Teachers may be the most important element of an effective school, but does that mean that K-12 improvement must wait on the ability of schools or systems to recruit, nurture, and retain outstanding teachers? Such a strategy implies that widespread excellence hinges on the ability of publicly funded school systems to attract more than 3.3 million…

Background: This longitudinal study examines the long-term effects on the achievement of students at a diverse suburban high school after all students were given accelerated mathematics in a detracked middle school as well as ninth-grade "high-track" curriculum in all subjects in heterogeneously grouped classes. Despite considerable…

"Science for Girls: Successful Classroom Strategies" looks at how girls learn, beginning with the time they are born through both the informal and formal education process. In the author's current role as professor of science education, Dr. Goetz has surveyed hundreds of female elementary education majors in their junior and senior year of…

This digest debunks myths about developmentally appropriate programs (DAPs) and discusses essential characteristics of developmentally appropriate practices. Common myths or erroneous assumptions about DAPs assume that: (1) there is only one right way to implement a DAP; (2) DAPs are unstructured, and practitioners offer minimal guidance to the…

This collection of papers represents an effort by their writers as a group to develop a multicultural perspective to be used in exploring educational and other issues in diverse contexts. The nine papers include: (1) "Culture, Schooling, and Education in a Democracy" by Victoria R. Fu; (2) "Diversity in America: Historical, Social, and Political…

This book is written for preservice and inservice teachers who work primarily, but not exclusively, with children in kindergarten through eighth grade. The materials and methods for teaching culturally diverse students are most appropriate for children of elementary and middle school age. Using techniques of cooperative learning and incorporating…

This study examined characteristics of passive and active learners among college students enrolled in remedial classes and students enrolled in regular academic classes. Active learners are typically analytical, focused on task, tolerant of new ideas, curious, adept at processing information, able to develop other ways to solve a problem,…

This document, which is intended for business educators at all levels, outlines two approaches to facilitating international business communication by adopting a global approach in business communication and related business education courses. In the first half of the document, the following steps in implementing the separate-course approach, are…

This volume is the first in a series (developed in response to a needs assessment survey of special educators in Alberta, Canada) providing practical suggestions about instructional strategies, classroom management, preparing individual program plans, and understanding special needs. Book 1 highlights strategies for differentiating instruction…

This in-depth case study investigated the deliberate attempt to infuse a multicultural perspective throughout a science methods course required of all intending elementary teachers at a major research university. Intending teachers' perspectives of being inducted into a profession overtly signifying its commitment to multicultural awareness and…

This article presents relevant information about Arab American children as a guide for multicultural teachers. Given the alarming impact of cultural conditioning in American society, the previously invisible Arab Americans and their children have become visible in a negative way. Current cultural conditioning does not allow Arabs to see themselves…

The key elements of promoting human traits such as building trust through proactive communication, empowering individuals, affirming civic values through diversity, serving as a symbol, and increasing accountability and responsibility as they relate to teachers and students are the focus of this article, which provides educators with useful…

This publication explores how teachers' cultural origins, as well as those of their students and colleagues, impact growth and learning, and how teachers can make classrooms more culturally responsive. The book is divided into two parts with a "bridge" chapter between them. Part 1, "Conceptual Provocations" includes five…

Over the last 15 years or so, research into measurement error has begun to consider not just whether the test items fit, but whether the people who answer the items fit. Attempts to systematically identify people who do not fit the typical pattern have led to several "person-fit statistics." This digest describes the need for such…

This study was conducted to assess differences in preferred learning styles between four groups of preservice teachers (N=568), first year through senior year, and to determine if teaching level interest and gender are also factors associated with learning style preference. Participants completed a questionnaire rating five professors each of whom…