This article provides an overview of my experiences in special education as a teacher and subsequently as an intervention researcher providing background on where we were in providing instruction to individuals with disabilities 40 years ago (prior to legal protections and supports) compared with the present. This article acknowledges the progress…

A survey asked regular and special educators to rate the importance of 228 items potentially valuable for creating learning environments. Results indicated a high degree of consensus about variables considered important in learning environments, with 40 variables receiving the highest average ratings. Regular and special educators' judgments were…

This response to EC 607 382 raises concerns about the standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. These include (1) the modest references to student diversity, (2) instructional methodology, and (3) the need for more research to validate the standards' curricular and instructional recommendations. (DB)

The three-year Early Childhood Emergent Literacy Technology Curriculum (ELiTeC) study (E2) was designed to replicate, on a broad scale, the results of earlier research in which a curriculum model was developed, implemented, and studied in preschool classrooms for children with disabilities or those at risk. ELiTeC was based on the assumptions that…

Effects of a traditional instructional format and technology-enhanced anchored instruction on the immediate and long-term acquisition of knowledge was evaluated with 100 university students in a special-education course. The CD-ROM-based anchored-instruction group outperformed the traditional instruction group on the multiple-choice follow-up test…

This final report presents a summary and second-year findings of a 2-year project designed to measure the effectiveness of microcomputer instruction on reading and mathematics skills, classroom behavior, general cognitive development, and problem-solving ability of 700 disabled students (ages 3-11) enrolled in four special education schools in New…

Describes and evaluates the "TopClass" educational-server software system for the delivery of university-based special-education coursework via the World Wide Web. A pilot study of the development and delivery of instructional content via TopClass found positive student reactions and indicators of student learning. Issues related to Web-based…

This paper focuses on physical education for students in preschool (3 to 5 years) and primary grades K-2 (5 to 7 years). It describes developmentally appropriate practices as a set of indicators for high quality play and motor skills programs for all children, including children with special needs. The paper also describes and recommends an…

This volume contains papers presented at a symposium on public policy and educating handicapped persons. Included are: (1) "Public Policy and the Special Education Task for the 1980s: Report of the Wingspread Conference" (M. C. Reynolds et al.); (2) "The Emerging System for Educating Handicapped Children" (L. E. Lynn, Jr.); (3) "Effectiveness of…

This reaction paper offers evidence for the effectiveness of nondirective instructional models with special needs young children. The construct of "developmentally appropriate practice" is viewed as a working hypothesis and as a continuous variable, not a dichotomous variable. Relationships between early childhood education and early childhood…