Presents an interim report on a study investigating the impact of flexible and fixed scheduling of library instruction on library media specialists' consultative and instructional roles. The relationship between scheduling and the number of the media specialist's consultative tasks, library instruction lessons offered, and participation in student…

Discusses the characteristics of a spiral curriculum, contributing factors that may have hindered it from being successfully implemented in public school systems, and examples of how it is successfully used in developing technical training curricula. Highlights include curriculum design, instructional design strategies, course scheduling, student…

The articles in the December 1997 "Educational Administration Quarterly" about replacing the American comprehensive high school lacked historical perspective. Despite contributors' efforts to dissociate them from such schools, certain "innovative" restructuring measures (community building, team teaching, and block scheduling) have historically…

Discusses technology use in secondary education and how to integrate it into the classroom. Topics include developing a cadre of teachers who are comfortable using computers who can then help others; time factors; constructivism; computer laboratories versus classroom clusters; student research projects; finding appropriate Web sites; and block…

Successful block scheduling depends on provision of initial and ongoing instructional training. Teaching strategies should vary and include cooperative learning, the case method, the socratic seminar, synectics, concept attainment, the inquiry method, and simulations. Recommendations for maximizing block scheduling are outlined. (Contains 52…

A study compared outcomes of master's programs in public administration and other professional-education programs organized in cohort (intact student groups in lock-step course patterns) and noncohort formats. Students in cohort format had cognitive and affective learning gains equivalent or superior to traditional format students. Learning gains…

To help employees better manage competing life demands, many organizations offer family-friendly benefits to their workers, including flexible scheduling, day care assistance, and leave of absence. Although there is growing evidence of positive effects associated with these benefits, little is known about factors related to their use. Using survey…

Low attendance in out-of-school time programs is the norm for many middle and high school participants. Using a database of more than 60 recent evaluations of out-of-school time programs, the authors examine reasons youth give for staying and leaving programs. They outline a proposed set of promising strategies for both attracting and sustaining…

Autism is a brain disorder that affects a person's social, communication, and behavioral skills. Social deficits are noted by the child's lack of interest or inability to interact with peers and family members. This article highlights some of the successful methods and techniques used to include an autistic middle school child in a general…

Tutoring is recommended as one of several possible ways to help keep students in school. This report is based on a literature review and conversations with researchers, educators, and students. In spite of recent reductions in dropout rates, they remain high, especially in large urban schools. An extensive body of literature supports the…

During the 1992-93 school year, the leadership of Benjamin Russell High School, located in Alexander City, Alabama, decided to experiment with blocked class periods. Under this option, sometimes referred to as the Copernican System, subjects are taught in double periods rather than in the conventional 50-minute periods normally used in most…

This final report describes activities and findings of a project which examined computer-automated scheduling in institutions for higher education and secondary schools and selected two sources for scheduling systems products which it recommends to institutions in the member states of the Midwestern Higher Education Commission and members of the…

This volume was intended to stimulate new thinking about how to restructure a school program to effectively educate students whose native language is not English. It favors calling such students "English Language Learners" (ELLs). The document provides specific examples of how some California schools have improved their educational…

The purpose of this evaluation is to describe the current level of implementation in the high schools and to document the progress of the 3-year implementation plan of the allocated resources in the Houston Independent School District (Texas). How curriculum changes affected educational programming in the high schools, the characteristics of the…

A study investigated the relative effect of 45-minute and 90-minute daily instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) on limited English proficient (LEP) first-graders' language and overall achievement. The subjects were two groups of pupils from different schools: (1) 13 pupils from 7 language backgrounds, receiving 45 minutes of…