This article interrogates the "soft power" of teacher teamwork by probing the ways in which authority conditions the appropriation of institutional motives through collective meaning making. The study analyzes the interaction of a teacher-leader and a science teacher team across two settings of professional development organized to…

This "Brief Report" summarizes results from a study that investigated joint effects of two innovations adopted at a high school in an affluent suburban community in the northeast United States: 4 x 4 block scheduling and the "Standards"-based curriculum, the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP).

A study of 270 sophomores taught in either a block scheduling or traditional scheduling format showed significant results for English and biology. Block schedules significantly predicted pretest to posttest differences in Educational Testing Service subject scores over and above those of students following traditional schedules. (Contains 16…

This research explores the structure of possible science education reform that can be compatible with structural change in high schools. Financial pressures, increased or decreased enrollment, state mandated changes, block scheduling, and assignments of students to age-appropriate grades are all examples of structural changes. Block scheduling is…

As of 1996, Chaparral High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, was in the fourth year of a radical restructuring effort. The school changed from a 6-period day, composed of 51-minute periods, to an alternating day schedule, composed of 3 102-minute periods per day. This report describes how the school developed and implemented the new schedule. Faculty…

Provides a brief overview of historical trends in classroom instructional practices and explains the emergence of constructivist theory. Describes two instructional practices at the secondary level: curriculum integration and teaming. Reports findings of a case study examining one high school faculty's teaching practices while engaged in…

Practical suggestions are offered for teaching mathematics in a block schedule, including ways to make some topics more compact, integrate mathematics with other materials, and design lesson plans to maximize instructional time. Chapters are: (1) "NCTM [National Council of Teachers of Mathematics] Standards and Teaching Mathematics in a Block…

High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites have used a variety of specific approaches to implement a challenging curriculum, provide a systematic program of sustained guidance, and enable academic and career and technical education (CTE) teachers to work together in planning and delivering integrated instruction. The HSTW-recommended curriculum calls for…

Archbishop Chapelle High School (ACHS) is an award-winning, girls school in Metairie, Louisiana. This article describes the library supporting the ACHS curriculum, highlighting library skills courses, block scheduling, educational technology and Internet access, the role of the librarian in administration and curriculum development, and public…

The story of the process that Mundelein High School (located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois) as it moved from a traditional schedule to a block schedule is described throughout this book as a way to blend theory with practice. The book addresses types of block schedules; key issues for effective preparation; professional development…

Randolph County Vocational Technical Center, Elkins, West Virginia, received a grant in 1997 for a project that was part of the High Schools That Work (HSTW) initiative to improve academic skills of career-bound students. The superintendent and faculty knew that improving achievement meant reaching out to the three home high schools to bring them…