This critical assessment attempts to define a good instructional design through the eyes and the minds of renowned scholars and the most outspoken educational psychologists such as Gagne, John Keller, Jerome Bruner, and Richard E. Mayer and so on. This examination also discusses ways in directing the mental map of students for better knowledge…

As part of a symposium on the provision of architectural privacy within the classroom, this paper reviews the limited research that is available and discusses the importance of viewing classroom settings as ecological units with both physical and behavioral components. Whether children prefer to use private facilities, and whether they benefit…

Several qualitative studies in biliteracy (a term used to describe children's literate competencies in two languages) among students in English/Spanish bilingual elementary school classrooms have as their core thesis the notion that children, from both Latina/o and other student populations, have the potential to develop literacy in two languages…

The problems of fashioning a theory of language fall into two broad areas: (1) the neurophysiological correlates of language behavior are still little understood, and (2) the enormous amount of data on language behavior that has been gathered by researchers is subject to varying and differing interpretations. In spite of these problems, the…

In the 1960's, two medical doctors, Georgi Lozanov and Alfonso Caycedo, discovered independently that certain yogic techniques of physical and mental relaxation could be used to produce not only analgesia but also improved memory and concentration. Systems originally used in medicine and psycho-therapy were applied to education, in particular to…

Discusses cornerstone of Montessori theory, normalization, which asserts that if a child is placed in an optimum prepared environment where inner impulses match external opportunities, the undeviated self emerges, a being totally in harmony with its surroundings. Makes distinctions regarding normalization, normalized, and normality, indicating how…

The question of whether ability grouping has a positive or negative effect on school children is probed. This review on the topic covers experimental studies that divide students of a certain grade within a school into classes differing in average ability level. It is limited to secondary schools in the United States. An objective and quantitative…

Argues that if schools are to be made more effective, educators must understand the interaction between their academic and socialization functions, as well as comprehend what happens in schools and the societal context in which schools are embedded. (MP)

A feminist composition classroom concentrates on undermining the Platonic view of invention as the private act of an atomistic individual and replacing it with inventional strategies that heighten students' awareness of the social, political, and economic factors which make writing and reading a gendered activity. These alternate strategies allow…

Higher education faculty can be more effective by recognizing what causes immediacy and approach-avoidance behavior in their surroundings, what nonverbal signals they are sending, and how to control their environment, thereby enhancing their interaction with students. This paper examines immediacy theory, approach-avoidance theory, color theory,…

A teacher's search for a coherent explanation for the resistance of students to high school literature programs, vitally important since student attitudes influence learning, resulted in a discovery of both external and internal causal factors. Externally, an increasing emphasis on competency testing hinders the fostering of lifelong literacy.…

There is a paucity of research on racism in communication studies in spite of the fact that racism continues to be a social problem which plagues the United States. This paper reviews evidence which points to the existence of institutionalized racism. This evidence is further supported by Carl Rowan's (1996) "The Coming Race War In America" in…

The purpose of teacher feedback in the speech classroom is to inform the speaker of the audience's reaction to the speech, to make suggestions for improvement on future speeches, and to motivate the speaker to speak again or to enjoy speaking. To provide appropriate criticism, teachers need to understand the nature and the relative merits of…

The paper examined empirical evidence (published through 1986) concerning the effectiveness of the Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM), a multifaceted program designed to integrate handicapped pupils and remedial and compensatory education students in general education. Evaluation of three evaluative studies by the program's originators…

This paper presents an overview of interventions that schools can use to enhance the psychological and social development of children in a desegregated school environment. Five remedies, designed to meet children's psychological needs in desegregated schools, are first defined and then analyzed for specific interventions appropriate at the school…