Four papers on responding to diversity in the schools were presented at the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's Urban School Leadership Mini-Conference. This document presents two, a framework for the discussions by John Attinasi and an exploration of how differences in culture and language affect academic achievement. "Academic…

This research project studied the effects of using poetry to build community in a diverse third grade classroom. Eight poetry activities were taught twice a week for 6 weeks to a class of 23 students. More than half of the students who took part in this study were English Language Learners and several students had special needs. Poetry brought…

This report responds to Delaware state legislation requiring the development of proposed revised regulations for the classification of students as learning disabled (LD). The report first describes the current system, noting that in 1997 15 percent of the student population were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and over…

This volume is a guide for assessing children with dual sensory or severe impairments between the ages of 6 and 15. It presents a functional-ecological assessment process that is individually determined, contextually based, and leads directly to intervention. It begins by discussing the benefits of this model over standardized assessment…

A study was designed, using a seven-step consultation model, to evaluate the impact of training on collaborative group problem solving during Student Assistance Team meetings. The study hypothesized that following the training, decreases would occur in the number of students referred for a comprehensive special education evaluation. It also…

This companion volume to a previous work focusing on the Big6 Approach in elementary schools provides secondary school classroom teachers, teacher-librarians, and technology teachers with the background and tools necessary to implement an integrated Big6 program. The first part of this book explains the Big6 approach and the rationale behind it.…

This book is intended to help school personnel in determining whether a child is eligible for services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, providing a framework for analyzing a child's deficit areas to clearly determine eligibility and justify providing or declining services under this law. Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the guide and give an…

Although numerous research studies have shown that viewing educational television results in significant gains in preschool and school-age children's academic knowledge or skills, there is less consistent evidence regarding transfer of learning, the application of knowledge or skills learned in one context to a new problem or situation. This paper…

The reasons teachers give for their assessment and grading practices and the factors that influence these practices were studied. Of 200 elementary and secondary mathematics and English teachers who volunteered to participate, researchers selected 60 teachers as representing maximum variation and then interviewed 24. Interview transcripts were…

The career academy is a high school model that integrates school-to-work elements in a personalized learning environment. Academies have these three essential features: a school within a school; partnerships with employers; and integrated academic and occupational curriculum centered on a career theme, occupation, or industry. J. Kemple (1997)…

This final report reviews activities and achievements of the "Let's Play!" project, an effort to apply assistive technology (AT) to promote the play skills of infants and toddlers with disabilities within their natural environments. The federally supported project was designed to assist county early intervention programs and developed,…

Universities in Florida, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota have been collaborating in an effort to implement a pedagogical model for early childhood teacher education that helps prospective teachers identify their own cultural and ethnic backgrounds and to understand cultural diversity while helping them learn to be sensitive to the cultural…

Compared with other media, computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a relatively new mode of communication that has emerged in the past two decades. In the past decade, there has been a growing body of research on CMC. There are two dominant models of CMC: the task-oriented and the social-emotion-oriented. This review discusses, compares, and…

This paper discusses the outcomes of two intervention models designed to prevent students with disabilities from dropping out of school in Finland. The first model, the "Creating Own Career" model, is based on the main ideas of the City as School projects. The model is designed to emphasize young peoples' own motivation,…

This paper describes the conceptualization and development of an evaluation system that can be used to monitor and evaluate online instructional efforts. The evaluation system addresses concerns of both program administrators and course instructors. Computer technology is used to provide partial automation to reduce respondent burden and to…