There has been a recent push to reframe curriculum and pedagogy in ways that make school more meaningful and relevant to students' lives and perceived needs. This "relevance imperative" is evident in contemporary rhetoric surrounding quality education, and particularly in relation to the junior secondary years where student disengagement with…

In urban middle schools, educators find it challenging to meet the literacy needs of the many struggling readers in their classrooms, including language-minority (LM) learners and students from low-income backgrounds. One strategy for improving these students' reading comprehension is to teach essential academic vocabulary in a meaningful,…

The role of contemplative practice in adult education has a long history if one includes traditional monastic education in Asia and the West. Its use in American higher education is, however, more recent and more limited. Nonetheless, on the basis of evidence from surveys and conferences, a significant community of teachers exists at all levels of…

Using as a framework concerns and problems which two early childhood educators encountered in connection with curriculum in programs for infants and toddlers, this guide focuses on common questions about child developmental needs shared by caregivers and parents. The chapters consider the following questions: (1) "What Is Curriculum?"…

This manual was developed in conjunction with the implementation of the Colorado Effective Education Model, a systems change project designed to develop best educational practices for students with severe disabilities in inclusive settings. The manual presents adaptations to better meet secondary level students' goals and objectives and describes…

With the advances in multimedia, classrooms and the supporting infrastructures are undergoing changes. Advances that are taking place in multimedia and computer networking are described. Selected issues are then discussed for taking advantage of these educational technologies to improve instruction and learning. (Author/AEF)

Two problems must be solved before an integrated curriculum, incorporating learning with, from, and about computers can be implemented. The first is the necessity for a design of how the program will function when it has been fully implemented, with all equipment and other associated materials and procedures. The second is a strategy for…

The instructional development (ID) process is a teaching method that can be applied to an entire course, unit, or subject. The ID process can be compared to the decision making stages in purchasing and designing a house. These stages involve such concepts as communication theory, audience analysis, and study of goals and objectives. The choice of…

Identifies three assumptions underlying the emphasis on good instructional practice as a way to improve education and the curriculum. Discusses how to determine good practice and endorses a research approach to look at good teaching. Notes that the logic of basing curriculum on good instructional practice is not unproblematic. (KO)

This manual was developed in conjunction with the implementation of the Colorado Effective Education Model, a systems change project designed to develop best educational practices for students with severe disabilities in inclusive settings. The manual presents adaptations to better meet elementary level students' goals and objectives and describes…

This document presents 28 accepted principles for modifying instruction to better meet needs of handicapped and at risk students. The principles include, among others: get to know the individual student in an informal manner; examine the patterns of children's errors; sequence skills to reduce error rates; vary response, testing, and grading…

This Brief is the third in the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) series reporting on the policy implications of Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data. It summarizes results of recently completed research that explores in greater detail questions raised in initial analyses. Earlier analyses were based…

This study addresses the issue of integrating technology into the curriculum. It explores how teachers use technology when they are given inservice training that has been customized to meet the needs of each individual for the integration of technology. The research was conducted in a school district in a suburb of Philadelphia. The three teachers…

This paper investigates the ways in which department chair and principal leadership influence the teaching secondary social studies classes. Based upon research in three sets of high schools, leadership efforts in the areas of curriculum program development, faculty collegiality, staff development, and school culture are explored. Instructional…

Updated to reflect changes and advances in the supervision of teachers, this highly respected text provides a comprehensive overview of the field of instructional supervision, including instructional development, curriculum development, and staff development. Throughout, the authors emphasize practice, particularly the supervisor's…