Rubrics, scoring guides, and performance criteria help define important outcomes for students. Well crafted rubrics help teachers define learning targets so that they can plan instruction more effectively, be more consistent in scoring student work, and be more systematic in reporting student progress. Rubrics can generally be divided into…

Certain teacher behaviors have been found to be conducive to learning or reinforcing for learning, while other behaviors have been found detrimental to learning. Humanism in teacher/pupil control orientation has been found to promote more positive attitudes toward teachers, and custodialism has been found to produce more negative attitudes toward…

As part of Vermont's efforts to set shared educational goals, this document describes what is expected of Vermont students. It is designed as a guide to parents about what teachers and schools are doing to help students meet the state's new expectations. Vermont has defined an educational framework that encourages many different learning styles…

This paper describes the PICCO (PICtorial-COmputer) project the aim of which has been to study the development of the children's conceptual models and exploration strategies in the PICCO environment. The phenomenon, which was selected for the pictorial computer simulation, PICCO, was the variations of sunlight and the heat of the sun as…

This book is a practical resource to help teachers make schools "intelligent organizations" that can synthesize different kinds of knowledge, experience, and ideas to improve schools. Chapters set forth key messages on school effectiveness, school improvement, teaching, and learning. The chapters are: (1) "Improving the Effectiveness of Schools";…

This paper provides a summary and a critique of the empirical literature on elementary teachers' mathematical knowledge. The empirical evidence addresses four major issues surrounding teachers' mathematical knowledge: 1) What is the nature of teachers' content knowledge, particularly with regard to the domain of number? 2) How does teachers'…

This book offers in-depth information resulting from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Launched in 1995, the TIMSS examines elementary and secondary mathematics and science achievement in 40 countries. The book explains that curriculum has a profound effect on student achievement and plays a crucial role in providing…

The use of programming language was studied in an eighth grade science classroom. The goal of the EMERGE curriculum is to enable students to understand the global patterns that they observe. EMERGE was used in an eighth-grade classroom of 12 students, with a range of abilities (3 had learning disabilities), in 21 sessions over 3 months. For the…

The papers in this collection focus on ways higher education institutions might better promote strategies for the internationalization of teaching, learning, research, and other services. The papers explore the rationale of internationalization, the main barriers to internationalization, the distinction between globalization and…

The importance of being able to communicate in the metric system is emphasized. Specific suggestions for learning the metric system efficiently are given: use metric measurements whenever possible, limit converting and check all printed materials against official metric information. Suggestions for selection and use of teaching aids are included.…

Research into teaching and learning in higher education has been actively pursued in Poland, with the aim of achieving efficient expansion and improving individual institutions. This paper gives an account of research and publication activities, analyses the research methods used, and problem areas covered, and describes the development of staff…

The purposes of this study were: to determine if the pass-fail option was primarily exercised in courses outside the academic majors of university students; and to examine the reasons for electing and the influence of pass-fail on learning, motivation, anxiety, and grade aspiration. (Authors)