This article discusses using individualized multimedia activity schedules as a technology-based instruction for young children with autism. The schedules serve as cues that can help students prepare for transitioning to between school activities. The benefits of using Microsoft PowerPoint in the classroom are described, along with implementation…

Describes development of an enterprise education program at the University of Lancaster. Includes the development of business/enterprise awareness, acquisition of transferable personal skills useful in subsequent employment, and completion of a project in a working environment. Concludes that success of the program will depend on how it is…

Describes two initiatives of the Pre-College National Missions Programs (PCNMP). One is a workshop for teachers, parents, caregivers, and educators that focuses on important skills for reading to deaf and hard of hearing children using sign language. The second initiative will provide schools and organizations with the essential elements for…

English-language training projects that are part of the United Kingdom's overseas aid program are usually of fixed duration and have clearly defined objectives. The project framework is examined here as it has been developed as a tool for accountability. A Malawi project is described, and general principles for improving sustainability are…

Multiple sources of influence impact the decisions about what and how teacher educators are expected to operate, including the innovations that are adopted. Some of those sources of influence (such as teacher certification boards) can demand that certain curricula be adopted, specific instructional procedures be utilized, and delineate the…

This paper describes the design principles, instructional practices, and specific curricula of Direct Instruction--one example of focused, systematic, explicit instruction. At a time when public schools are increasingly held accountable for students' achievement and for closing and preventing the achievement gap between minority/disadvantaged and…

Despite increasing recognition that whole-school approaches to sustainability have an important contribution to make in moving society towards a more sustainable existence, progress in this area remains slow. By examining the practices of the Ananda Marga River School, a small independent school in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland of Queensland, this…

This three-part guide presents information and recommendations from the Massachusetts Professional Development School Network Steering Committee on how to develop a professional development school (PDS) partnership. Part 1 defines the PDS concept, presents a brief background account of its evolution, and discusses its potential for simultaneously…

Looping is a very simple concept, whereby a teacher moves with his or her students to the next grade level, rather than sending them another teacher at the end of the school year. Schools all over the country are finding that this simple idea is having a profound effect on their students. This handbook describes the many benefits of looping and…

This guide explains the benefits and use of Ohio's career passport, which is designed to serve as a standard statewide vocational credential that represents individuals as completers of secondary or adult vocational programs and that is transferable across the state regardless of where a vocational completer received training. Discussed in section…

This manual is intended for use in teaching keyboarding at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level. It presents techniques for teaching basic keyboarding skills. The manual is divided into six sections. The first section defines keyboarding, describes who should learn to keyboard, discusses who should teach keyboarding skills, and…

This paper describes the development and implementation of a teacher reward system based on merit that was used at the University of Nebraska. Explained are the organizational set-up of the program into operational groups and their responsibilities and the steps taken to establish interest and commitment in the project. Also discussed is the…

This guide was developed to help administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the business community understand and implement tech prep programs in South Carolina. (Tech prep is a major restructuring strategy designed to meet the needs of students who want to function effectively in a technological workplace and to ensure that students are…

This guidebook is designed to help the individual school faculty, staff, and administration create a school plan. Five features critical to a successful school-improvement plan include: support by research findings; a focus on student achievement; attention to issues of quality and equity; collaboration; and an ongoing and self-renewing process.…

"Talking about Touching" for preschool and kindergarten is a curriculum that focuses on teaching children basic skills that will help them keep safe from dangerous or abusive situations. The content and method of instruction in the curriculum were developed using current research on child abuse prevention and social learning theory.…