This article examines the learning experiences of 3 teachers of English as a Second Language (TESL) as they attempted to encourage productive thinking in 36 preservice student teachers by increasing creative, critical, flexible, and reflective thinking. They also sought to make the student teachers more assertive and less shy. These changes were…

This paper emphasizes the significance of cultural diversity in American schools and its implications for the teaching and learning processes. Also highlighted is the importance of the realization that diversity is what makes the United States unique. The paper discusses the cultural dynamics of clashes and conflicts as well as of cooperation and…

This paper provides teachers with 35 techniques for promoting preschool children's prosocial development. Research findings that support many of the techniques are cited. Some of the techniques refer to caregivers' personal interactions with individual children or groups, while others target broader systems and require involvement of families,…

Validity is a central issue in use of self-report data for the investigation of teacher thinking. "Triangulation," or use of several data sets to test, corroborate and elaborate each other, is one method for increasing validity of findings. This paper illustrates a process of triangulation of data obtained by three different data…

A study examined bilingual children's composing behaviors during classroom writing and their perceptions of writing. Students' descriptions of what occurred in their day-to-day environment were analyzed using ethnographic methods. The researcher observed five subjects--bilingual students in kindergarten through third grade--for 145 hours, and…

The School Within A School (SWAS) Program is designed to help low-achieving high school students improve their academic achievement. This evaluation examined five program aspects: implementation; achievement; self concept; perceptions of students, teachers, coordinators and principals; and student attendance. Student team learning and individual…

An analysis is presented of a review of research reports on the efficacy of direct instruction in fostering basic skills development. The review process began with a topical literature search using the ERIC database and conventional library methods. Articles and other documents were analyzed and abstracted into "Item Reports." Each of…

This paper presents recently reported findings that associate teacher behavior with student achievement. These findings fall under 5 general categories: time usage, classroom management, teacher expectations, teacher effectiveness research, and specific teacher behaviors. Research on time usage has demonstrated that the same amount of learning…

A naturalistic-design study compared the practices of "writer-teachers" (expert practitioners) who employ methods rooted in experience with traditional "teacher writers." Eight subjects were chosen from a group of 23 writers who teach below the college level. One quarter of classroom observation and taping produced an in-depth study of two expert…

The 11 papers assembled in this volume reflect the readiness of professional social work to develop practice approaches for working with parents of children in foster care. The papers were written from different perspectives, emphasize diverse aspects of foster care, and disagree on many issues. A unifying theme exists, however, in the shared…

Vulnerability to crime is examined in this seventh-grade component of a teacher-developed K-eighth grade crime resistance education program. The description of the entire program, which introduces this component, states that major objectives are to promote and maintain positive student attitudes and behavior, assist students in meeting…

Development, implementation, and teaching of a college-level course on dying and death are described. The authors review their own experiences in becoming involved with death education and describe teaching methods, problems, and content of their current course in dying and death at the State University of New York, College at New Paltz. Because…

This book provides proven teaching methods, coupled with the best of instructional theory, and is intended for use in undergraduate courses that teach instructional methods or techniques. A brief introduction to schooling and broad educational goals is offered in the first chapter. The following four chapters present the basic "tools" for…

Charles A. Curran has developed a radically different type of language learning by dealing with the learners as a group rather than as a class. The social learning relationships of a class differ from a group in the contract, the social milieu, in the relationships between the teacher and students, and among the students themselves. Curran called…

This document consists of a translation and analysis of a set of grammar "Readers" in use in Communist China in the first five grades of elementary school from about 1958 through 1966. The analysis begins with a discussion of the background and sources of the selections in the "Readers," proceeds to a discussion of moral and…