For several years prior to 2000, students and faculty at McMaster University rated classrooms below those at peer universities. In the case of many classrooms, the teaching environments were outdated and the technology was old. The provost determined in 2000 that they needed to make a long-term investment in their learning spaces. For sound…

This publication is part of a series of monographs on the art of teaching. Each volume, focusing on a specific discipline, explores theory in the context of teaching strategies connected to evaluation of both teachers' and students' learning. Three techniques are offered for use of the guide: dialogues (as self-evaluation and in study groups),…

Educational technology tends to be characterized by a lack of targets; therefore, it is time for education to define its targets in aspiring to the school of the future and consider the option of calling in experts from other fields to help in problem solving. This paper predicts that while classroom design may not change too much, classrooms will…

SHAPES--an acronym for the South Plains Child Care Management Services (SpCCMS) Helping, Assisting and Preparing Educators and Staff--is also the name of a preschool readiness curriculum that is being developed for use by administrators and teachers. The first phase of the curriculum development consists of the publication of five books to be used…

This text lists crucial activities a teacher can undertake in preparation for the first day of school. The suggestions are especially helpful for beginning, transfer, and student teachers. They may also be used by experienced teachers, administrators, and teacher educators. Suggestions are organized in the format of a 60-day countdown to the first…

The classroom environment elicits social comparison behavior in which a student uses peers' performance as a gauge for his own self-assessment. Social comparison as it relates to ability is a four phase sequential process. In phase one, stimulation of social comparison is elicited through developmentally-determined cognitive capacities and motives…

Emphasizing the importance of developing a social classroom climate, this book addresses the organization of the reading/writing classroom. Nine sections: (1) present a statement of principles based on this concept of classroom organization (J. Steinle); (2) discuss scheduling the school day as an important area of teacher planning (P. Sloan and…

An outline is presented of organizational procedures that teachers can use to maximize the use of classroom time. Specific guidelines are given on how to give homework assignments, how to communicate expectations regarding student work, how to distribute instructional materials, and how to allocate time among various classroom activities. Brief…

This Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) report presents a comparative study of the work rates of kindergarten and first grade children in two classroom environments: a learning-center and a study-carrel environment. The subjects, seven matched pairs of kindergarten and first grade students, were chosen on the basis of the results of a…

Outlines design and management factors to be considered when developing a microcomputer lab for an instructional media center (IMC). Highlights include environmental considerations, including spatial arrangements, furniture, power requirements, temperature control, and lighting; software and hardware acquisition; and administrative considerations,…

This issue of the Australian Early Childhood Association Research in Practice Series focuses on creating aesthetically pleasing environments in early childhood care and education settings. The booklet details characteristics of aesthetically pleasing environments and discusses how early childhood practitioners' reflection upon the school or center…

Examines attributes of middle level classrooms and schools perceived by parents as inviting, and attributes related to student behavior and achievement. Notes that inviting schools/classrooms are characterized by a clean, neat building, student work displays, and pleasant wall colors. Environmental features that parents believe are related to…

Sets forth a set of general educational facility specifications based on four sources of information: (1) initiatives of the Texas A & M Interface Task Force; (2) views of schools held by children; (3) educational trends; and (4) general educational facility planning principles. (six references) (MLF)

Theorizes the spatial dynamics of both traditional and Internet-networked classrooms to reveal that both exhibit indeterminate spatial characteristics, but that network connectivity renders this indeterminacy visible. Argues that networked classrooms need not be disorienting, if students recreate a center by designing a class Web site, creating…

Argues that Catholic schools need to consider what makes a school Catholic when confronting issues of architectural design. Addresses differences in needs between elementary, middle, and high schools, and offers a case study that illustrates a successfully designed urban Catholic high school. (NB)