Practical Life holds profound significance within the Montessori philosophy, captivating educators and students alike. Here, Montessori beautifully connects these concepts of dignity and independence to the skills children learn in their Montessori classroom. The author has a particular interest in fiber arts and crafts, and in this article, the…

This study questions the belief that little or no social studies is being taught in regular elementary education classrooms. That belief is based on time studies and a body of research that looks at curriculum and teacher interviews and concludes that the social studies time block has been decreased in elementary classrooms, therefore little or no…

This article illustrates the efforts of educators in North Carolina to advocate for the social studies in an age of high-stakes assessment and tight budgets. Although this story begins with one state, the marginalization of social studies in elementary schools is a nationwide problem. The federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) is due for…

A major organizational change is necessary to promote more equitable and effective instructional grouping schemes in schools. A palatable restructuring alternative that combines effective grouping with the flexibility to meet each school's needs is parallel block scheduling. This system capitalizes on teachers' strengths, promotes greater mixing…

This information brief describes problems involved in scheduling elementary-school specialist teachers and offers suggestions for resolving them. Poor scheduling results in fragmented classes, unequal distribution of instructional time, and lack of common planning time. Poor scheduling is usually due to lack of congruence between school mission…

Teachers will improve student learning if they attend to allocated time, engaged time, and student success rate. (Author)

Using development of a State Event Observation System as an example, the decision rules and procedures for the constructing of standardized multiple behavior observational systems that provide accurate, reliable data for school-based assessment, intervention, and research are described. Reliability and validity data from the SECOS are provided.…

This study was conducted to: (1) determine if the intercession calendar, an alternative calendar that reduces the total school year for students who do not need remediation, positively impacts overall student achievement; (2) to assess the explanatory ability of the intercession model in accounting for student academic achievement variability; and…

Summarizes research findings and policy implications obtained over a 5-year period from the implementation of an In-Depth Expanded Applications of Science (IDEAS) model with average, above average, and at-risk students in grades 2-5. The IDEAS model replaced the time allocated to traditional reading/language arts instruction with a 2-hour time…

Describes the use of parallel block scheduling (PBS) in inclusive classrooms as a flexible method of scheduling that addresses student grouping; time for teacher planning; and scheduling of subjects, support services, and staff. The characteristics of PBS and an elementary school that uses the system are highlighted. (Author/CR)

A national study was designed to examine open-space education in Great Britain. The study's purpose was to provide an accurate, comprehensive description of the teaching-learning processes within such schools and their administrative and architectural services in order that policy implications could be delineated. (Author/DB)

Time allocated for social studies instruction showed a very slight correlation with fifth graders' achievement in that subject, suggesting that "allotted time" should be carefully qualified when used as a variable in assessing instruction. (Editor)

A study of the loss of instructional time experienced by elementary school students in the Austin Independent School District compensatory education programs resulted in the unexpected findings that both Title I and Non-Title I schools spent more than one-fifth of the school day in noninstructional activities. (MH)

This study examined special services in four elementary schools in British Columbia (Canada), finding conflicts between mandated inclusion and integrated-curriculum block scheduling. Interviews with 31 teachers revealed that nearly half of the students received special services, and most teachers needed to coordinate planning with several…

This paper describes how Central Missouri State University converted to block scheduling to provide higher quality field experiences for education majors. The university changed its 50-minute Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes to 75-minute Monday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday classes, with Wednesdays off for field experiences. This paper explains the…