The purpose of this study is to describe types and structural properties of instructional activities used by physics and chemistry preservice teachers (N=4) during their teaching of pupils 14 to 16 years old. The study involved the observation and tape recording of 64 classes with all tapes transcribed verbatim. Analysis involved the decomposition…

This document consists of four issues of a newsletter for educators at the middle level. The issues each contain a main article, along with shorter articles and regular columns. The Fall 1999 issue focuses on the middle school movement and presents part 1 of an interview with John Lounsbury on the progress of the movement. A sidebar article…

This book tells the story of a year in one middle school teacher's class full of lively young adolescents, highlighting exemplary ways of learning and types of schooling. This alternative model of education shows how a strong, supportive community is essential in helping students reach their highest potential. The book includes: specific projects…

This book suggests that both students and teachers should think constructively about classroom literacy practices through the use of diagnostic-reflective portfolios--the result of a process of collection and reflection in which teachers and students collaborate to demonstrate a learner's growth over time. The book tells the story of a…

This report addresses the problem of apathy and the unwillingness of middle level students to meet basic standards, evidenced by a lack of student performance and participation and by an attitude of indifference. The targeted population for this study consisted of seventh and eighth grade general music students in an economically and culturally…

This booklet features eight K-6 teachers from the region served by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) whose work illustrates research-based principles of how children learn to read and write and the environments that support that learning. (These principles were presented as 13 core understandings about learning to read in…

In multigrade instruction, children of at least a 2-year grade span and diverse ability levels are grouped in a single classroom and share experiences involving intellectual, academic, and social skills. "The Multigrade Classroom" is a seven-book series that provides an overview of current research on multigrade instruction, identifies…

This report describes a program implemented to improve attitudes toward recreational reading. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten, first, third, and fifth grade students from one urban and two suburban school districts in a major metropolitan area in northern Illinois. Evidence for the existence of the problem included surveys of…

This manual draws together evolving information about how group size influences what the group does and how learning tasks may be designed and employed to accomplish desired outcomes. The manual includes ideas from research on class size and its outcomes; theories of learning and development; and validated experiences of expert educators. It…

This qualitative study examined a preschool classroom serving a child considered to be at-risk (i.e., with indications of prenatal drug exposure). For a period of one semester, the investigator collected field notes through observations and taped sessions with little direct interaction with the children. Taped discussions and interviews with the…

Writing is one of the most complex activities children engage in during their school careers. This book provides teachers with the knowledge and ideas they need to increase their effectiveness when instructing students in writing. The book blends together practical, easy-to-implement, classroom-tested lessons and activities based on research. It…

This book sheds prescriptive teaching for listening to children. It is the work of an experienced, practicing teacher with a sound interpretation of first-grade children, giving insight and examples of children and a teacher learning together. This second edition incorporates stories from the author/educator and learning from her new experiences…

This report describes a study designed to discover the nature of teacher-student interactions in regular-size classes with 25 or more students and small-size classes with fewer than 18 students. Eleven public-school primary classrooms were observed, and the interactions between the teachers and students were studied. Verbal and nonverbal…

This paper discusses how to motivate unsuccessful English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners in Japanese high schools. The first section examines the current status of teaching ESL to Japanese high school students. The second section focuses on how to motivate unsuccessful ESL learners (employing motivational strategies, creating a comfortable…

Although there is considerable evidence that kindergartners in child-centered programs have more opportunities to increase prosocial behavior and are more internally motivated than children in basic skills programs, the efficacy of child-centered versus basic skills programs with regard to prosocial behavior has not been examined among preschool…