This study explored the teaching practices and attitudes toward history of two fifth-grade teachers who taught their students about the American Revolution in 6-week units. Using case study, interviewing, observations, and student attitudes assessments, the study examined how the fifth graders reconstructed elements of the American Revolution…

"School Stories" is a weekly television series presenting the real life stories of people successfully solving the problems faced by today's students. Each of the eight programs in the series focuses on a particular example: (1) "Connecting with Kids" profiles two veteran teachers and their differing approaches to connecting with their students;…

In the inclusion style of teaching, learners must make decisions about level of task difficulty. They must decide at which level to enter the presented task and then, for additional sets of trials, decide whether to perform the task the same way, make it more difficult, or make it less difficult. This study examined learner decision making in a…

This paper describes the reactions of graduate secondary school student teachers to an experiment which required them to evaluate specified techniques and theories of teaching and learning as part of their classroom practice. The aim of the experiment was to: (1) improve the quality of their judgments about pupils; (2) acquire variety in teaching…

An observational study of peer dynamics found three very different systems of peer interaction among Hawaiian children at three preschools. The children were demographically similar: part-Hawaiians from lower to lower-middle class backgrounds. Sixty children were studied in videotaped sessions. In Preschool 1, children usually play as dyads; in…

A practicum was designed to develop training that would increase teachers' understanding of an integrated curriculum and how to plan for implementation. Subjects were 23 teachers at a K-5 elementary school. Training was developed to provide a common knowledge base of an integrated curriculum, productive collaboration and planning, and…

This study examined the role of public preschool teachers in the construction of classroom literacy environments. Using qualitative methods for data collection and analysis, the research was intended to generate knowledge of teacher thinking and decision making for social and cultural phenomena taking place in a classroom. The study included ten…

One of the aims of the Threshold Project was to examine the school-based learning experiences of children in lower primary grades in Southern African schools, particularly in relation to the changeover to English as the medium of instruction. Ethnographic observations were conducted in two Primary Education Upgrading Project (PEUP) schools and two…

Calls for elementary teachers to reform their classroom practice in mathematics are coming from all sides. They are being asked to shift their teaching from an approach based on "transmission of knowledge" to student-centered practice. In order to assess elementary teachers' current goals and activities in teaching mathematics, a survey…

A study was conducted at Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, in Ontario, Canada, to determine student and faculty perceptions of teacher effectiveness. Discussions with 10 nursing students identified 7 factors contributing to teacher effectiveness. A questionnaire, asking respondents to rank these seven characteristics, was distributed…

The purpose of this study was to describe the cognitive styles of both international and domestic graduate students attending Marshall University (West Virginia). A total of 41 American and international graduate students were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), and 20 of the international students were interviewed. The study…

This study documented elementary teachers' reported practices in mathematics, science, social studies, literature, art, and music. The study also identified the extent to which teachers espoused instructional goals and practices associated with teaching for understanding compared with basic skills approaches. Respondents were 678 elementary school…

Two-year longitudinal case studes were conducted of four teachers, beginning with the student teaching experience through the first year of teaching. The study explored ways in which teaching perspectives, evidenced at the end of student teaching, are strengthened or modified during the first year of teaching. It also sought to determine who and…

A content-analysis examined the discussion practices recommended in postprimary reading methods textbooks published in the United States before and after 1970. Fifteen textbooks were selected and 37 topics related to discussion were eventually grouped into three categories--(1) functions of textbooks, (2) functions of questions, and (3) roles of…

The special educator's role and training is discussed within the context of current efforts by British schools to comply with the Education Reform Act and the National Curriculum. The close relationship between the process and content of learning and between styles of learning and learning outcomes is stressed. Individual sections address the…