This article provides suggestions to help teachers of children with disabilities ease record-keeping demands while monitoring student progress. A record-keeping system that monitors individual skill areas, objectives, progress, and comments is demonstrated with second grade mathematics and study skills. The benefits of involving students in…

Two Chicago high school teachers believe that the course they teach--a cooperative, interdisciplinary study of American culture focusing on history and literature--is an effective way to prepare students for citizenship in a pluralistic society. This article recounts their experience with student-negotiated curriculum in an eleventh-grade American…

Describes educational technology franchises that sell services to students, either through schools or directly through retail centers, to educate them about and with technology. Topics addressed include the emphasis on personalized instruction; cooperative learning; curriculum; cost effectiveness; site-based management in public education; and…

The transformation of higher education through the integration of information technology into teaching and learning has begun, but it will not happen overnight. Most institutions have not planned for continuing capital investment and operating funds to support routine use of new technology by students and faculty. (MSE)

Discusses the undereducated U.S. workforce and the resulting need for workforce education. Highlights include personalized systems of instruction; individualized instructional programs; cognitive processing; prior knowledge; time on task; feedback and assessment; metacognition; motivational links; and the need for a multilayered approach to…

A survey of 59 dental schools found most supportive of development of instructional technology but also found faculty perceived as unenthusiastic about or unrewarded for innovation. Testing and recordkeeping were the most common computer applications; individualized instruction and paper-and-pencil simulation are used in most schools. Support…

Presents findings from the International Society for Technology in Education's "Vision: TEST" study, revealing that access to technology facilitates learning, especially among at-risk students. Compares "factory" and "individual" paradigms for education. Offers three examples of the use of technology with at-risk students. Discusses the economic…

Twenty young adults with mild disabilities were taught savings account, bill paying, and money order skills using a self-paced workbook. The study found that both task-sequencing methods used (cumulative and interspersal) produced statistically significant and comparable improvements in performance, which were maintained at follow up. (Author/JDD)

This commentary on a reprinted 1968 article by Ray Barsch (EC 602 662) considers each of Barsch's perspectives on learning disabilities (history, disciplines, education, teacher preparation, province, and time) and concludes that a perspective comparing now to then finds that students with learning disabilities are now significantly better served.…

The commentary on three papers (EC 231 669-671) concerned with individual differences in special education notes agreement on the lack of empirical evidence that educational techniques specially adapted to characteristics of the learner differentially enhance learning. Stressed is the importance of the learner's ecological context--cultural,…

Reports on a study of the effects of cooperative and individualistic learning on 43 prospective elementary music teachers. Finds that cooperation promoted higher achievement and that students were off-task less frequently, perceived the instructor to be more supportive, and felt the grading system to be more fair. (CFR)

Differentiated instruction is an umbrella concept that allows teachers to pull together many disparate messages about multicultural education, alternative teaching and learning strategies, alternative assessments, learning styles, and standards. Developing a range of instructional strategies represents a fine tuning, not a new instrument. (MLH)

A statewide survey of Kentucky teachers of students with moderate and severe disabilities participating in an alternate assessment and accountability system found that teachers recognized specific benefits (such as students learning to follow individualized schedules) but also expressed frustration with time required to complete student assessment…

This survey questioned instructional designers about the increasing use of automated instructional design software to develop computer-based training (CBT). While these automated tools compact the complicated production process, educators complain that the resulting software often presents lock-stepped, linear instruction that neglects the…

This study examined reading instruction and grouping practices for students with learning disabilities through interviews with 14 special education teachers and observations of their resource room instruction. Teachers primarily provided whole group reading instruction and little differentiated instruction or materials despite the wide range of…