A call for educational reform motivated this school system to devise an enhanced version of STEM in their middle school. This case provides rich descriptions of how eighth grade middle school teachers, from multiple disciplines, enacted a STEAM team model that integrated Language Arts into STEM. These STEAM team teachers were systematically…

This qualitative case study analyzed how one interdisciplinary team within a large middle school fostered a responsive adolescent-centered community for eighth-grade team students. Data were collected during the spring semester of the 2009 school year via observations, individual interviews, and focus group interviews with nine participants,…

A teamed, modular approach to teaching elementary school social studies was developed to deal with individual student differences, to utilize teacher specialities and school facilities, and to increase student sense of responsibility in learning. The curriculum allowed each student to choose from alternative activities (such as lectures, special…

One cannot dispute the value of collaboration. It brings concreteness to concepts for the children and provides a seamless transition to teaching information literacy. The path to student excellence lies in collaboration and flexible scheduling. Although a library media specialist is new to the profession, he or she has likely attended conference…

Six types of instructional grouping for mathematics teaching are discussed: self-contained classroom, large group, small group, laboratory, independent study, and tutorial. Special sections on team teaching, individualizing instruction, and scheduling are included. (LS)

Discusses the transition from traditional teaching and scheduling to a comprehensive block schedule with team teaching at the middle school level. Describes the process of educational change, including framing the problem, establishing consensus for change, creating pure teams, designing the master schedule; also discusses implementation issues.…

A Nebraska high school implemented interdisciplinary teaming several years ago as a direct result of its strategic planning effort. It eventually rejected the intensified block schedule, which manipulated time without changing teacher roles, and adopted a flexible block schedule. Departments were replaced by interdisciplinary teams of teachers and…

Building and implementing a school master schedule is one of a school administrator's most crucial tasks. A master schedule can either create opportunity or hinder teaching students. This is particularly true in middle-level schools, many of which are using information about the learning characteristics of early adolescents to reexamine how…

Elementary school library media specialists state that one of the most frustrating issues they face is the fixed schedules in their library media centers. Beyond the cost effectiveness issue, the fixed schedule severely limits using the resources of the library media center for inquiry learning and collaborative teaching experiences between the…

The background and mechanics of an innovative educational system, which builds into a more sophisticated program with each semester, are discussed. (DB)

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This collection of articles on class scheduling problems emphasizes scheduling of music classes. The first part of the booklet contains descriptions of 11 current scheduling practices. The second part is concerned with data processing and the use of computers for scheduling, with discussion centering on the Stanford School Scheduling System. The…

In 1995 the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC), Richmond (Virginia) commissioned a study of alternative high school scheduling modules to determine the effects of different schedules on teaching strategies, teacher and student satisfaction, and student and school performance. This report presents the results of an analysis of a…

Describes the purpose, intent, and programs of Countesthorpe, an experimental school in Britain. (GB)

Biggest obstacle to Eugene, Oregon's plans to integrate middle school curricula is finding time to enable staff to develop a common vision of the future to build upon. Despite adoption of a flexible scheduling pattern, more time is needed for staff development, training, and cooperative instructional unit development. Creating teaching teams to…