Examines the effect of individual testing in conjunction with group instruction on 306 students' sight-singing skills from beginning and advanced choirs of six high schools in Washington State. Reports that individual testing was found to be an effective means of improving individual sight-singing performance in group instructional situations.…

Parents of 10 young students (ages 4-9) with disabilities were interviewed about their priorities for communication skill interventions for their child. Skills most important to parents were those of asking for objects, objecting to the actions of others, maintaining an interaction, and drawing attention to pain or discomfort. (Contains…

Urges music educators to use activity-based instruction as opposed to more traditional methods. Provides two lesson plans for middle school students where they learn about musical instruments in an integrated science and music environment that promotes concept formation and the exploration of the role of culture in music-making. (CMK)

Addresses the problems with conventional assessment in social studies and describes an alternative form called dynamic assessment. Explains how to use dynamic assessment in social studies, and in particular, for evaluating citizenship participation. Provides two charts that demonstrate how dynamic assessment can modify teachers' evaluation…

A study examined the effects of combining naturalistic teaching and peer-mediated tactics to address the developmental skills of 10 preschoolers with autism. Compared to naturalistic tactics only, the involvement of typical peers resulted in a substantial increase in the duration and rate of skills addressed during each teaching episode.…

A review and comparison of two subtypes of dyslexia, phonologic and orthographic, identifies characteristics and assessment concerns and offers two case studies to demonstrate the impact of orthographic dyslexia on the development of literacy skills. The article concludes that the needs of individuals with orthographic dyslexia must not be…

Compared the effects on teachers of two common teacher-development methods (skills training and action research) for teaching students how to self-evaluate in cooperative-learning groups. Teachers received training and implemented their strategies. Pretests and posttests of students in both groups indicated that action research made a more…

The Mechanical Engineering Department at the U.S. Naval Academy is currently evaluating a new teaching method which uses computer software. Utilizing the thermodynamic-based software CyclePad, Intelligent Computer Aided Instruction is incorporated in an advanced energy conversion course for Mechanical Engineering students. The CyclePad software…

This collection of papers brings together two lines of research about children's knowledge in physical education, one from the University of Massachusetts and the other from the University of Alabama. Both sets of research studies are grounded in a learning orientation, with researchers believing in the importance of studying children's knowledge…

Notes storybook reenactments by 15 kindergarten children from working-class were transcribed and coded. Compares with the results from 24 children from middle-class homes. Finds the children in the present study did not show the same developmental progression as the children from the middle-class homes and, in fact, 11 of the 15 children did not…

Although most people believe that schools exist to help children learn and achieve, some wonder why children's instruction must be hurried and why kindergarten is becoming so academic. Full-day programs, which accommodate parents' work schedules, are now commonplace; they may benefit some disadvantaged kids more than their affluent counterparts.…

Describes an Advanced Placement (AP) European history course in a multiethnic, urban school. Provides information on the course and a discussion on teaching strategies, materials, and testing methods. Includes student comments on AP European history versus AP world history. (CMK)

Discusses the debates concerning (1) content and process in social studies and history and (2) testing and standards in California, noting that Advanced Placement (AP) courses demand a high scholarly standard. Focuses on the AP European history course and examination, addressing history as interpretation, teaching analytical essay writing, and AP…

Discusses student video production as an approach to learner-centered instruction. Highlights include educational principles and skills development; a comparison of two video production courses; and solutions to the problems of how much freedom to give students, how much tutor instruction to provide, whether to have individual or group…

This paper describes two practical assessment procedures that enable teachers to use time more efficiently in physical education class. One approach is for teachers who want to use validated or invalidated skills tests, and the other approach takes advantage of instructional progression steps. (SM)