Teachers need an appreciation for and empathetic understanding of their students, and they require tools for intervening when students have behavior problems or fail to demonstrate effective living skills in school. They must also have the courage to expect students to learn, grow, and live up to classroom standards. (SM)

Written feedback, placed on five students' reading assignments, was evaluated in a multiple baseline design across students. The outcomes indicated improved accuracy in reading when the feedback was provided by the teacher. Differences between previous research and the present study are discussed. (AMH)

Suggests that student problem behaviors are best addressed through instruction; teacher-student interactions are the best arena for teaching social behaviors; and problem behaviors have the same social ends as desirable ones. Outlines steps for analyzing the child's desired outcome of problem behaviors, choosing replacement behaviors, and planning…

Considers how writing teachers, when faced with student writing that betrays sexist, racist, or homophobic sentiments, should respond. Addresses the difficulty of asserting moral imperatives in the light of current antifoundationalist theory. Argues for a reliance on a "necessary directionality" toward comprehensive moral truths. (HB)

Pupils (N=1,755) in 232 elementary school classes in Tennessee participated in a 3-year longitudinal study of the effects of reduced class size on reading and mathematics performance. The small-class setting increased performance significantly in both mathematics and reading, and it had an especially strong impact in inner-city schools.…

Examined preservice teachers' ability to use component-specific feedback to positively influence elementary students' performance on overhead throw. Researchers developed an instrument to record teachers' verbal behaviors concurrent with student performance. Analysis of videotapes indicated teachers had content knowledge but limited ability to…

A study of two racially diverse urban schools revealed that boys are chief teasers and bulliers and that teachers seldom intervene. A proactive curricular approach that explores differences, examines the meaning of courage, involves students in rule making, and promotes friendships across ethnic and gender lines is suggested. (10 references) (MLH)

Why do good ideas created and promulgated by bright, dedicated people have no significant, lasting effects on teaching? The answer: reformers meddle in trained teachers' everyday practice--educating students. Few professions take kindly to laypersons forcing reforms in their practices. Any school-restructuring initiative must include teachers in…

Describes everyday strategies of principals practicing exemplary instructional leadership and how these principals influenced teachers, drawing on survey data from a qualitative study of over 800 teachers. Inductive data analyses generated two major themes, comprising 11 strategies that were used to construct the Reflection-Growth model of…

Argues that change has become so much a part of school culture that it has become the constant. Presents four considerations for school administrators: (1) teachers work hard; (2) change requires much additional time and energy; (3) support the people implementing the change; and (4) teacher and principal autonomy and authority will foster change.…

Describes an authentic assessment framework for music educators by summarizing a collaborative project between a music-education professor and a general music teacher at DeWitt Middle School in Ithaca, New York. States that the project shows how an interactive, process-oriented approach to assessing musical understanding is both possible and…

When faced with a conflict cycle with an angry student, teachers may feel they are losing control of their emotions. Presents five-step STARR Plan to help teachers respond in a caring and calm manner. The plan consists of the following steps: (1) Stop, (2) Think, (3) Act, (4) Rehearse, and (5) Reward. (Author/JDM)

Explores the encounter between teachers and research literature, examines whether this encounter has any prospects, and determines the features necessary for a meaningful encounter. Illustrates that research literature is not part of the typical teacher's library and that there is a gap between the researcher's world and teacher's world. (CMK)

Describes strategies for promoting student success within diverse groups of learners. Discusses specific ways to develop a valuing teacher-student relationship that promotes success: getting to know students and providing structures such as individual conferences and meaningful evaluation systems can help learners to feel valued as individuals, to…

Presents four opinions from middle school educators concerning curriculum integration: (1) the inexperienced may transition better; (2) middle level education needs a clear vision for children and ways to deliver it; (3) middle level educators need to learn from past success and failures; and (4) middle school educators can provide guidance to…