Three Intensive Reading Instructional Teams (IRIT's) provided a comprehensive half-day program of reading instruction for a period of approximately 11 weeks for 405 third and fourth grade pupils who were in Hartford's validated schools and not achieving up to expectancy. A fourth team, funded by the general budget, provided special reading…

From the academic--or instructivist--perspective, the young child is seen as dependent on adults' instruction in the academic knowledge and skills necessary for a good start for later academic achievement. This perspective is in direct contrast to the active and interactive curriculum assumed by proponents of the constructivist approach. This…

This article discusses ways a school in Saint Louis (Missouri) applies the theory of multiple intelligences in the curriculum. The article identifies seven potential pitfalls and describes how this school works around them. A brief summary of the seven intelligences is included. (SM)

Psychologist Howard Gardner argues that schools fail because they do not confront often flawed childhood theories about the world that students bring to the classroom. He claims teachers must acknowledge, challenge, and build on such assumptions so students can internalize lessons taught in school and apply them outside the classroom. (SM)

A complex and changing society requires education that prepares its citizens with complex skills. Yet, successful implementation of the complex pedagogies needed for our rapidly changing world involve teaching strategies and knowledge not yet commonplace in classrooms. To effectively teach K-12 students today and in the future, teacher candidates…

We discuss the development of an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities), based on socio-constructivist and sociocultural learning philosophies and distance education principles for the development of online wisdom communities, and the application and evaluation of the model in an online graduate course in the USA. The WisCom model…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of the active learning models that supports flexibility and creativity in learning, and takes individual differences into consideration. The basic principle of PBL is to make students come face-to-face with conditions that could be similar to real ones in their professions. This objective is accomplished by…

The "componential" theory of intelligence explains intelligence in terms of three types of component processes that make up intelligent performance. The first of these, "metacomponents," are the higher-order or executive processes that one uses to plan what one is going to do, monitor what one is doing, and evaluate what one…

The high degree of autonomy college faculty members exercise in organizing and teaching courses suggests that faculty perceptions of educational purposes, subject matter structure and importance, and expectations for student learning are major determinants of educational success. Despite diversity and local autonomy present in its system, American…

This guide was designed to help parents of preschool children utilize high quality children's literature to enhance communication between parents and children. The first section focuses on informal educational techniques parents can use with their preschool children. Specific topics examined include story reading and story telling, intellectual…

Three articles are presented which concern college reading instruction. Karen Pelz describes an intensive approach to teaching reading and writing which entails: (1) special classes for underprepared students; (2) standard administration of freshman reading tests; (3) teaching reading and writing together; (4) using the same instructor to teach…

The development of a method for teaching oral comprehension in a second language depends on an understanding of the nature of comprehension and on an analysis of the problems that arise in the learning process. These issues can be approached by a theoretical investigation of comprehension from a psycholinguistic point of view and by the…

Beginning in 1956 about 250 students in two London, England junior schools were intensively studied over a 4-year period for intellectual, educational, emotional, and social development. The schools approached instruction differently; one was child-oriented; the other was subject-oriented. In 1964 this followup study was conducted with some of the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a sequenced, highly-structured direct instruction program in language and reading skills on the intellectual growth, academic achievement, and school adjustment of 303 middle class kindergarten children. Children were assigned to one of four treatment groups: a "direct verbal"…

This paper discusses current perspectives on the education of young children in terms of five interrelated issues rooted in a developmental perspective: (1) the complexities of predicting the long-term developmental outcomes of early experience; (2) how to interpret gender differences in the long-term effects of different approaches to early years…