This guidebook is designed to help New York school staff better understand the specialized needs of students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and appropriately apply educational interventions to improve special and general education services for these students. It provides information on the following areas: (1) the causes, incidence, and…

Kindergarten marks a new beginning for parents and their children, and presents challenges for parents as their child makes the transition between home and school. This handbook describes what parents can expect from their child's kindergarten program in Alberta, Canada. The handbook describes how young children learn, how their learning is…

Noting that many early childhood practitioners have difficulty understanding and articulating how developmentally appropriate practices in their programs contribute to students' kindergarten readiness, this report details the implementation and evaluation of practicum experiences designed to improve preschool teachers' developmentally appropriate…

This study investigated how five Australian teachers, who were considered to be exemplary in helping students develop independence, influenced and guided their students to extremely high grades in 12th grade. Teachers were observed teaching a lesson and then interviewed. The interviews asked them to identify successful outcomes of the lesson and…

Kindergarten marks a new beginning for parents and their children, and presents challenges for parents as their child makes the transition between home and school. This handbook describes what parents can expect from their child's kindergarten program in Alberta, Canada. The handbook describes how young children learn, how their learning is…

This booklet, in Spanish- and Japanese-language versions, offers parents guidance on how to partner with teachers to help their children acquire the skills, attitudes, and habits to do well in school and throughout life. The booklet begins with a description of how preschool children learn, and continues with a discussion of the goals of the…

A 4-week study at Goshen (Indiana) Middle School examined the internal and external factors affecting Hispanic student achievement. Data were collected through classroom observation, student interviews, and a survey of Latino parents. Although teacher responses to Hispanic student classroom participation were always positive, student responses,…

Research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many children as they move from elementary school into middle school; however, research has also shown that the nature of motivational change on entry to middle school depends on characteristics of the learning environment in which students find themselves. This Digest outlines some…

Describes the art education program in Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada) from elementary school through senior high, emphasizing art as a serious discipline that demands a coherent structure, definite objectives, sequential learning skills, reasonable expectations of both product and process, a regular place in the timetable, and trained teachers…

In a year-long study of classroom reform toward more constructivist teaching and learning practices, 125 rural seventh graders engaged in design-based inquiry and learned research and communication skills by designing hypermedia materials to teach peers. Data from one participating teacher illustrate the evolution of new instructional practices…

Explores the changing expectations of students towards a women professor throughout the course of her pregnancy. The professor made a conscious effort to standardize her classroom behavior throughout the course. Nonetheless, students attributed negative reactions and a general decline in her effectiveness to the debilitating effects of the…

Argues that middle school educators and administrators need professional preparation specific to middle school students' unique social, emotional, and educational needs. Focuses on the importance of the principal to gain appropriate training and foster professional staff preparation and development. Contains recommendations for creating…

Discusses how the whole-language process provides an authentic approach to lifelong learning. Includes discussions of Cambourne's conditions for learning; Holdaway's natural learning model; Goodman's miscue analysis research; whole-language theory; the role of teachers, students, and the community in language arts; and the role of the classroom…

Identifies charisma and inspirational leadership as the most important characteristics of transformational leaders. Discusses how middle and secondary school music conductors can use the transformational leadership model. Summarizes key components of this model including positive modeling, sharing vision, and empowering others. Provides relevant…

Examined link between Chinese teachers' beliefs about classroom aggression and withdrawal and their support of middle schoolers, and student behaviors, peer acceptance, and self-perceived social competence. Found that teachers' aversion to aggression and empathy toward withdrawal enhanced self-perceptions of both aggressive and withdrawn children…