A three-year institute called "The Lodge Pole River Project" was designed to change educator perceptions of American Indian historical geography and encourage the creation of balanced and culturally sensitive American Indian K-12 curriculum. This project offered unique opportunities to assess a geography institute's impact upon teacher knowledge…

A well-designed professional development (PD) program serves to deepen and extend teachers' subject matter knowledge and extend and refine their teaching practices. However, professional development programs often fail to achieve sustained change in teacher practices and improvement in student learning. In this study the authors attempt to find…

This article describes how Everyday Mathematics, a new program that is being used for kids at all levels across the US, is now a part of a curriculum change in the New York City school system. Instead of teaching standard ways to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and long division and then drilling students with worksheets, teachers…

This study investigated the effectiveness of Modified Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing (CSIW) with mildly mentally retarded students' skills in writing problem/solution texts. Participants were from two self-contained and multiage classrooms in Turkey. Instruction had a positive impact on the amount of time students spent planning and…

This brochure makes a case for devoting more attention to writing, and demonstrates through recent research results that the National Writing Project (NWP) has had a positive impact on teachers and students across the country. Independent national scorings of student writing show that NWP student improvement out paces that of students in carefully…

Need in Deed (NID) is a non-profit organization which has been serving Philadelphia schools since 1987. The organization aims to promote youth engagement in their schools and communities by working with teachers to develop and implement service learning projects in which students can apply academics to real life problems. Until recently, NID staff…

"Hands-on" activities play an important, but controversial, role in early science education. In this study we attempt to clarify some of the issues surrounding the controversy by calling attention to distinctions between: (a) type of instruction (direct or discovery); (b) type of knowledge to be acquired (domain-general or domain-specific); and…

There are few studies measuring the effects on painting quality of playing background classical music at special schools. Primary students with severe intellectual disabilities (N=24) were taught abstract painting in a two-part method. The first part involved a Pictorial Only method and the second, immediately following it, involved a Pictorial…

"Education for a Digital World" contains a collection of strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process. Narrative is supplemented by real-life examples, case studies, and resources to supply comprehensive perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning…

The role of motivation and collaboration in STEM learning and performance is paramount. A learning community represents an educational approach that can engage students in learning in a motivated, thoughtful, active, and collaborative way. The focus of this article is on the nature of students' interest, attitudes, learning experiences and…

This study examined the impact of the 3-year implementation of a professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. Teachers were provided with instructional units and workshops that were designed to improve teaching practices and foster positive beliefs about science and…

Background: This study evaluated the impact on student's writing ability of a structured writing program, called "Writing Wings," for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders developed by the Success For All Foundation (SFAF). Writing is a critical skill for success in school. Purpose: The study was intended to answer one confirmatory question,…

The term three-tier model of intervention is a model consisting of three well-defined and separate processes running on different levels within a system. In New Mexico, this principle has been applied to develop a model of student intervention for school-aged students. The model has three distinct levels of instructional interventions that account…

The Asian Tsunami struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. Sri Lanka was the second worst affected country after Indonesia, and this natural disaster killed in excess of 35,000 people and displaced over 1 million. The article explores the Tsunami Disaster Management Program developed by one Sri Lankan university: the Postgraduate Institute of…

"Doors to Discovery"[TM] is an early childhood curriculum that uses thematic units to engage young children and support them as they build an understanding of their world. "Doors to Discovery"[TM] literacy activities are used to encourage children's development in a number of areas identified by research as the foundation for…