One of a series of Education Resource Strategies (ERS) publications and tools, this paper explores important ways to organize and invest in Professional Growth & Support that strengthen teaching capacity and effectiveness at the system level. It draws on research, ERS experience with urban school systems nationwide, and detailed analyses of…

Studies and identifies those characteristics and attitudes most needed in approaching curriculum planning from a holistic approach. Describes the phases and methods for holistic curriculum planning. Presents the curriculum planning activities of the Shaker Heights, Ohio, City School District as exemplary. (HB)

Discusses the advantages of an interdisciplinary curriculum, especially in elementary school. Implementing interdisciplinary curriculum units helps children acquire targeted concepts and skills of various disciplines more effectively. Existing curriculum, current events, and student concerns are the places to find interdisciplinary unit ideas. (SM)

The article outlines a classroom-tested holistic language arts curriculum for the junior high resource room. The program covers reading, vocabulary building, comprehension, use of visual aid strategies, use of auditory/linguistic comprehension strategies, writing, listening, and speaking. Advantages of the curriculum include individualization,…

This digest issues a call to make good on the rhetoric of "integrated attention to the whole child" and provides some suggestions about how that might be done, beginning with combined interventions aimed at improving the nutritional status and the psychosocial development of the young child. After an introductory chapter that provides a…

This book provides classroom teachers at every grade level and subject the tools and background to effectively work with standards as a guide in their planning. It explains the process by which educators can rearticulate state standards and align the locally rearticulated standards to their curriculum and student performance. Six chapters include:…

Students who live in rural areas will almost certainly leave those areas for occupations in larger city areas when they reach adulthood. Therefore, the child needs to receive the best education possible to prepare for an unknown future. This paper discusses some of the characteristics of rural schools, especially the plethora of children living in…

The notion of educating and encouraging the whole child is not a new idea, but it awaits full acceptance. Strategies for teaching the whole child in a middle-school environment are presented here. The text opens with an overview of how schools have failed to use the latest ideas and technologies in educating students and how schools can draw on…

In response to the search for ways to create forms of schooling that are more holistic and natural, and more integrated and interwoven, this collection of articles pulls together elements of the multifaceted concept of curriculum integration. Divided into six sections, the chapters explore the reasons and rationale for moving toward more holistic…

Recommended strategies for improving the education of economically disadvantaged students include dispelling teacher misconception, hiring teachers from disadvantaged backgrounds, using noncredentialed staff from the community, emphasizing mastery learning and holistic teaching, and revising the curriculum to incorporate heterogeneously grouped…

This article discusses a program that used holistic literacy instruction to foster literacy growth, self-expression, and communication skills in children with developmental disabilities. Strategies are highlighted for providing writing opportunities in the classroom, and recommendations are made to guide teachers in planning curricula and…

Discusses considerations and decisions related to facilitating the infusion of science-technology-society (STS) content and skills into school curriculum, noting factors that might help sustain instruction after it begins. Components of the STS framework include definition and goals, location within the curriculum, instructional approaches, and a…

Discusses the introduction of outdoor education into the physical education document of the British national curriculum. Suggests timetables for implementing a program of outdoor education, including educational objectives and activities for various grade levels. (KS)

Discusses the need for holistic curriculum development and reflective teaching, examining five persistent myths related to teacher education and noting strategies for refuting them. Challenges excuses for maintaining the status quo in education (lecturing and testing as the normal mode), viewing learning as an interactive process. (SM)

The pamphlets in this packet describe the Montana Health Enhancement Curriculum, a comprehensive program that: combines the disciplines of health and physical education; offers a holistic approach to a quality life; and incorporates wellness principles into the public school curriculum. The program, developed by the Montana Office of Public…