This paper presents ideas relating to curriculum organization from the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development publication, "Excellence in Our Schools: Making It Happen," which attempted to synthesize nine reports written in response to the National Commission on Excellence in Education report, "A Nation at…

This review of the literature highlights research-based ways to improve schools and classrooms. Emphasis is on student time-on-task, effective teacher behaviors, and positive teacher supervision. (JM)

This case study of a Colorado school district sought to assess the process and outcomes of administrative leadership in implementing school effectiveness research on time-on-task classroom strategies. The study examines the interrelationship of conditions bearing upon the change effort and focuses on those changes affecting the district's…

Hypothesizing that young students would exhibit fewer classroom behavior problems when engaged in activities linked to their strengths and interests, this study examined the use of Gardner's multiple intelligences to improve student behavior. Targeted were 20 students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade classrooms in two suburban…

Traditionally campus-based courses rely on student evaluations to provide instructors with feedback about their teaching effectiveness. However, current student evaluations of teaching instruments do not adequately assess many of the essential constructivist-based teaching practices recommended for quality online learning experiences. One of the…

A practicum was designed to improve the self-concepts of intermediate grade students and reduce behavior problems in their class. The practicum was implemented for 10 weeks in an alternative education class of 14 low socioeconomic status students with moderate learning and behavior problems. The three strategies employed were: (1) daily peer group…

The authors describe a zone defense schedule (ZDS), a system for organizing the staff and environment of a preschool classroom. Specifically, it is used to organize the roles of adults in the classroom so that transitions between activities are easier for children and provides greater opportunity for teaching (both during the transition and…

Those who write and fund bilingual education programs are primarily concerned with the implementation, administration, and management of certain types of programs rather than with their instructional components. An analysis of 75 bilingual education program proposals indicated that this resulted in a preoccupation with facilities, materials,…

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) is discussed as an emerging and effective model of home-school collaboration and shared problem solving. A case study is presented to demonstrate how practitioners can use CBC to deliver high quality consultation and intervention services to students, teachers, and parents in a real world setting. An…

This article describes a replication of the "First Step to Success" program (Walker, Stiller, Severson, & Golly, 1998) with at-risk students in the first and second grade to determine program effectiveness in decreasing inappropriate behaviors and increasing academic engagement time. This expands the "First Step to…

Results are presented from the first two years of implementation of Detroit's Peer Teachers as Mirrors and Monitors Project. The data describe reading and mathematics achievement in grades 1-4 at two schools which participated in the project interventions, and one comparison school. Results indicate that: (1) teachers' appropriate use of time…

A three-year project was undertaken by the National Center for research in Vocational Education (Ohio State University, OH) to investigate time on task in vocational and technical classes. During the first year of the project, researchers used the direct observation method to collect time-on-task data pertaining to 10 teachers and 186 students in…