Containing four sections of materials for workshop presenters to teach phonological awareness, this guide assists early reading program educators in enhancing the Reading and Language Arts knowledge and skills of Texas students. Section 1, an introduction, defines the purpose of the guide and outlines six goals. Section 2, Professional…

Containing four sections of materials for workshop presenters to teach Word Analysis, this guide assists primary grade teachers in enhancing the Reading and Language Arts knowledge and skills of Texas students. Section 1, an introduction, defines the purpose of the guide and outlines six goals. Section 2, Professional Development, includes…

A study of instructional change in three schools reveals that a change strategy should take advantage of existing communication networks. Where there is little interdependence among teachers, administrators need to encourage its growth and replace the egg crate form of organization with arrangements that increase teacher interaction. (MLF)

If education is to halt the ever-swinging pendulum and make significant progress in student achievement, it must first change the ground rules for selecting, implementing, evaluating, and institutionalizing innovations like Hunter's model. This article proposes steps for providing an infrastructure capable of promoting lasting and beneficial…

Draws on the experiences of the OEkos Foundation for Education in implementing successful Montessori programs in 12 public school districts to present essential elements and key decisions needed for establishing such programs. Includes a schematic for the Decision Tree developed by the foundation. (ETB)

A structured flight training syllabus to first solo was tried in a New Zealand aviation club and student progress contrasted with flight training in two other clubs. The project and results are described, and difficulties in implementing and monitoring this innovation in a loosely organized and changing context are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Addresses important considerations for the implementation of speaking across the curriculum. Highlights important distinctions between speech courses and speaking-across-the-curriculum courses taught by faculty in other disciplines. Argues that the benefits of speaking across the curriculum outweigh the potential harm to the field if concerns are…

Describes the merging of a school for students with special needs with a nearby Catholic high school. States that the Best Buddies program pairs a high school student with a special needs student in a mentoring type of relationship. Reports that this school-within-a-school program has been so successful that the archdiocese is expanding the…

We evaluated the role that social capital among teachers plays in affecting teacher pedagogy in the context of comprehensive school reform (CSR). CSR implementation was designed to change school- and classroom-level processes, including organization and governance, curriculum and instruction, professional development (PD), and parental…

Many attempts at bringing successful educational programs and products "to scale" as part of school reform, particularly in urban districts, have been disappointing. Based on the experiences of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and reviews of literature addressing implementation failures, observations about…

For a generation of students raised on television and video games, technology will need to play a crucial role in their learning. Understanding how to best use technology is the key to successful outcomes in the classroom for students, teachers, and administrators. The key to successful implementation of educational technology in the classroom is…

As of January 1996, 20 states had enacted charter school laws. This brief summarizes the history of charter school laws and updates their current status across the country. The brief presents the findings of various charter school research projects conducted at the state and national levels. When substantive changes have been made to existing…

Outcomes of a school improvement program begun in 1988 at Roosevelt Middle School in Eugene, Oregon, are described in this paper. The first part provides a background of the school's innovative process and program development. The second part outlines the school's major components of restructuring--a common vision and core beliefs, principles of…

Issues in transforming educational policy into practice are examined in this report, with a focus on the implementation of school-based decision making (SBDM). The importance of understanding change as a process is underscored in the introduction. The first section offers a definition of and the rationale for school-based decision making and…

Noting that teachers and students who actually use an educational innovation in a classroom setting recreate it, this paper analyzes the implementation of ENFI (Electronic Networks for Interaction), an innovation that uses computers and local area networks in the teaching of writing. The paper presents ENFI's idealization in terms of its…