This article was written as a response to Ayres, Lowrey, Douglas, and Sievers (2011) who commented on the degree to which promoting the teaching of functional skills had a higher probability of leading to a more independent life for students with severe disabilities. In doing so, the authors take issue with the use of a standards-based curriculum…

Discusses how two teachers revitalized the Conrad Weiser agricultural program in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Describes the objectives of the program and how the curriculum was changed. (JOW)

The Council for the Advancement of Experiential Learning (CAEL) held a conference on the uses and assessment of experiential learning in graduate education in 1981. Using an earlier report the CAEL wished to measure the progress of ten years. The reexamination of graduate education is advocated. (MLW)

Discusses the polarized educational system that emerged in Great Britain between 1770 and 1850, based upon student mentality levels. Explains that the differing treatment of higher and lower mentalities was incorporated into a system of separate schools. Describes the system as an institutionalization of the mental and manual divisions of labor…

Lists the factors to be considered when planning an effective second-language study program in the United Kingdom. These factors include important new vocabulary words, language skills and grammatical structures; student ability; basic, core and extension material; student evaluation; timings for each activity; and extra resources and materials…

Models which describe assumptions concerning the distribution of intellectual capacity are: (1) the differential distribution model, encompassing theories that consider differences in intelligence genetic; (2) the normal distribution model; and (3) the evenly distributed model, focusing on the similarity of intellectual potentials within the human…

Tailoring programs to fit children is different from designing programs that exclude them. The many skills exhibited in gifted behavior can be taught, learned, and acquired to some degree by all children. (CJ)

This paper raises a series of questions about the nature of classroom instruction, in general, and about mathematics and reading instruction in the lower elementary school grades, in particular. It focuses on such aspects of the social organization of instruction as (1) the diversity of student populations, (2) the motivating force behind…

Issues in the debate over educational reform are examined in the context of academic standards, including the determinants of school effectiveness, curriculum content, incentives for teacher development, the role of higher education, and access to education. (MSE)