This book attempts to narrow the gap between the rhetoric of social studies reform and the realities of most classrooms. It focuses on strategies for engaging students in the learning process. Practical and workable guides are provided for improving classroom instruction with new techniques and materials for innovative strategies. Although the…

A computer-based system--the Educational Assembly System for Student Executed Educational Design (EASSEED)--is used to generate individualized curricula for students with varying needs and goals. It combines advances in management and computer technology to define the processes of curriculum development and thus moves toward an explicit…

Outcomes of the State Department of Education project at Petersburg City and Radford City, Virginia were the development and implementation of an elementary school and eighth grade level career awareness program (including primary and intermediate special education), improved guidance and counseling service at the elementary level, and the…

The Distar program, evaluated mainly in terms of pupil achievement and teacher opinion, was generally considered to be successful. Teachers indicated through attitude questionnaires that the lessons were enjoyable, that the students had made reasonable progress and had learned useful skills, and that the material was good and easy to use. The…

This collection includes essays on individualizing reading (IR) and the language arts and individualizing social studies in elementary school education. Several essays explain the purposes of IR. Teachers who have used such a program explain how they did it and why they felt it successful. Supplementing these essays are reports of individualized…

Since its inception in 1963, the Homework Helper Program, funded under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Act, has provided an effective vehicle for the challenging of traditional theory in regard to the tutoring of educationally retarded children. It began on the assumption that children in slum area schools could benefit from tutorial…

This study was conducted to determine how instructional programming for individual students has been implemented to provide effective learning environments for elementary school students. The focus was on the processes and procedures used to achieve objectives of the Instructional Programming Model (IPM). A related purpose was to study the…

States the objectives and implementation procedures for this teacher-directed or individualized learning discovery unit. Describes the value of the program and additional activities that can be included. Shows a copy of the program. (RT)

A flexible writing curriculum meets varied student levels and goals by basing courses on students' own written work. Activities in this type of curriculum include: prewriting activities, first drafts, peer critiques, instructor feedback, worksheet handouts, and second drafts. (Author/CB)

Two studies investigated gender differences in planning and debugging behavior, group processes, and achievement among junior high school students learning either Logo or BASIC computer programing in small groups or as individuals. Results indicate no differences in behavior and achievemenet of males and females. (Author/MBR)

This study examines the impact of tutor training on the efficacy of adult peer tutors in colleges and universities. The author argues that many institutions hire tutors based on their GPAs, and do not train them to be tutors. For the college programs that do provide training, little research exists which identifies what topics should be included,…

Describes a tutoring system using a computer network between sixth graders and Master of Arts in Teaching candidates. Notes each student and teacher had access to a computer at home and at school. Develops the tutoring model and discusses the outcomes of the first year. (MVL)

Examines the musical compositions of Australian children ages seven and nine years to discover the nature of their melodic and rhythmic representations. Finds that older children created more compositions of higher stages of complexity. Reports that girls produced a greater percentage of compositions assigned to the highest stages. (CFR)

Presents findings of a 1988 study of 104 middle school students, examining the relationship between learner style preference and instructional grouping. Identifies preference groups: learning alone, learning with peers, or no preference. Finds that students performed equally well on four social studies lessons when instructional strategy matched…

Asserts that novice writers have little control over the composition process. Reports on 72 fourth graders who worked individually and in pairs with a computer-based composition program. Finds that students with better prior composition skills working individually benefited most from computer prompts. (CFR)