Traditional systems of teacher evaluation are often ineffective because they rely on outmoded evaluative criteria, usually in the form of checklists; simplistic assessments, such as "needs improvement"; procedures that fail to differentiate between new and veteran teachers' experience and expertise; lack of consistency among evaluators;…

U.S. observers of German apprenticeships are impressed with the quality of vocational training provided, the sense of purpose given to (part-time) academic schooling, and the smooth transition apprentices make from adolescence to adulthood. In Broome County, New York, Cornell University has initiated a Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project to…

A Durham, New Hampshire, research team successfully pilot-tested an alternative to holistically scored, timed writing samples that corrects some evaluation shortcomings without added cost. The team used portfolios to measure production, perception, and reflection across a population of 27 randomly selected fifth graders. This method proved…

This model is a career-oriented approach designed to enhance the employability and career options of out-of-school adults. (Author)

Summarizes results of a pilot study to determine how eight moral values stated by former Education Secretary William Bennett are learned by students in classrooms. According to students, teachers must follow the rules themselves to teach character education effectively. Respect is best taught through a hidden curriculum of modeling and quality…

Walla Walla Schools (Washington) designed a demonstration project using the Marzano thinking skills model, which emphasizes learning preparation, content thinking, and basic reasoning skills. Placing selected thinking skills within specific curriculum areas and grade levels proved so successful that teachers then collaborated on a content-free…

Describes the "Private Eye Project" developed by Seattle artist and writer Kerry Ruef and piloted by the Seattle Public Schools. Program materials include a loupe (a jeweler's magnifying glass) and a kit of specimens. Transformed by the loupe, the most ordinary objects present new, analogous worlds leading to poetic and artistic…

Explains two phases of Tennessee's statewide efforts to strengthen parent-school partnerships. One phase I program is based on Purkey's "Invitational Education" concept aiming to increase parent and community involvement. Phase II models include "Active Parenting,""New Parents as Teachers," and an "Operation…

The TransParent School Model linking telephones with computers enables teachers to communicate daily with parents regarding children's learning activities, homework, and ways for parents to support the child's study at home. Electronic mailboxes can expand the system's message-storing capacity. Includes eight references. (MLH)

In 1992, collaborators from the San Marcos and Austin school districts, Southwest Texas State University, a regional education service center, and a telephone company formed the Center for Professional Development and Technology. Their goal was utilizing technology to redesign teacher education within a classroom context. Teachers learn to use…

Rip Van Winkle would not recognize Corsicana (Texas) High School since its curriculum coordinator began implementing learning styles techniques in various pilot programs. Lecturing to rows of bored students has been replaced by students' active involvement in group activities, listening centers, and tactile/kinesthetic exercises on the floor or at…

Interagency collaboration to serve youngsters' needs should be comprehensive, preventive, child-centered, and flexible. Streamlining collaboration involves mapping the territory, surveying the field, reviewing current needs and services, developing a plan, and getting started. Pitfalls include talking without acting, creating an interagency czar…

A recent study in Baltimore shows that the inclusion of a structured cognitive skills program in the language arts curriculum significantly improved student verbal performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). (MD)

The EBCE task is to develop within three to five years a body of experience and research data that would document the feasibility of an entire alternative secondary education system, harnessed to the career education ideal and drawing its curriculum from the life of the adult community. (Authors)