Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is described as an assessment system that can facilitate individualized instruction and accommodate student diversity. Topics addressed include: features of CBM, its use in special education, research that extends CBM to mainstream settings, and the combination of CBM and peer-mediated instruction. (SW)

Discusses six steps backward in public elementary schooling: behavior modification, decoding skills, individualized instruction, mastery learning, grouping, and teaching basics. (SR)

Educational technology can be used to engage students in interesting activities through which teachers can present skills, concepts, and problems to be solved. At-risk students benefit from the investigation of relevant real world problems and the immediate feedback and privacy that technology affords. (EA)

This article describes the Montessori educational philosophy and method as it can be applied to preschool children at risk for learning disabilities. This approach to early intervention is designed to offer an individualized program which provides success and a conceptual preparation for later academic learning. (Author/DB)

Literature circles are groups of three to eight students who have read the same (self-selected) story or novel and have gathered to discuss their reading. Discussions are teacher supported but student led, and they combine collaborative learning with independent reading. Teachers can use these small-group discussions to link reading, writing, and…

This article suggests that, although advancing information technology is treated as a boon for institutional administration, it has yet to be exploited to improve learning in higher education. A reengineering process to enhance customization of instruction, with the goal of Socratic individuation of learning, is discussed. (MSE)

This article reviews the history of approaches to the individualization of instruction, from earlier "system-controlled" methodologies to the current multimedia/hypermedia-based "learner-controlled" approaches. One aspect of a suggested research agenda is discussed--the support of computer-based learning exercises by means of electronic networking…

Elementary and secondary teachers (n=35) identified as effective instructors of students with handicaps in the regular classroom were interviewed. Elementary teachers reported using individualized instruction and receiving support from special education teachers more often than secondary teachers. Both groups frequently used instructional…

This current response to a 1968 article by Ray Barsch (EC 602 662) notes lack of progress in defining and classifying learning disabilities and in determining appropriate interventions to help students with learning disabilities. The paper distinguishes among three types of learning problems and notes the need for individualized transdisciplinary…

The "Armstrong Diagnostic and Prescriptive Technique" of curriculum modification involves modifying the curriculum, first, to accommodate the shared learning characteristics of gifted students and, second, to accommodate individual differences. Use of the technique and checklist are illustrated by a case study. (DB)

Describes the creation of a developmentally appropriate curriculum in one child care center using input from teachers, children, parents, and others. Discusses the planning process that combined teacher-initiated activities with child-initiated ideas and questions to produce a unique, dynamic curriculum of age-appropriate and individually…

Chicago educators are countering anonymity with smaller schools that have been restructured and "recultured" into small learning communities stressing personalized instruction, high student visibility, and teacher collaboration. Since the mid-1990s, 130 small-design elementary and secondary schools serving 42,000 students have been…

Urges distance educators to pay more attention to planning proper student interactions with "wetware," the internal processing/storage/retrieval systems and strategies used by the distance education learner. Notes that while hardware and software have developed, there has been little research into the differing learning styles of distance…

Discusses and exemplifies the process of personalizing a curriculum for students with developmental disabilities that is characterized by a rational, responsible, and responsive approach to planning and delivering support in integrated educational settings. Presents two compatible models of delivery: Cooperative Teaching and Community-based…

Offers suggestions on ways to use computers to individualize instruction for gifted students including drill and practice, simulation programs, independent research, creative projects, organization of data, and development of presentations. (DB)