A teacher gives insight into the benefits of teaching a combination class. Students of different levels learn to think of themselves as multilevel people, sometimes helping their peers, other times receiving help. Suggestions for planning for two different levels are offered. (DF)

Teachers, principals, and supervisors must become very knowledgeable and conversant about different approaches utilized in organizing the language arts curriculum. Thus, the separate subjects approach, the correlated approach, the fused curriculum, and the integrated curriculum represent diverse ways of organizing each of the curriculum areas in…

A new definition of teaching must replace traditional modes of instruction. Intellectual growth is best encouraged by assisting, rather than assessing, student performance. Classrooms must be settings which maximize opportunities for participation and conversation. Definitions and practical applications are given for Vygotsky's term "zone of…

Uses a diary format to describe the author's development as a teacher between May 1982 and Spring 1993, focusing on personal experiences affecting her delivery of composition and literature courses. Describes the author's shift from a text-centered to a student-centered curriculum and efforts to include women writers in the curriculum. Includes…

To be effective, a teacher should sell himself/herself before selling ideas, be genuine, make learning relevant, practice goal setting, invite in outside lecturers, provide an orderly classroom setting, dress appropriately and maintain rapport, and make the most effective use of visual aids. (LRA)

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…

This paper discusses the challenges and difficulties of adopting new "authentic" methods of instruction that help students not only learn but also develop habits that enable them to use their knowledge more effectively. "Authentic" methods of instruction are defined as those that require students to produce (not just reproduce) knowledge relevant…

American schools might improve their performance by emulating certain successful businesses that, while distinctly American, have much in common with Japanese corporations. William Ouchi attributes Japanese business success to worker involvement; the typical Japanese corporation, he asserts, unifies its employees around a corporate philosophy…