This report describes a program for increasing student effort and achievement through the use of motivational strategies. The teaching staff at a high school in an upper-middle class urban area in Illinois noted that many students in a second-year high school Spanish class appeared unmotivated, demonstrated minimal academic effort, and earned poor…

Recognizing that children are individuals with different needs, backgrounds, learning styles, and personalities, this book provides information on elements of a successful multiage, continuous progress classroom at the primary level. Following an introduction to the concept of multiage, continuous progress practices, the book discusses the…

More than 150 research studies were reviewed to develop this set of suggestions for teachers interested in effective history instruction. The suggestions are organized into four categories: (1) Teacher perceptions and behavior; (2) Student activities and cooperative learning; (3) Homework; and (4) Effective use of textbooks. A brief bibliography…

This booklet, based on the Transition Through the Arts project developed by Very Special Arts, describes the successes that project instructors have achieved in using the arts to assist individuals with developmental disabilities reach employment. The project uses the arts as a vehicle to teach and reinforce the social and personal skill…

Fourteen teachers from four California school districts developed this practical guide for teachers faced with a growing number of adult nonliterate students in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs. The guide is organized as follows: student goals and objectives, student characteristics, student identification, classroom activities,…

Teachers and administrators need to select objectives for student achievement in social development. Teachers need to follow definite educational psychology standards in helping students work toward objectives. In the classroom, students should have the opportunity to work with learners from diverse racial groups and socioeconomic levels.…

This document describes the design, content, and methods of a teacher education program (TEP) with a specialization in environmental education (SEE), intended to prepare teachers for middle schools. The SEE is also suggested as inservice for staff members. Part 1 presents the goals of the TEP and translates these goals into learner objectives. It…

The Job Corps Intergroup Relations Program provides an integrated curriculum involving orientation, residential living, education, and vocational training. These instructional materials for the program provide guidelines and materials emphasizing ethnic contributions in order to improve human relations among ethnic groups and between women and…

Designed to identify teaching-learning strategies that can be facilitated by the use of technology and to specify factors and configurations that have impact on computer use in the classroom, this second-year study of computer use in Indiana schools focused on the effects of computer use on students and on teachers, the curriculum implications of…

The Cognitive Enrichment Network (COGNET) Follow Through Project provides a community framework in which parents and preschool and primary grade teachers can help children learn. This report summarizes results of studies in a Tennessee school district on the impact of COGNET on children, teachers, and parents. The COGNET instructional model has…

This study examined concurrent and long-term effects of parents' teaching strategies on their children's cognitive styles. A total of 83 mothers and 74 fathers helped their 4-year-old sons or daughters with 4 problem-solving tasks. The interactions between parents and children were observed and evaluated. Two measures of field…

This collection of essays presents a rationale for incorporating teaching about Japan in the K-12 curriculum. The volume provides practical examples and guidelines about how to achieve this goal. The essays are organized into three main categories--professional development, curriculum design and enhancement, and exchange. The essays include:…

To what degree do teacher participants in one science enhancement institute intend to use the information in the classroom the next fall? What factors assist this extension of learning? What factors detract from teachers applying new knowledge in the classroom? Sixteen second- to eighth-grade science teachers from a physical and life science…

The Multicultural Reading and Thinking (McRAT) Program of the Arkansas public schools is described, and results of a study of its effectiveness are reported. The McRAT Program is a process that empowers teachers to refocus instruction and restructure standard curricula for higher order thinking. The multicultural emphasis provides a meaningful…

This manual provides materials for a 6-day workshop to develop skills in democratic learning and teaching practices. Goals of the workshop are as follows: (1) train facilitators to use the methodology; (2) introduce people in the African National Congress (ANC) to the potential of popular education methodology; (3) determine follow-up action to…