The conceptual focus of this study centers on a key aspect of improved schooling: the development of sophisticated thinkers in the K-12 sequence of education. The document is organized into four major sections. The first section describes how the theoretical bases of a thinking skills program are developed and rooted in the literature. In section…

This language arts unit of study for high ability learners in grades 5-6 highlights persuasion in oral and written form, focusing especially on oral communication. Emphasis is placed on providing evidence for opinions. Students must cite passages from literature to defend their points of view in discussion as well as in written arguments.…

This model of student teaching preparation was developed in collaboration with public schools to focus on systematic experience in teaching and training for accountability in the classroom. In the two-semester plan, students begin with teacher orientation and planning days, serve as teacher aides, attend various methods courses, teach several…

This report reviews the literature on learning theories and frameworks applicable to instruction of undergraduate college students. An introductory section provides an overview and discusses the importance of learning frameworks. The first half of the volume addresses various theoretical frameworks in detail. These include: motivation theories,…

This paper discusses the use of World Wide Web-based conferencing in the Collaborative Teacher Education Program (CTEP) at Indiana University. The CTEP, a program offering distance education coursework to in-service teachers in rural communities throughout southern Indiana, is described, and some of the obstacles and limitations involved in…

This guide offers a framework for making sound decisions among the range of available choices to maximize the educational opportunities of integrated students with disabilities. The framework permits programs to be classified according to their approaches to intervention and general characteristics. A planning process is presented for use in…

This study developed and tested a model for using peer coaching to improve college instruction of culturally diverse students. The model's four elements include: change based on collegial relationships combined with peer interactions; dealing with classroom problems through positive behavior change of professors; presentation of observation…

One of a series of six portraits of high school literature classrooms, this paper gives a detailed, evocative characterization of how one "master teacher" introduced, undertook, and guided the study of literature, focusing in particular on how the teacher interacted with students in the context of discussion of a literary work in class.…

Intended for use as a basis for lectures relating to bilingual education within a reading methods course, this instructional model provides educational strategies for use with bilingual children. Written in outline form, the first two parts of the model present a rationale and objectives for the course. The third part contains (1) an historical…

This document is the third of three related volumes. They present the rationale, background, and framework for a comprehensive monitoring system being developed for the National Science Foundation. The system is being designed to gather information about the effects of national, state, and local policy actions designed to change the teaching and…

The document describes the implementation of the Illinois Occupational Education Administration project, an effort to refine a delivery system for imparting 159 identified competencies known to be essential to the successful work of Occupational Education administrators. The overall objective of the training phase was to recruit, train, obtain…

The major hypothesis of this study is that a significant relationship exists between English language ability (as measured by the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) Full-Scale score) and language-modeling by the mother (as measured by the Mother-Child Interaction score on the Language Model Matrix), and between English language…

This study at Northwestern University (Illinois) was concerned with the production and use of video taped materials in teacher training programs. Using a portable, one-half inch video tape unit, the investigators prepared 26 tapes (30 to 40 minutes each) covering many aspects of English teaching (K-12). Thirteen of the tapes were classroom…

A three-phase "journeyman" approach, inaugurated at The University of California (Los Angeles), to the training of teaching assistants in English is described in this article. The apprentice first works as an assistant to a regular staff member. The second phase involves the teaching of a freshman English section. Finally, with advancement to…

This book presents a model for addressing the needs of young students with disabilities in inclusive general education preschools. Teachers can use the Building Blocks model to match an individual child's goals and objectives with appropriate teaching methods and materials, decide what amount of help or assistance is needed by the child, provide…