Three experiments were conducted involving five people with profound multiple disabilities, to determine whether variations in alertness affected subsequent responsiveness to training programs. Findings suggest that existing levels of alertness do not indicate how individuals will respond during training and that alertness actually can be…

Describes the experiences of a teacher who inherited a drama program from a prior instructor, and the problems that the new instructor faced. States that, with the introduction of improvisation exercises from Viola Spolin (based on team play and noncompetitive theater games), the instructor saw a dramatic turnaround in student interest and…

This study examined the effects of five types of teacher directions (verbal, nonverbal, verbal with physical assistance, nonverbal with physical assistance, and physical assistance) on student responses. Seven elementary school teachers and their students participated. Although the most common type of direction was verbal, the most effective type…

Reports on a public elementary school in Colorado that suspends all activities once or twice a year to become a children's theater. Describes how the whole community participates in the experience. Emphasizes the importance of adult-child collaboration. Relates how the collaborators construct original plays, rehearse and produce them, and finally…

Describes how the topic of "sleaze" became the leitmotif of a high school English classroom for several weeks. Presents students' responses to the topic, which demonstrates that the students are reading, writing, and thinking about the topic over an extended period of time. (RS)

Provides information on how teachers can contribute additional encouragement, direction, and guidance for exploring and expanding intermediate-grade students' personal response to literature. Describes eight response options and offers guidelines. (PRA)

Describes the sharing of authority that occurred during a collaboratively taught course for basic writing students, supported by real-time computer exchanges. Discusses the computer classroom, curriculum, assignments, collaborative teaching, and student responses to the course. (SR)

Semistructured interviews with 14 high school students who had lost parents to death or divorce disclosed some important findings. School was deemed a place of security and safety. Students with divorced parents received more teacher support than those who had lost parents to death. Students basically wanted to be accepted and considered no…

Faced with an outbreak of meningococcal disease, an upstate New York school system swung into action. The district's plan included informing proper medical authorities, calling a planning meeting of key administrators and health officials, communicating with parents, keeping area districts informed, issuing daily updates for staff, designating…

Describes a suburban Wisconsin high school's crisis-management plan as applied to the accidental deaths of four sophomore boys. The school community survived this crisis because the school had a plan, improvised appropriately, and communicated well with the community and each other; because outside support people acted effectively; and because…

Offers 10 "Golden Rules" to make electronic mail a positive experience for both business communication teachers and their students. Suggests that electronic mail can be a motivating factor in the classroom. (RS)

The behavior of special education students (age 12 and 16) was evaluated as they were presented with 2 academic response alternatives on concurrent reinforcement schedules. Both subjects allocated higher rates of responses to the richer schedule of reinforcement, although only 1 responded exclusively to the richer schedule. (Author/JDD)

Discusses 10 works of children's literature that inspired powerful responses and conversations among students in children's literature classes. Notes a myriad of responses (not only as to content but to levels of meaning as well) among the students. (RS)

Presents a discussion of teaching May Swenson poems. Notes that what students receive from May Swenson's work is a "consciousness of looking at writing in a physical way." (SG)

Asserts that North American medical education favors an explicit commitment to traditional values of doctoring--empathy, compassion, and altruism--but a tacit commitment to behaviors grounded in an ethic of detachment, self-interest, and objectivity. Explores differing ways (conflation, deflation, and maintaining of values) that students respond…