A study was conducted at two metropolitan South Florida high schools to determine perceptions of 100 teachers concerning block scheduling. Teachers felt that the 4 X 4 block schedule contained too many time gaps for teaching foreign languages, English, and math. Teachers believed block schedules benefitted advanced students more than others and…

Classroom communication barriers were identified by 291 financial accounting and 372 managerial accounting students. Both groups thought the greatest problems in large group instruction were too much information given in lectures, large class size, and lack of interest in the subject matter. (SK)

Studied teacher-student verbal interactions and questioning and students' curriculum-related performance for bilingual students in Norway in small and large mainstream civics classes. Findings for 77 fourth graders show that bilingual minority students in general, and bilingual minority girls in particular, benefit from civics lessons in small…

Explains difference between class size and pupil-teacher ratio. States that terms should not be used interchangeably. Asserts that effective class-size-reduction efforts must include early intervention, duration, and intensity. Reports results of recent studies of the effects of Tennessee Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project on student…

Discusses national survey of high school teachers and parents of high school students. Finds that while teachers and parents associate small schools with certain positive effects such as low dropout rates and high parent involvement, educators planning to reduce school size must resolve several parent and teacher concerns such as class size. (PKP)

It seems to be accepted in educational debate that class size has a negative impact on teaching and learning. However, how much do we know about the impact that class size has on teaching and learning, particularly in developing country contexts? This article will engage with this question. It will review the research evidence on teaching large…

A need for more classrooms and a desire to improve student achievement contributed to the decision by the Capistrano Unified School District to offer a K-8 school option for parents recently. The two-year journey began as a consequence of overcrowding at 10 middle schools. One section of the district, had spent several years unsuccessfully trying…

This report describes a molecular biotechnology-based laboratory curriculum developed to accompany an undergraduate genetics course. During the course of a semester, students researched the pathogen, developed a research question, designed experiments, and performed transcriptional analysis of a set of genes that confer virulence to the food-borne…

Recent research from randomized experiments on class size points to positive effects of small classes that persist for several years, but the evidence about the social distribution of effects is less clear. Some scholars have contended that the immediate effects of small classes are larger for minorities and for disadvantaged persons (e.g., J. D.…

This study examined the impact of substituting didactic instruction, face-to-face advisement, and conventional evaluation with distance-based delivery of content, electronic counseling, and online assessment. It analyzed the impact of distance learning demands on faculty teaching loads and computed the ideal class size for an online course.…

This article reviews the policies for disadvantaged children in western countries since the mid-sixties. First, it analyses the design and results of the "classic programmes" of positive discrimination such as the American Title I programme, and the English, Dutch, Flemish and French priority areas policies. It discusses the differences…

There is still little consensus on whether and how teaching is affected by small and large classes, especially in the case of students in the later primary years. This study investigated effects of class size on teaching of pupils aged 7-11 years. We used a multimethod approach, integrating qualitative information from teachers' end-of-year…

In an attempt to uncover differences in student behavior as a function of class size, the author observed a small class and a large class for 15 hours each and conducted interviews with eight students who were members of both classes. Two trends emerged from these qualitative data. First, a "diverge-converge" pattern was evident in the small class…

This study investigates the relationship between the number of students with special needs (designated as exceptional or receiving special education services) in grade-3 classrooms in 1997-1998 and their achievement scores in reading, writing, and mathematics on Ontario's provincial assessment with their peers without special needs. When the…

This study explores teachers' beliefs about pedagogical issues as well as related educational and professional issues. Six hundred K-12 teachers in three Midwestern states received surveys and 60% returned them. Results of the survey indicated that teachers were relatively unified in their beliefs, and few differences emerged around demographic…