Apollo High School in Simi Valley, California, is motivating at-risk students to strive for success by providing them with attention, acceptance, appreciation, and affection. (TE)

This article describes a curriculum adaptation process used by elementary school teachers to enhance the instructional inclusion of children with mild to profound disabilities in primary grade classrooms. Case study examples of three students illustrate how the process is applied in content area subjects to optimize inclusion while not sacrificing…

Examined instructional designers' use of learner analysis when designing and developing computer-assisted instructional materials by surveying 14 instructional system designers. Results indicate that learner analysis is only occasionally implemented to determine a learner's reading level. The cover letter and survey are appended. (JMV)

Presents an easy-to-follow chart that enables teachers to select the most appropriate reading strategy for each student, depending upon the student's ability. Moving from the bottom to the top of the chart, each strategy requires increasingly more reading independence of the student and less modeling by the teacher. (ET)

Interviews with over 100 middle-school youngsters reveals these adolescents' rich, multidimensional understanding of caring. However, classroom observations showed that most teacher/student interactions were neutral. Students defined caring teacher behaviors as helping with schoolwork, valuing individuality, showing respect, being tolerant,…

Israeli programs that have been used to teach children to read Hebrew braille are described, and a reading scheme called "Secrets and Surprises" is presented. The method uses an eclectic approach, emphasizes comprehension and the communicative element of reading, and offers a variety of presentation modes to meet individual students'…

Describes the adaptation of a model of self-directed learning to the instruction of computer-assisted design in a senior high school technology education program. (JOW)

Elementary and secondary classroom teachers (n=142) were surveyed regarding the specific instructional approaches and/or modifications used with students having mild disabilities. Results suggest that general classroom teachers do not consistently make effective accommodations for students with mild disabilities. (DB)

Questionnaires assessed the Braille instructional needs of 200 people who had lost their sight after learning to read and were enrolled in Braille courses. Findings indicated that Braille instructional sessions were often only once or twice a month instead of the recommended daily frequency. Individualized teaching methods and materials are also…

Differentiated instruction in speaking and listening skills for gifted students might involve an expanded range of opportunity, faster paced instruction, replacement of basic skills instruction with more advanced activities, opportunities for self-selection, individualization, and personal evaluation. Activities that emphasize cognitive and…

This article argues the importance of using an individualized approach in teaching multicultural pupil populations and illustrates this with specific applications made to meet the needs of the culturally pluralistic student population of South Africa. (DB)

Mastery learning offers a way for teachers to offer individualized instruction to students and to help more of their students be successful in learning. Practical implications of using the mastery learning approach are described, followed by evidence of its effectiveness. (JDD)

Students can fall behind early in reading and never catch up. Hoboken (New Jersey) teachers are using Reading Recovery, an innovative New Zealand program, to provide low-achieving first graders with daily tutoring sessions for 18 to 22 weeks. Reading Recovery offers confidence-building strategies that combine skill-and-drill and whole-language…

The article describes a senior elective in virology developed at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. Students work independently through a series of course units, selecting 12 study topics from a catalog of 35 topics in medical virology and discussing their reading daily with the professor. (DB)

A major problem facing schools is lack of curricular differentiation and academic challenge for the most academically able students. Also, contemporary textbooks have been "dumbed down." Curriculum compacting is a flexible, research-based technique enabling high-ability students to skip work they already know and substitute more…