Describes reforms at a Bronx intermediate school which registered large gains in students' comprehension performance. The success depended on active, engaged learning, intensive assistance for low achievers, personal development of students, coordination of instruction, availability of instructional support personnel, outstanding leadership, and…

Perceptions of four reading-disabled middle school students were examined to reveal factors that may have prevented progress in reading. The following were identified as contributors: (1) ineffective use of reading strategies; (2) student perceptions of their reading instruction; (3) reading-related stress; and (4) students' educational histories.…

Describes a study that examined increasing peer interaction in an asynchronous learning environment by investigating the effect of a teacher's discourse style on the level and quality of student participation in a computer-mediated discussion. Three discourse styles (i.e., questions, statements, and conversational) are studied, and further…

Discusses strategies for teaching elementary computer programing and describes a study that used two instructional strategies in a computer-based training program designed to teach turtle graphics programing techniques to novice undergraduate students. Learning activities that emphasized either the completion of existing programs or the generation…

Describes mathematics backpacks containing four mathematics activities designed to (1) strengthen the home-school connection; (2) present open-ended activities that encourage discussion; and (3) engage students and parents in learning mathematical concepts. Provides a sample draft letter to the parents, example activities, guidelines for…

Presents activities appropriate for levels K-2, 2-4, 4-6, 7-8, and for student-parent interaction that connect the Van Hiele levels of thinking in geometry with stages of thinking outlined by art educators. Activities utilize the context of art to examine visualization, figure recognition, geometric transformations, and real-life applications of…

Describes the method of having children observe videotapes of other children's mathematics activities to gain insights into the observing children's thought processes and the observed children's activities. Discusses the applications of this method as a research tool and as a probe for classroom teachers in evaluating students. (MDH)

Puerto Ricans have been largely ignored in the current debate over English as a national language. Once the rhetoric of language restrictionists is discarded, the real issue becomes that of the political empowerment of Puerto Ricans. The history of language policy in relation to Puerto Ricans is also reviewed. (SLD)

Reports that students from fourth and fifth grades, along with middle and advanced history students acting as mentors, planned and executed a five-month historical research field project. Student research teams carried out at a local site a two-week archaeological dig uncovering artifacts and discovering how their predecessors lived. (NL)

Given the recent reconceptualizations about the nature and the role of writing within the mathematics curriculum, the proposal to instigate similar reconceptualizations, regarding the nature and the role of reading mathematics within curricular designs, is discussed with respect to appropriate strategies and relevant contexts. (JJK)

Discussion of the enhancement of second-language instruction in a unified Europe looks at education for multilingualism; curriculum design at various educational levels; early language instruction; third and additional languages; ease or difficulty of language learning based on similarity to native language; program length; cross-cultural…

Discusses the rationale and attributes of the whole-language approach and applies it to secondary social studies instruction. Describes assessment strategies used with the whole-language approach and maintains that evaluation of student writing helps prepare them for appraisal in the workplace. (CFR)

This review examines the role of schooling in the life course of individuals, focusing on the timing and sequencing of schooling in the transition to adulthood. Conceptual issues in this study are explored, drawing on the sociological literature. The importance of social structure and institutional arrangements is stressed. (Author/SLD)

Presents a unit developed by the 1991 Oregon Mathematics Teachers of Middle School project in which students investigate the average temperature, precipitation, and snowfall in their town using spreadsheets and graphing packages. Students compare the averages over a period of 30 years to a particular year. (MDH)

Reports on an ethnographic study of primary level science classes in Kenya where English is the government-mandated language of instruction. Finds that important ideas were conveyed more easily when teachers did not adhere to the policy of English-only instruction. Concludes that the importance of sociolinguistics in instructional processes should…