This book argues that the redefinition of teaching begins with teachers' developing a positive attitude about themselves as educators. The book offers suggestions to teachers on how to apply positive practices to themselves, move from passive to assertive communication, redefine their approach and build new beliefs, increase student…

This paper summarizes the major points in a workshop that focused specifically on the challenges of transforming the teacher education program at Idaho State University to a standards-driven, assessment-informed, collaborative model. The program goal was that prospective teachers develop the knowledge, dispositions, and skills deemed essential for…

When a school community is making a major investment in technology, the major challenge is to ensure that the technologies are used to support innovative practices that are responsive to the community's changing needs and opportunities for teaching and learning. How can implementation of technology be integrally embedded in and supportive of…

The acceptance of animation technologies is increasing. Video games, such as Sony PlayStation (SONY, 2002), have become part of the culture for young people from kindergarten through undergraduate school. Animation technologies have been implemented into educational systems in the form of animated pedagogical agents (Johnson, 2000). The research…

The rapid growth of Web-based instruction has raised many questions about the quality of online courses. It appears that many online courses are simply modeled after traditional forms of instruction instead of incorporating a design that takes advantage of the unique capabilities of Web-based learning environments. This paper describes a research…

The early childhood education department at Humber College in Toronto has developed a model for team collaboration that has been successful for 10 years. This model provides for the development of teamwork skills by their students by engaging them in assignments that require collaboration with college instructors and professionals outside the…

This Digest summarizes what is known about the use of positive behavioral support (PBS) and functional analysis (FA) to change the behaviors of students with a variety of disabilities. The paper notes that both PBS and FA differ from traditional behavioral management in focusing on systems, settings, and lack of skill. The 1997 reauthorization of…

A survey of 116 early intervention service providers for young children with disabilities examined their experiences and perceptions of providing services in natural environments such as the home, day-care center, restaurants, play grounds, etc. A questionnaire, "The Natural Environment Questionnaire," was developed which included questions with…

This report describes four projects that apply Robert J. Sternberg's theories to various aspects of giftedness and gifted performance. Project 1, a construct validation and educational application of Sternberg's triarchic theory of human intelligence, revealed that students who are instructed and whose achievement is evaluated in a way that…

This monograph provides an introduction to psychoeducational theory in the education of students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (E/BD). An introduction reviews the history of the psychoeducational approach and stresses the need to put this theory, as well as others, into practice. Chapter 1 compares and integrates six psychoeducational…

The author makes several suggestions of instructional strategies and materials designed to help students develop historical and cross cultural perspective in analyses of American culture. A lengthy, annotated bibliography of recommended books and articles is included. (JB)

A projected program for small secondary schools of 250 students or fewer involves a shift in the teachin model, and synchronization of four current organizational devices. (MF)

This article is based on several chapters of the author's book, "Teaching in the Inner City, to be published by Free Press.