This current response to a 1968 article by Ray Barsch (EC 602 662) notes lack of progress in defining and classifying learning disabilities and in determining appropriate interventions to help students with learning disabilities. The paper distinguishes among three types of learning problems and notes the need for individualized transdisciplinary…

The "Armstrong Diagnostic and Prescriptive Technique" of curriculum modification involves modifying the curriculum, first, to accommodate the shared learning characteristics of gifted students and, second, to accommodate individual differences. Use of the technique and checklist are illustrated by a case study. (DB)

Describes the creation of a developmentally appropriate curriculum in one child care center using input from teachers, children, parents, and others. Discusses the planning process that combined teacher-initiated activities with child-initiated ideas and questions to produce a unique, dynamic curriculum of age-appropriate and individually…

Chicago educators are countering anonymity with smaller schools that have been restructured and "recultured" into small learning communities stressing personalized instruction, high student visibility, and teacher collaboration. Since the mid-1990s, 130 small-design elementary and secondary schools serving 42,000 students have been…

Urges distance educators to pay more attention to planning proper student interactions with "wetware," the internal processing/storage/retrieval systems and strategies used by the distance education learner. Notes that while hardware and software have developed, there has been little research into the differing learning styles of distance…

Discusses and exemplifies the process of personalizing a curriculum for students with developmental disabilities that is characterized by a rational, responsible, and responsive approach to planning and delivering support in integrated educational settings. Presents two compatible models of delivery: Cooperative Teaching and Community-based…

Offers suggestions on ways to use computers to individualize instruction for gifted students including drill and practice, simulation programs, independent research, creative projects, organization of data, and development of presentations. (DB)

Technology can contribute to increased learning productivity by offering economies of scale and mass customization, enabling faculty to accommodate individual differences and students to progress at their own pace. The areas that can profit most from technology-based strategies are those that have a high volume of students, a standardized…

Basic information for regular classroom teachers with students who are both gifted and learning disabled covers definition of this population; incidence; characteristics; and six teaching strategies, such as flexibility in how student demonstrates mastery of material, adapting for reading differences, and using attention-directing techniques. A…

The Houston (Texas) Independent School District instructs 2,500 students annually that are homebound, hospitalized, or in agency settings through a separate campus called Community Services. Five administrators, 130 teachers, and 52 assistants operate the program. Teachers travel to the students and even though they are responsible for preparing…

An English instructor notes that educators must re-examine their methodology and allow for students to be engaged as full partners in the learning process. She provides examples of activities and projects from a course about the intersection of language and culture and suggests that self-directed learning will equip students for college level…

Finn (1953) implied research and practice could not be conducted effectively without clear terminology. Keegan's (1986) work became the foundation for more modern definitions, including one espoused by this journal, "institutionally-based, formal education, where the learning group is separated and where interactive technologies are used to…

Suggests a model for a working cyberschool based on a case study of Kamiak Cyberschool (Washington), a technology-driven public high school. Topics include flexible hours; one-to-one interaction with teachers; a supportive school environment; use of computers, interactive media, and online resources; and self-paced, project-based learning.…

A Colorado elementary school used its assessment program to measure everything that affected student performance; they then changed or cut anything that did not improve achievement. Teachers routinely instructed and pretested each child at his/her achievement level. The result: high gains on the 1998 Colorado State Assessment. (MLH)

Inclusionary practices may appease critics, but have actually caused a decline in rigorous academic options for high achievers. Mainstreamed gifted kids have fewer chances to challenge one another. Full inclusion for all special-needs students is tomorrow's bad practice. Programs featuring flexibility, acceleration, and variety are promising…