Science education is an integral part of scientific endeavors. When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created by an act of Congress in 1958, its charter required the agency to "...provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof." Part of that…

A technology professional development initiative was launched in a school district with the goal of extending technology use in the classroom. For teachers to teach expertly, the aim was for them to "be the technology" by modeling technology use in the classroom, applying technology across the curriculum, applying technology to…

In the District of Columbia Public School system, two streams might characterize the professional development component of its strategic plan for high student achievement by 2014. On the one hand, the district has begun a two year professional development program aimed at making every teacher proficient. Knowing, teaching, and assessing standards…

This book provides a detailed guide to implementing the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), a research-supported model originating in special programs for gifted and talented students but not extended to school improvement across the full range of school types, levels, and demographic differences. Individual chapters address the following topics:…

The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive model for local school technology professional development that facilitated technology integration into the curriculum. The local school technology committee conducted an informal performance analysis to determine a plan of action. As a needs assessment, stakeholders were surveyed to…

This monograph examines issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities as part of an ongoing study of Success for All (SFA), a popular reform model for improving student reading performance. An executive summary identifies four lessons resulting from interviews with principals, teachers, and related staff in four SFA schools. These…

This book argues that the redefinition of teaching begins with teachers' developing a positive attitude about themselves as educators. The book offers suggestions to teachers on how to apply positive practices to themselves, move from passive to assertive communication, redefine their approach and build new beliefs, increase student…

This paper summarizes the major points in a workshop that focused specifically on the challenges of transforming the teacher education program at Idaho State University to a standards-driven, assessment-informed, collaborative model. The program goal was that prospective teachers develop the knowledge, dispositions, and skills deemed essential for…

When a school community is making a major investment in technology, the major challenge is to ensure that the technologies are used to support innovative practices that are responsive to the community's changing needs and opportunities for teaching and learning. How can implementation of technology be integrally embedded in and supportive of…

The acceptance of animation technologies is increasing. Video games, such as Sony PlayStation (SONY, 2002), have become part of the culture for young people from kindergarten through undergraduate school. Animation technologies have been implemented into educational systems in the form of animated pedagogical agents (Johnson, 2000). The research…

The rapid growth of Web-based instruction has raised many questions about the quality of online courses. It appears that many online courses are simply modeled after traditional forms of instruction instead of incorporating a design that takes advantage of the unique capabilities of Web-based learning environments. This paper describes a research…

The early childhood education department at Humber College in Toronto has developed a model for team collaboration that has been successful for 10 years. This model provides for the development of teamwork skills by their students by engaging them in assignments that require collaboration with college instructors and professionals outside the…

This Digest summarizes what is known about the use of positive behavioral support (PBS) and functional analysis (FA) to change the behaviors of students with a variety of disabilities. The paper notes that both PBS and FA differ from traditional behavioral management in focusing on systems, settings, and lack of skill. The 1997 reauthorization of…

A survey of 116 early intervention service providers for young children with disabilities examined their experiences and perceptions of providing services in natural environments such as the home, day-care center, restaurants, play grounds, etc. A questionnaire, "The Natural Environment Questionnaire," was developed which included questions with…

This report describes four projects that apply Robert J. Sternberg's theories to various aspects of giftedness and gifted performance. Project 1, a construct validation and educational application of Sternberg's triarchic theory of human intelligence, revealed that students who are instructed and whose achievement is evaluated in a way that…