This report summarizes the conference proceedings of the fourth Head Start National Research Conference. The focus of the conference was on creating a shared agenda for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers related to serving children and families in an era of rapid change. Keynote topics and speakers are: "Countering the Health…

The chapter was prepared for inclusion in a resource book for beginning teachers in Alabama. The author takes a "multiple roles" approach in analyzing the demands on and expectations for the beginning teacher. It is research-based and closes with a "Ten Prescriptions for Success in the Classroom." The author found it to be a…

This module on organization and management is 1 in a series of 10 modules written for vocational education teacher education programs. It is designed to enable the teacher to differentiate between and recognize the need for instructor/student rights and responsibilities as they affect student learning. Specifically, the module focuses on…

The items in this collection of reprints and an annotated bibliography were selected because of their value to classroom teachers working with deaf-blind students. Reprinted articles, originally published in various periodicals between 1978 and 1993, are grouped into five categories: (1) communication, (2) orientation and mobility, (3) functional…

Excerpts from interviews with 30 Asian high school students concerning their acculturation to the American classroom are presented and discussed. The students had been in the United States for no more than 2 years, and were here for a variety of reasons, including extended visits with relatives to temporary appointments of their parents to U.S.…

Concerns about the quality of a before- and after-school program on an overseas military installation arose due to low staff morale, caregivers' lack of training and experience, and child behavior problems. This practicum project devised and implemented a 10-week training program to increase staff knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices…

School restructuring movements have gained a great deal of national attention. This guidebook addresses the multi-age classroom movement, in which a mixed-age group of children stays with a given teacher for a number of years. The work provides a complete design for the mixed-age primary classroom, from philosophy and rationale to sample lesson…

In 1984, the Salt Lake City (Utah) school district was one of the first in the nation to set up a public school classroom in a homeless shelter. This book describes one teacher's experiences teaching kindergarten through sixth grade in this "school with no name." Through poignant stories, the book illustrates some lessons learned over 6…

This guide, designed for second language teachers and teacher trainees, addresses central practical, methodological concerns in effective classroom management and decision making. The first chapter provides background information and assumptions. The second chapter discusses the planning process (lesson preparation, pre-instructional…

This monograph discusses issues in the design and implementation of two-way immersion, or two-way bilingual education programs, and describes three exemplary programs. An introductory section examines briefly the rationale for two-way immersion and the extent of its use in the United States. Three school program profiles follow: (1) Francis Scott…

This handbook provides guidelines and forms for evaluating second language teachers' performance and second language programs. The first section, which addresses the supervision and evaluation of language teachers, outlines basic principles (supervisory goals, evaluator attitudes, supervisory visits, and follow-up conferences), gives instructions…

Applying the conditions of natural learning to create caring kindergarten classroom environments may support students as lifelong learners. This book presents a natural learning classroom model for implementing a whole-language approach in kindergarten. The chapters are as follows: (1) "My Beliefs about How Children Learn"; (2) "Applying Whole…

A case study is provided of dual-language planning and implementation at the Oyster Bilingual School, a successful Spanish-English public elementary school program in the District of Columbia. The first three chapters offer background information for understanding how the program interacts with the larger sociopolitical context of minority…

Seven research tasks and related projects undertaken by the Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR) are described in a series of summary reports. For each specific task, an introductory section outlines the background, relevant research, and scope of the task. Subsequent sections contain reports of studies done as part of the task, each…

The Significant Bilingual Instructional Features (SBIF) study identified, described, and verified features of bilingual instruction of a wide variety of limited English proficient (LEP) students. It collected data on instructional organization, time allocation, classroom language use, active teaching behaviors, academic learning time, student…