Background/Context: Much progress has been made toward a greater understanding of student engagement and its role in promoting a host of desirable outcomes, including academic outcomes such as higher achievement and reduced dropout, as well as various well-being and life outcomes. Nonetheless, disengagement in our schools is widespread. This may…

Presents an overview of Montessori versus traditional education programs. Focuses on differences of philosophy, curriculum, study, classroom environment, values, preparation for life, and productivity. Defines the major philosophical points of adaptation and development, and meaning. Addresses the Montessori perspective on elementary and the…

In this year's Distinguished Educator department, we feature six educators whose research has focused on the role of early literacy in early childhood education. Each of the six addresses a vitally important aspect of early childhood literacy teaching and learning. Sections include: "Working with Families as Partners in Early Literacy," by Dorothy…

Asserts that move from individual-centered to systems-oriented and consultancy-based approaches has affected school psychologists' perceptions of and need for appropriate assessment techniques. See importance of techniques to assess participants' perceptions of teaching-learning contexts. Describes Fraser's Individualised Classroom Environment…

The author defines multicultural education and discusses the contexts that surround and affect the multicultural classroom. He calls for development of a model for multicultural education that encompasses social policy concerns. Multiculturalism as a course of study and a course of action is discussed. (CH)

Argues that writing instruction should begin as early as kindergarten. Suggests that learning how to write occurs best not in traditional classrooms but when the classroom is turned into a workshop, where the process of planning, writing, and revising is honored. (KH)

Discusses the dynamics of the language lesson. It is argued that the lesson represents at least four types of events: a curricular event, an implementation of a method, a social event, and an arena of human interaction. (3 references) (GLR)

Explains how teachers can identify and correct sexist classroom practices. Teachers strive for fairness, but even those deeply concerned about gender equality tend to interact differently with boys and girls, with profound effects on children's self-esteem, academic interests, and ability to become independent, assertive thinkers. (SM)

Describes how a team of college instructors framed a humanities methods course within the concept of classroom community-building to address issues relevant to preservice teachers in such areas as moral commitment, professionalism, caring, and concern, providing examples of how the community was built, discussing strengths and limitations of that…

Proposes confluent education as an effective method for educating the whole student in special education. Describes the process involving changes to the present curriculum, with the most significant variable being the teacher created atmosphere. Concludes that confluent education requires an atmosphere of trust and self-exploration. (JAC)

Discusses the problems American students have learning math. Describes the new learning in mathematics that synthesizes new content and methods that restructure the curriculum in a way that resolves design and quality control problems. Presents examples of effective programs. (JS)

The use of computers in the writing classroom changes the actual activities used in class, adapting some present activities and creating new paradigm activities, and also changes the arrangement of the classroom, forcing a radical rethinking of spatial design. The computer classroom is not a passive room, one where information goes out from the…

Presents a view of the interplay among the various factors of personal experience, language, and socialization in the process of learning science in classrooms. Discusses the problematic relations among scientific knowledge, the learning of science, and pedagogy. (GLR)

Examines the descriptive and analytical work of students and teachers through classroom talk and interaction, using information from audiotaped classroom activities to identify classroom members' work. The article discusses the organization of classroom knowledge, relationships, and order, noting relationships between descriptive and analytic work…

Responding to foreign language learners' affective needs may help enhance learners' success in Japanese. American students face many linguistic and psychological barriers when learning Japanese. The article examines such affective variables as anxiety, risk taking, and motivation as significant contributing factors for differential success in…