Students attending a Minnesota school in a middle-class neighborhood are finding that cooperation, conflict resolution, and civic values are creating a safe haven from the stresses of family and neighborhood life. Students have two innovative programs (Continuous Progress and Discovery) to choose from. Highlands Elementary nurtures its students…

A special program creating a miniature community inside the school provides students with real-life curriculum. (GB)

George A. Wingate High School in Brooklyn, NY, is considered a model of urban education. The principal believes good teaching is being able to make learning relevant to the lives of the students, and he communicates this belief to the faculty, staff, and students. (Author/MLF)

Too often, classroom-management systems built on trust and support in primary grades are replaced by compliance and obedience systems in higher grades. Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline is a research-based, classroom-tested Texas program that combines instructional effectiveness (through consistent classroom organization) with…

In "Operation Just Read," a teacher leadership team used action-research procedures to identify a problem (low independent reading levels), obtain baseline data, analyze results, formulate a rationale, implement a program, collect data, analyze results, and arrive at conclusions. Schools can increase at-home independent reading for the average…

A veteran English-as-a-Second-Language teacher recently discovered the effectiveness of using videos and TV together with a diverse student population that speaks 22 languages. Video segments linked to tasks, close-captioned instructional TV programs, and interactive TV and video helped students with language acquisition skills. The idea was to…

Basing their classroom instruction on the Dunn Learning Styles Model, two third-grade teachers modified certain classroom-design features, including noise, light, temperature, spatial design, sociological stimuli, perception centers, mobility, and intake. Accommodating students' reading styles has yielded superior results on the Texas Assessment…

Although multiple intelligences, learning styles, and brain-based education have discrete theoretical constructs, research bases, and applications, they share similar outcomes in the practical classroom environment. There are several areas of overlap. Each theory is learning- and learner-centered, regards teachers and students as reflective…

Students and teachers in the Virtual Classroom Program at an Ottawa, Ontario, high school connect in real time with peers and experts from around the world. Students collaboratively select interdisciplinary topics, conduct research using online databases and experts, and create oral and multimedia presentations. (MLH)

The Lewisburg (Pennsylvania) Area Middle School has successfully implemented an alternating-day block schedule that has yielded improved academic performance. The positive effect may derive from administrative support, teacher empowerment, and community agreement. The culture of the traditional schedule and school year remains essentially intact,…

Through a partnership with Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, staff of a successful, improvement-oriented elementary school focused on brain-compatible practices. These included a safe, nonthreatening environment; active and meaningful learning; rich, stimulating, varied input; and accurate, timely, and helpful feedback. (MLH)

Groups of teachers and schools can bridge the theory-practice gap by using the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project library. The WISE learning environment promotes lifelong learning along with language and technology literacy by making science accessible, thinking visible, and learning a cooperative experience. (Contains 16…

An independent school in Encino, California, studied the concept of neoplasticity (lifelong brain reorganization processes) and started using more technology in classrooms. Brain-based programs require a rich learning environment, thematic instruction, integrated curricula, musical stimulation, multiple intelligences, and multisensory specialized…

At a new charter school serving predominantly defiant underachievers and special-needs students, a psychology teacher was challenged to implement founders' brain-based principles. She succeeded by establishing a climate of relaxed alertness, immersing students in meaningful experiences, and guiding them in processing their experiences. (MLH)

Orem (Utah) High School is a suburban, predominantly white high school that consciously strives to create a welcoming atmosphere, where students are treated with respect, programs are varied and innovative, and fun and participative decision making are highly valued. The school's participation in the National Network for Educational Renewal has…