories are discussed, as are contributing factors such as self-concept and anxiety. Classroom techniques such as peer tutoring and intrinsic vs. extrinsic reinforcement are considered in terms of these theories. (PB)

This article examines different manifestations of verbal talent and how teachers can identify and cultivate special verbal abilities in students. The provision of role models relevant to students' interests is stressed and a list of recommended biographies is included, as are literary experiences available to student writers. The relationship of…

A three-step process for teaching situational problem-solving and critical thinking to learning disabled adolescents is described: (1) Motivation (recognizing the problem and the importance of solving it); (2) Association (relating the problem to similar past situations); (3) Processing (identifying possible solutions and choosing the most…

Recounts how a teacher used herself as a model to motivate black students to speak standard English. (JL)

Five pieces focus on task commitment in gifted students. A discussion on assessment of task commitment is followed by articles from the perspectives of kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers and a parent. (CL)