Teachers in Tennessee are using the Classroom Ecological Inventory (CEI) to prepare students with mild disabilities for moves into mainstream settings. The CEI was field tested as part of the Peabody Reintegration Project and involves observation of the regular classroom, regular teacher interview, comparison of the special and regular classrooms,…

Notes the importance of play to the development of special needs children. Discusses ways a teacher can manipulate classroom learning centers for the benefit of those with disabilities, particularly visually impaired, hearing impaired, orthopedically impaired, mentally disabled, and those with behavior problems. (HTH)

Responding to foreign language learners' affective needs may help enhance learners' success in Japanese. American students face many linguistic and psychological barriers when learning Japanese. The article examines such affective variables as anxiety, risk taking, and motivation as significant contributing factors for differential success in…

Questions how the goal of participatory citizenship can be taught within the typical classroom environment. Argues that the hidden curriculum, textbooks, and instructional methods do not provide opportunities to see citizenship in action or ways to practice it. Recommends providing students with choices and opportunities for engagement in some…

Sixth graders completed a survey investigating the relationship of school and home self-esteem to history of substance use, membership in alternative education programs, gender, and race. Both school and home self-esteem inversely related to tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Students in nonmainstream programs had significantly lower home and school…

An analysis is presented of a conceptual change model for describing student learning by applying research on student learning to the process of conceptual change. Four general motivational constructs are suggested as potential mediators of the process. The role of classroom contextual factors is also discussed. (SLD)

Using an environmental approach, Israeli researchers compared an experimental high school that emphasized respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness to a conventional high school. Social climate surveys of students and teachers indicated experimental classes had more perceived teacher support and less competition. The environmental instrument…

Highlights descriptions of actual school and classroom settings in Japan for comparison with U.S. schools as well as exploring teachers' work situation and their roles and responsibilities. Summarizes classroom life from the students' perspectives to provide a backdrop for understanding the teaching context in Japan. (GLR)

Increasingly, students enrolled in regular college classes are taking online courses for convenience. Offering students these options raises administrative issues, including how to balance faculty teaching loads and pay for both forms of instruction. Critics say students choosing online courses are not getting the education they pay for, and…

Looks at how a short story by three students in a bilingual third-grade classroom came to be. Examines the literate practices already established in the classroom; the classroom norm of using two languages; learning to include information from multiple sources; and learning that interaction is a valuable part of the writing process. (SR)

Describes strategies for effectively using the Internet in the classroom given low (no classroom terminal), medium (a single classroom terminal), and high levels (multiple terminals or stations per classroom) of online access. Provides basic instructions for using a Web browser for research. Includes outline chart of suggested strategies. (DSK)

A California high school English teacher uses, with students, a culturally sensitive process of facilitating classroom decision making through consensus. He correlates communication and language skills with consensus building, the facilitation of which is a slow process implemented in small portions over the school year. Sidebar provides a…

A general-education teacher, a special-education teacher, and her two assistants worked together to develop an integrated, fully inclusive classroom in a Bayview (New York) elementary school. A blend of whole and small-group instruction was augmented with peer teaching and small cooperative groups. Language remediation centered on the curriculum…

Discusses the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) performance guidelines for K-12 foreign-language learners. The guidelines comprehensively describe the language performance of students of foreign languages across three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational), following specific periods of…

Guidelines for the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in general education programs include (1) respecting parent and student preferences regarding programming; (2) fostering the general-education teacher's sense of empowerment, control, and support; (3) facilitating friendships among children; and (4) structuring classrooms to…