At Canada's University of New Brunswick (UNB), adult educators and computer experts jointly identified criteria for designing UNB's new Internet-based distance education delivery system called PSyCo (Presentation System for Courses). The 10 criteria that became the PSyCo blueprint were based on principles from three areas: architecture and design,…

To successfully reach out to a diversity of learners requires substantial support. The Digest addresses some sources of support intended as a complement to and a scaffold for teachers and administrators who experiment with different ways of meeting a diversity of learning needs. It highlights ways in which classroom teachers and learning center…

Noting that children are virtually born to learn, this videotape provides parents with insight into children's early learning capacity and ways that parents can facilitate that brain development. The first part of this videotape discusses the parents' role as a child's first teachers. General ways by which young children can learn are explored,…

This study investigated two statistics classroom environments that "a priori" appeared to hold promise as being motivationally effective classrooms. One environment (2 classes totaling 51 students) was at the high school level and the other environment (4 classes, 70 students) was at the graduate level. The study focused on students'…

To better understand construction's impact, an overview of building ecology as a concept and as a decision-making model for school systems is provided. "Building ecology" is defined as the interrelationships among people, the built environment, and the natural environment. It has special relevance for school design because most of the…

This document is the final report on the experiences of mature students who had entered higher education through the Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP), a one-year course designed to provide an alternative route into higher education for adults and which utilizes a supportive environment plus an incremental, modular approach and small-group…

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis and evaluation of composite variables in the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) and School and Staffing Survey (SASS) in a way that provides guidance to the staff of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the more effective use of survey resources. The study…

This study investigated the relationship between class size and classroom management style and examined differences between perceived classroom management style of teachers who had and had not enrolled in a graduate course within the last 6 months. The study also investigated the construct validity of the Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control…

This paper discusses the nature of a theoretical school of transcendence as conceived by participants in a graduate course on the topic of transcendence in teacher-learner relationships. Transcendent teacher-learner relationships are spontaneously occurring ones in which teacher and learner transcend their traditional interactive roles. During the…

Drawing from several weeks of observation and study in Northern Italian preschools, this paper links practices in Reggio Emilia with the theoretical constructs of John Dewey, Susan Isaacs, and Howard Gardner. Part 1 presents background about the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, which are unique both in their respect for the space created for…

The work reported on in this yearbook collection represent the work of educators committed to the concept that genuine reform takes place in settings where students and teachers work together to create new educational communities. Reports on ongoing projects in several parts of the United States are included in the following chapters: (1)…

This report identifies and describes schools with promising practices for preventing racial bias in school discipline, examining connections between the schools' approaches and actual discipline outcomes. The schools selected to be profiled exhibited positive cultural environments and meaningful approaches to discipline. All had predominantly…

This document contains full and short papers on World Wide Web-based learning from ICCE/ICCAI 2000 (International Conference on Computers in Education/International Conference on Computer-Assisted Instruction). Topics covered include: design and development of CAL (Computer Assisted Learning) systems; design and development of WBI (Web-Based…

The focus here is on learning by school-age children, assisted by the family and/or peers, and supported and managed by professional teachers. The author/educator, who specializes in researching paired learning, provides an outline of the essential concepts of peer-assisted and parent-assisted learning, followed by discussion of some specific…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined how charter school developers have used the opportunities provided by their charters to serve students with disabilities. Between March 1998 and June 1999, 32 public charter schools in 15 states were visited and 151 parents of students with disabilities, 196 teachers, and 164…