Defines the distinction between a "doing to" approach to children as the imposition of adult will on children and the "working with" approach as good listening, responsive teaching, and a collaborative approach of community-building. Challenges Montessori teachers to improve their craft and move from "doing to" to…

Describes one university's experiment with joining elementary students and preservice teachers in intergenerational literature discussion circles to enhance preservice teachers' learning about reading and the teaching of reading. Both groups enjoyed the literature circles. Resulting themes provided insights about the reading process, the nature of…

An Illinois College of Optometry faculty development project focuses on improvement of classroom teaching methods. Topics that have been addressed to date include improving lecture skills, a lecture teaching lab, case-based laboratories, promoting student problem-solving in clinical situations, effective feedback and supervision, and the student…

Presents seven brief papers reflecting workshops given at the 1994 Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Each workshop presented a teaching module concerning issues in medical geography. Methodological issues included interpretations of vital statistics and epidemiological diffusion. Theoretical issues included womens' health data…

Maintains that controversial issues related to social studies can be addressed using a three-step process. Step one consists of expressing the issue as a dilemma. In step two the students analyze every aspect of the dilemma, engaging in discussion and argument. Step three, the class reaches a consensus. (MJP)

Reviews studies that defined and measured the effects of quality in early child care and education, and analyzes successful programs to determine common traits. Common characteristics include small class sizes; teacher support for greater teaching effectiveness; long-lasting intervention; ongoing, child-focused communication between home and…

A study examined the perceptions and knowledge of preservice general educators (n=293) and 131 inservice teachers toward early literacy instruction for students at risk for reading failure. Results found many general education teachers, at both preservice and inservice levels, are not prepared adequately for this challenging task. (Contains…

A bilingual teacher in a multiage 4th-6th-grade classroom has met the special academic needs of limited-English-speaking migrant students who immigrated from Mexico with little previous schooling. Her strategies and techniques include an accepting classroom environment, high expectations for every student, building on student background knowledge…

This research examined the impact of the first-year implementation of an instructional intervention to promote achievement and equity in science and literacy for culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. The research addressed three areas: (a) overall science and literacy achievement, (b) achievement gaps among demographic…

This chapter argues that liberal learning can be transformative and foster students' intellectual and ethical development only if we consider its development underpinnings and pedagogic strategies that illustrate that the skills of academic inquiry are the skills of personal development. (Contains 1 note.)

The science achievement of 226 5th graders from districts that have a kit-based inquiry science curriculum supported by intensive professional development (PD) is compared with data from a group of 173 5th graders from other districts that use nonkit science materials and do not have systematic science PD for teachers. Within the kit-based…

This paper describes the outcomes of a two-day Higher Education focus group meeting at Blencathra Field Centre, Cumbria, in November 2003. A review of the current status of fieldwork in undergraduate courses was undertaken. The data available indicates that although the number of students enrolling in Biological Science courses has increased, in…

Sharing information orally is an important skill that public speaking classes teach well. However, the author's students report that they do not often see informative lectures, demonstrations, presentations, or discussions that follow the structures and formats of an informative speech as it is discussed in their textbooks. As a result, the author…

This is a study of a reform effort to improve mathematics achievement in an elementary school through a partnership with a university. The partnership involved collaborating with university faculty to provide and plan research based professional development. The purposes of the study were to determine if the instructional practices of the teachers…

The purpose of this study was to examine how a Web-based software program impacted lower elementary students' composition of personal narratives when using a supported paragraph activity. The subjects in this experiment were first and second grade students in a multi-age classroom in a low socio-economic urban community. The participants were…