The purpose of this study was to discover ways in which a music educator can incorporate students with special needs in a music classroom. Music educators seek ways to manage and incorporate these students in the classroom environment. The research question guiding this action research study was: how are students with special needs incorporated in…

These papers are partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Education at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. The cohort included a variety of licensure areas that represent most levels and content areas of K-12 education. The students were encouraged to keep their questions and hypothesis directed at…

The paper presented in this document entitled, Will the Ongoing Practice of Physical Activity and Exercise Help Students to Improve Their Fitness Testing Scores from Fall to Spring? written by Tracy Erlandson, was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Education at Winona State University in…

This book describes the European language teacher of tomorrow. Based on a European Union-commissioned study of 32 countries, it sets out the current provision of language teacher training, focusing on inservice and preservice training. Fifteen case studies of innovation and good practice are included. Four chapters look at: (1) "Contexts for…

This paper describes a program designed to increase student awareness and appreciation of their own culture and the cultures of others. The study was conducted in a northern Illinois junior high among 30 eighth grade language arts students. Data were gathered through teacher observation, teacher-student interviews, student surveys and student…

This report describes a project to develop more effective types of assessment in high school classes. The targeted population was high school students in two different middle-class communities in the northern suburbs of Chicago (Illinois). One site in a very stable, homogeneous community, predominantly white, contains 1,155 students. The other…

This paper shares research from two professional development initiatives that focused on changes in teacher educators' and teachers' multicultural thinking, discussing the use of a developmental perspective to structure and evaluate such initiatives. The first study involved an action research project that examined six teacher educators'…

This publication presents Montgomery County, Maryland's plan for empowering the educational community by organizing the necessary resources, knowledge, and skills to fulfill the promise of success for every student. The four main goals are: to ensure success for every student; to provide an effective instructional program; to strengthen productive…

This action research project sought to increase motivation in fifth-grade social studies students. Observations and measures of student attitudes and achievement indicated a lack of student interest in learning activities. Two categories of intervention were implemented: (1) instruction in the use of learning strategies, including graphic…

When elementary and middle level students lack effective problem-solving skills, they may make poor behavior choices in social conflicts, contributing to a negative learning and instructional environment. This action research project evaluated the impact of using social skills instruction to improve students' ability to solve problems related to…

Building upon the work of the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project in raising the quality of early learning for young children in the United Kingdom, the 3-year Accounting Early for Life Long Learning Project (AcE Project) focuses on enhancing in 3- to 6-year-olds those attitudes and dispositions that are important to life-long learning. This…

This book provides K-12 teachers with information about effective teaching and learning tools. Each innovation has a long history of use and has been researched and evaluated in a variety of settings. The innovations foster a student-centered classroom environment that is equitable and rigorous. The nine chapters focus on: (1) "The Power of…

Noting that the growing popularity of year-round schools (extended calendar without increasing the number of school days) has coincided with an increase in school accountability, this report provides a descriptive case study on one year-round school located within a large elementary school district in central Virginia. An optional year-round…

This report describes a program for improving moral character to increase academic achievement. Targeted population consisted of middle school students in a growing middle class community in a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem, an absence of proper moral character, was documented through data collected from discipline referrals to…

An adult educator who teachers General Educational Development (GED) test preparation conducted an action research project to determine whether learning activities requiring students to learn about and discuss famous paintings would equip them with critical thinking skills that they could eventually use when completing the reading and writing…