This document is a unit that introduces students to the American Revolution by relying on primary sources. The lessons divide the conflict into 3 periods: (1) the friction leading to the War; (2) the struggle for independence; and (3) the expectations that shaped people's participation. The feature that distinguishes this treatment of the…

Teachers conducting a thematically organized literature-based reading program centered around student-led discussion groups wanted to explore ways in which the values they wanted to promote could be reflected in the ways they assessed their students. This study considers how valuing a broader scope of language and literacy abilities and making…

At the University of Minnesota, a model, visual representation or "graphic" that incorporated both a systematic design process and a constructivist approach was used as a framework for course design. This paper describes experiences of applying the Instructional Context Design (ICD) framework in both the K-12 and higher education…

This document concerns what teachers learned from students responses to the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) tests in 1995. Teacher responses and comments are presented in the following categories: (1) "Look How Far We've Come!" (identifies areas of improvement in student performance); (2) "Perceptions"…

A 3-year study applied the four-dimensional pedagogical theory and model of transitional bilingual education in a school with a large Hispanic population, using mathematics content as the vehicle for teaching English. Subjects were approximately 200 fifth-grade limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in three cohorts in a 6-week voluntary summer…

If teachers are teaching a set of standard content and assessments are made consistently, the relationship between these various assessments and the curriculum should be of interest. The purpose of this study was to explore the consistency of the mathematical measures of three prominent forms of mathematics assessment: standardized tests,…

Studies suggest that the transition to middle school is associated with a decline in motivation and performance for a number of children. This longitudinal study examined changes in motivation in English and mathematics across and after the transition from elementary to middle school. Of particular interest were changes in personal goal…

How low-income Brazilian students explain their school performance and the predominant achievement causes were studied. The relationship between achievement attribution and school achievement and students' conceptions of choice, career, agency, and relationship with achievement were also studied, using the causal attribution theory of B. Weiner.…

This practicum project implemented a program designed to improve the motivation to learn among fourth- and fifth-graders in a fast growing, industrial community surrounded by prosperous farms in northern Illinois. The problem of low motivation was documented by systematic classroom observations, teacher interviews, and student surveys. Analysis of…

An action research project was designed to improve the English oral language skills of students of limited English proficiency (LEP) and their academic achievement. Thirty students were randomly chosen from 70 Hispanic fifth graders who enrolled in a voluntary program. Instruction was given using a contextualized environment. Within this…

Authors who have reviewed the literature on teaching and learning in U.S. history and in social studies have argued that a need exists for comparative case studies of teachers' history and social studies teaching practices and the influence that these practices have on students, especially at the elementary school level. This report, which is…

This paper describes the experiences of a teacher and a curriculum helper in designing and implementing a fifth grade language arts curriculum at an inner city, magnet school in Indianapolis (Indiana). The report describes the work in three phases: (1) making explicit the problems with the previous language arts curriculum; (2) formulating a plan…

This study assesses whether or not there is a significant difference in school climate, as reported by students' affective attitudes, toward curriculum and instruction for a cohort from one academic year to the next when intervention programs have been introduced. In the fall of 1989, the Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools…

A study examined how a teacher accommodated diversity in a fifth-grade classroom in an inner-city school during a 2-year project involving literature-based reading instruction with small student-led response groups called Book Clubs. The Book Club project operated in the classroom using the four components of literacy instruction--reading,…

Arguing that the development of a notion of sense-making is of critical importance to improving science learning, this paper examines science teaching in four Boston (Massachusetts)-area classrooms that participated in an experiment on ways of integrating technology into a sixth-grade science curriculum on the earth's seasons. The task of the…