The introduction to this Special Topic Collection has two parts. To provide background and context for the articles in the collection, Part 1 tells the story of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study program at the National Center for Education Statistics. It offers an abridged history of this program and describes the designs of the two national…

This article discusses activities carried out in the virtual world of Second Life (SL) as part of a compulsory class in the first year of an undergraduate programme. The paper identifies the contribution of SL to the students' learning environment and an Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) approach to programme design. The reasons for taking an IBL…

Several studies have demonstrated that music has many uses in today's classroom. In addition to a positive classroom environment, stronger curriculum content, and effective teaching strategies, research indicates that music is also an effective management strategy. A musical program was designed for third and fourth grade teachers to achieve…

The Little Falls City School District's K-12 gifted and talented program is organized on three sequential levels. The elementary grades program is part of the nationally replicated Talents Unlimited Program based on Bloom's Taxonomy, and is taught by the regular classroom teacher to all students in a participating classroom. Students participate…

A discussion of the educational system of the Republic of China (Taiwan) includes characteristics of the school system, high school and university entrance examinations, classroom and teaching situations, and curriculum. Various problems of this system are described. (DF)

The design and effects of a data-based approach to training school staff in the implementation of innovative programs are discussed. The rationale and design of the Data-Based Staff Development Program, which has been developed to train school staff to implement the programmatic and personnel changes required to effectively establish and maintain…

Describes how, as part of the Middle School Achievement Project, Minneapolis parents and community members shadowed students and teachers, and experienced middle level classrooms while collecting data about curriculum and classroom environments that led to middle level school improvement. Details study procedures including study instruments,…

Describes one teachers' system of democratic discipline in which the children deliberate and construct the list of rules for the classroom. Addresses: (1) introducing democratic discipline; (2) daily routine; (3) typical problems, typical solutions; (4) novel solutions; (5) recurring problems; (6) unintended results; (7) context for children's…

Describes problems for a university-based child development laboratory of decreased university funding, overworked staff, and huge public demand. Explains that instead of conventional responses, the program was redesigned by decreasing enrollment and increasing length of the remaining program, thereby maintaining income levels and addressing…

Describes the Head Start Classroom of the Future project, which is being introduced into inner-city centers in Grand Rapids, Michigan; a classroom for children of Hispanic migrant farmworkers in Holland, Michigan; and a classroom for Native American children at the Isleta Pueblo Head Start near Albuquerque, New Mexico. (BB)

This article discusses a comprehensive program for gifted students with learning disabilities in Maryland's Montgomery Country Public Schools (MCPS). MCPS has developed special self-contained classes for gifted students with severe learning disabilities while those with moderate and mild disabilities receive gifted instruction and services in…

The Instructional Systems Design model is presented. Phases of the model are explained. They are: (1) analysis (organizational, learner, and job needs, and evaluation); (2) design (objectives, specifications, strategies, evaluation); (3) development (evaluation, tests, media, materials); and (4) implementation (instructor characteristics, training…

Advocates cooperative learning, rather than competitive learning, in the classroom. Offers an example of cooperative learning among nursery school children in Tenants Harbor, Maine. Discusses ways for teachers to facilitate cooperative learning in program and classroom design. (BB)

Project GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design), a model of inservice teacher training in which teachers learn to modify instruction to promote acquisition of English as a Second Language, is outlined. The model uses the whole language approach to language learning. Its development was guided by research in whole language theory; integration of…

The Minneapolis public elementary school program in Spanish is described. It was established in 1974 as a FLES program in kindergarten and first grade, later established as part of a fundamental school alternative, and recently expanded to a partial immersion program. Children ideally follow the program from kindergarten through sixth grade. A…