In order to be effective, instruction must be more than tailored to the individual: it must be a part of a larger system designed to support individualized learning. An effective individualized instructional environment is a dynamic system; it involves instructors who embrace the concept of individualizing instruction, and provides guidance to…

This paper discusses a radically different set of assumptions to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students. It is argued that disadvantaged children, when exposed to carefully organized thinking-oriented instruction, can acquire the traditional basic skills in the process of reasoning and solving problems. The paper is presented in…

This study assessed the impact on student learning outcomes of the Integrated Center of Public Education (ICPE), an innovative program in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) for at-risk students; and compared school educational programs of the ICPE and a regular public school serving the same low-income community and focusing on critical thinking competence…

Created for use with motivated learners (meaning all those who enjoy the adventure and challenge of learning) as well as for gifted and talented upper elementary and junior high children, the 15 student research projects in this book were designed to teach children in these grades how to become independent learners; hence they emphasize the use of…

This publication summarizes the findings of a 3-year study concerning the effectiveness of instruction that emphasizes meaning and understanding. In particular, the instructional approaches embedded the teaching of discrete skills in context and drew connections between academic learning and students' home lives. These strategies were applied in…

Presenting syntheses of research on effective instruction in 30 program areas, this paper is designed as a resource to assist teachers in expanding and refining their repertoire of teaching strategies and to guide instructional planning and decision making. For each program area, the paper presents a "finding" (a one-sentence statement…

The ideas of the nature, purpose, and scope of mathematics held by students is an issue of interest to the mathematics education community. Movement from a mathematics as discrete operations perspective to a mathematics as problem-solving perspective is a desired change in mathematics education reform. A pretest/posttest experimental design study…

Proponents of mathematics education reform have emphasized both cognitive and attitudinal goals, seeking improvement in children's problem-solving skills and in their attitudes toward mathematics. A pretest/posttest experimental design study examined the effects of SQUARE ONE TV, a television series about mathematics aimed at 8- to 12-year-old…

Problem solving has been a concern of science education for at least three quarters of a century. This book presents a comprehensive review of the research that has occurred in problem solving. The studies included in this summary range across the continuum. Some are concerned with gaps between conditions and resolutions; some involve science…

This interim report of the "National Assessment of Chapter 1 Independent Review Panel" presents preliminary findings from studies completed as part of a national assessment of the Chapter 1 program. The first of the report's seven sections discusses the intent of the program, while the second examines its educational and economic…

The case study method refers to a descriptive research document based on a real-life situation, problem, or incident. Cases describe situations calling for analysis, planning, decision-making, and/or action. The method requires that every attempt be made to provide an unbiased, multidimensional perspective in presenting the case and arriving at…

The emergence of vocational curricula each with specific proficiencies has led to a new concept of the major dominated by technical rather than liberal learning. Although this has occurred at both two- and four-year institutions, applied curricula tend to disadvantage two-year students more than than their four-year counterparts because of less…

This paper reports on a study conducted to examine a shift in responsibility for learning to the students in an advanced placement American history class. Specifically, the extent to which students (N=9) were analytic in their thinking and writing and self-directed in their work was investigated. Naturalistic inquiry and comparative analysis were…

The Cognitive Education Project conducted a 3-year longitudinal evaluation of two cognitive education programs that were aimed at teaching thinking skills. The critical difference between the two experimental programs was that one, Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment (IE) method, was taught out of curricular content, while the other, the…

The practical application of multicultural education to the British elementary school classroom is discussed, taking into account the 1988 Education Reform Act and the attainment targets of the British National Curriculum. Part 1 explores the historical development of multicultural education, considering sex and class inequality and local and…