The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate on the nature of technology education. This is especially pertinent at times of curriculum change and uncertainty, such as currently exist in relation to the Primary school curriculum in England and Wales. Two phrases ("technological literacy" and "design capability") have…

This article was written as a response to Ayres, Lowrey, Douglas, and Sievers (2011) who commented on the degree to which promoting the teaching of functional skills had a higher probability of leading to a more independent life for students with severe disabilities. In doing so, the authors take issue with the use of a standards-based curriculum…

One goal of the US Department of Education-funded Project Insights was to see if the use of Problem-based Learning (PBL) would encourage students to reveal previously unseen academic potential. Two PBL units were taught to 271 sixth grade students in 13 classrooms. Afterwards, teachers identified students who demonstrated previously unseen…

Teachers are held responsible for equitable and excellent education in classrooms that are increasingly diverse culturally and student academic ability. The purpose of this study was to better understand the attitudes and experiences of teachers in heterogeneous classrooms regarding teacher preparation in order to implement new research-based…

This article describes an assignment for a secondary education course in which students compiled curriculum resource guides on ability, class, sexual identity, gender identity, and race/ethnicity. Student groups presented at least twenty resources, with no more than four resources of the same medium. Resources included videos, books, guest…

Describes teaching methods used in an English program for a heterogeneous group of students. (RL)

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences helps teachers nurture students' unique intelligences. This article explains how one teacher reinvented her curriculum and teaching methods to meet all students' needs, highlighting a unit that introduced the concept of diverse strengths and open-ended exploration of the seven intelligences through…

Reports on a study of an improvisation curriculum used with 66 fifth-grade music students. Finds that students who received instruction emphasizing improvisation performed at significantly higher achievement levels than students who did not receive such instruction. (CFR)

This study designed a music program for improving academic skills of first grade students after the teaching staff found the students doing average work in the classroom. The school involved in the study was located in an urban, middle class community in Northern Illinois. Results of standardized tests showed the extent of the academic problems of…

This digest describes efforts to improve academic learning for middle level high school students to be applied practically to develop workplace competence and flexibility by integrating academic and vocational education. Following an introduction describing the need to prepare students for working life is a paragraph describing generally the…

In his studies of human capacity, Howard Gardner revealed a wider family of human intelligences than previously suggested. Noting that restricting educational programs to focusing on a preponderance of linguistic and mathematical intelligences minimizes the importance of other forms of knowing, this book presents strategies for creating open…

Because of the great amount of child maltreatment within the last decade in America, teachers are likely to have some of the children who are victims of abuse and neglect in the inclusive classes. It is important for educators to be informed about the negative effects of maltreatment on academic competence, which can exacerbate existing learning…

The guide explains how to design a beginning guitar class for students in public schools. Part one discusses problems related to teaching guitar in a classroom setting. Teachers must have a clearly defined philosophy of the importance of music. Goals and objectives should emphasize the development of enlightened musical consumers as well as skills…

One of five modules in the curriculum development series of the 16-module series designed to train vocational education curriculum specialists, this module is intended for use in classes or individual study arrangements at the preservice or inservice level by students with varying amounts of experience in vocational education. (These modules are…

Observations of geography instruction in two high schools in London and research at the University of London Institute of Education provide the basis for an overview of pre-college geography instruction in Britain. Because British secondary schools concentrate more on universal education, they are developing a curriculum which is similar to the…