A "Motivation" eliciting the "Aim" of each lesson initiates each lesson in the orthodox "developmental lesson-plan" that has dominated classroom instruction in NYC public schools for at least the past half-century. An action-research study of 38 lesson-plans (over 5 each from 5 teachers) drawn from student-teaching…

Gifted students represent an under-served population in the education system, especially at the middle school level. These students require special attention in regard to their social and emotional needs. The first section of this paper explores the literature pertaining to the education of gifted middle school students and the definition and role…

This paper describes the Action Research (AR) Team model for joining classroom observations with collegial interaction among university faculty, teaching assistants, and university students to improve pedagogy and the retention of diverse students in higher education. The paper includes a progress report of efforts to develop the model and apply…

This study examined student and instructor reflection upon a 2-year teacher education seminar designed to provide experiential and theoretical grounding in democratic pedagogy. Through conversation-as-research, instructors interpreted group dynamics in their conversations during breaks, lunch hours, and evenings throughout the seminar. The central…

This study examined California's new system of bilingual and cross cultural teacher preparation, its implementation, and teacher candidates' reception of it. The new system, referred to as (B)CLAD, consists of two credentials for preservice teachers and two certificates for inservice teachers: the Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development,…

This report discusses a project designed to replicate a five-step model of inservice training which will help early intervention teams provide more family-centered, transdisciplinary service delivery. During 1995-1998, the Trans/Team Outreach program provided training and technical assistance to early intervention teams in eight states and…

This paper describes Project SMART (Science and Math Access: Resources & Technology), a multi-year professional development effort that includes components for all adults who regularly have contact with children with disabilities. The common goal of each of the components is the development of both efficacy and capacity to inspire children with…

This study sought to determine how teachers (n=61) at two Paideia schools in Chattanooga (Tennessee) perceived the professional staff development activities provided for them as they made the transition from a traditional direct instruction model of teaching to a nontraditional three-column model of instruction which included didactic…

This report documents the evaluation of Project Unity, a New York City short-term teacher inservice training program designed to improve teacher competence in providing instruction to children of limited English proficiency (LEP). The Project served a total of 119 teachers of LEP students in both special and general education classes in 18…

Noting that despite the homogenizing influence of the mass media, the United States remains a land of regions, this focused journal issue celebrates regionalism (especially Kentucky regionalism) by exploring its implications for the teaching of English and language arts. The articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Literacy and…

This annotated bibliography comprises 13 items in the ERIC system concerning improving teacher effectiveness. Items cited discuss strategies including an objectives-based instructional program combined with mastery learning, teacher self-assessment techniques, administrators' role in helping teachers adopt more effective practices, improving…

The booklet reports on a study of the present status and prospects for the art teaching profession in terms of fiscal resources, curriculum, staffing and administration, and influences of government, college entrance exams, standardized testing, and high school graduation requirements in school art programs. The report is presented in three…

The Content Area Reading Project was designed to provide teachers in junior high schools and adult basic education classes with inservice workshops and on-site consultant assistance in content area reading methods. Chapter one of this report discusses the need for such a project and outlines the procedures used in developing it. In chapter two,…

This guide is designed to provide a process for identifying and developing understanding of the many ways that the law touches the individual at the community level. A study done by 7th grade students at Wellwood Middle School in the Fayetteville-Manlius School District in New York is described. A geographic feature in the community known as the…

In an effort to develop a course in materials and processes of industry at Norfolk State College using Barton Herrscher's model of systematic instruction, a group of 12 NASA-Langley Research Center's (NASA-LRC) research engineers and technicians were recruited. The group acted as consultants in validating the content of the course and aided in…