At the heart of education are two fundamental questions: "What should we teach?" and How should we teach it? Educators striving to design and deliver the best-possible learning experiences can feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. To help them make these critical decisions, Angela Di Michele Lalor identifies five key priorities of a…

Research has shown that inclusive education results in better academic outcomes for ALL students, not just those identified with disabilities, by promoting self-efficacy, improving social and emotional health, and consistently implementing research-based instructional strategies. Still, many schools rely on deeply ingrained, segregated practices…

We strive to empower our students to lead their own inquiry, discover knowledge, and construct approaches to solving real-life challenges. Often, though, we make the mistake of designing learning experiences that burden students with the unrealistic expectation of expertise that hasn't yet been developed. The solution: proper scaffolding for…

This guidance report offers early years professionals seven practical evidence-based recommendations to provide every child--but particularly those from disadvantaged homes--with a high quality and well-rounded grounding in early literacy, language and communication. One recommendation focuses on the importance of high quality interactions between…

State and local education leaders implementing new college- and career-ready standards (CCRS), next-generation assessments and updated educator evaluation and support systems are turning attention to cohesion--or integration--of these three reforms as a top priority for supporting educators and for increasing the number of students graduating high…

Communities across the country are grappling with different approaches to improving their schools. Introducing or expanding charter schools is one of the approaches that states and school districts have considered or implemented. Charter schools serve more than 5 percent of public school students nationwide and make up close to 7 percent of all…

Designed to help high school teachers improve their creative writing courses, this document stresses the value of submitting students' work to professional publications. Separate sections examine general rules for teaching creative writing, present background information on creativity, discuss benefits and problems involved in submitting students'…

The authors discuss teaching and learning strategies for the topic of values at all age levels. They encourage a focus on participative learning and provision of a caring environment. A discussion of universal versus particular values is included. (CH)

Moving beyond the usual genetic explanations for giftedness, Dr. James Campbell presents powerful evidence that it is parental involvement--very specific methods of working with and nurturing a child which increases the child's chances of being gifted. Based on his research with parents of more than 10,000 gifted children around the world,…

This book addresses an important and seldom addressed issue: learning. Not teaching, not performance, not "work": this book really is about learning, what makes learning effective and how it may be promoted in classrooms. The authors take the context of the classroom seriously, not only because of its effects on teachers and pupils, but because…

As part of a series of publications reporting the promising practices gleaned from pre-elementary Right to Read programs, this guidebook introduces its readers to the format used to describe the promising practices, provides statistical and descriptive information about the pre-elementary Right to Read programs, and describes each of the four…

Guidelines developed by the Austin Early Childhood Special Education Program are provided for training parents to observe and participate in the classroom. Described is a four-session program in which small groups of parents view a videotape, observe in a classroom other than their child's, and finally observe in their own child's classroom.…

Suggests that college students in political science courses dealing with international law will learn more about the subject if the teacher stresses issues and student participation. (DB)

Partnering with parents is essential if an early childhood program is to succeed. "From Parents to Partners" explores the reasons and methods for developing ongoing partnerships with parents and other family members. It also provides the tools and strategies needed to build the communication and support networks within which these partnerships…

A background manual for tutors explains and defines their role in a system of individualized education in some detail. Differences between the role of teacher and the role of tutor are analyzed. Methods of forestalling cheating and other "black-market operations" are discussed. Tutoring procedures are outlined and individualized education manuals…