This new edition updates and expands the previous volume and continues to reflect the concepts and the reasons behind learning and behavior problems of low achieving and disadvantaged students. Through the chapters, the author describes instructional levels and independent levels, emphasizing that success is produced by finding the place on the…

The major tenets of a pedagogy of place are that nature teaches; understanding place is indispensable to community; where and how a student learns is as vital as what a student learns; and respect is integral to learning. Environmental literacy is the capacity to perceive and interpret the relative health of environmental systems and to take…

Unsuccessful college education often turns our students into book haters who will stop reading as soon as they graduate. The idea of literature circles embraces the concept of "reading for fun" and is intended to create more independent readers and book addicts who will continuously read for the rest of their lives. Pioneers in literacy…

An approach to assessment is described that allows students to understand and help decide the criteria for good work. It is called "negotiable contracting." Negotiable contracting makes assessment a highly individualized process that recognizes the subtly different ways in which students master skills. Students and teachers jointly create a…

This action research project evaluated a program for decreasing the gap in achievement levels among primary and secondary level students in the targeted schools. The subjects, from various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds ranging from lower to upper-middle class, were students in Chicago city and suburban public and Catholic schools. The…

There is evidence that structured cooperative logic is an effective way to introduce or reinforce mathematics concepts, explore thinking processes basic to both math and science, and develop the important social skills of cooperative problem-solving. This book contains a number of cooperative logic activities for grades K-4 in order to improve…

This paper discusses the characteristics of children who are gifted and have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seven principles to reach and teach gifted learners with ADHD are recommended: (1) remembering that these learners have needs just like other children in their age groups; (2) having realistic expectations in helping these…

This paper describes the cultural communication proficiency method of indigenous language instruction, developed at Humboldt State University's Center for Indian Community Development (California), and demonstrates the method with five Hupa lesson plans. The method is based on three principles: that Native American students learn by doing, learn…

This activity book is part of a series designed to take a concept or idea from the existing school curriculum and develop it in the context of the Great Lakes using teaching approaches and materials appropriate for students in middle and high school. The theme of this book is life in the Great Lakes. Students learn about shorebird adaptations,…

This study investigated differences in productivity and student preference between cooperative groups formed in the classroom based on either learning objectives or students' personal and social interests. Participants were kindergarten students (10 African American, 5 Caucasian--6 girls, 11 boys) in an inner city class. The students' personal…

An investigation-based course on teaching strategies for in-service science and mathematics teachers has been developed. The purpose of this course was to learn how to teach science or mathematics from the constructivist perspective. The course development was based on constructivism, especially social constructivism. Major adjustments concerning…

This paper examines the process of constructing a student-centered World Wide Web site and provides recommendations for improving this process. In the project, preservice teachers instructed the fifth grade students about how to design and develop a Web site on weather. The topics of the sessions included Internet ethics, using the Web,…

Reports on case studies of three secondary school teachers who were implementing the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) for the first time. The research examined whether innovative textbooks and curriculum materials can play a role in the process of change in instructional practice. Data from field observations, interviews,…

Written for content area teachers in middle and secondary schools, this book offers specific strategies and examples they can use to integrate key reading, writing, and study skills into their teaching. The book takes a balanced reading approach, providing specific suggestions for direct teaching as well as many opportunities for cooperative or…

The Cyberspace Regionalization Project uses advanced audio-visual telecommunications to bridge gaps of geography and socioeconomic status between two New Jersey high schools, one white and affluent and one black and low income. Using audio-visual links provided by Intel ProShare software and equipment, students and teachers from the two schools…