Mini-lessons (brief, informative explanations that demonstrate what readers do) are a key instructional practice in meaning centered reading programs. The content of the mini-lessons is determined by the needs of learners. In procedural mini-lessons, teachers explain the steps for successfully completing a task or performing a reading-related…

The monograph summarizes findings from literature concerned with instructional effectiveness and applies those findings to the education of handicapped students. Emphasis is given to the relationship between instructional variables and positive academic outcomes for students. Characteristics of effective instruction for regular education,…

The mission of the Association for Direct Instruction is to promote the improvement of effective educational methods. This journal, "Direct Instruction News," is their publication. The Spring 2002 issue (Volume 2, Number 1) contains the following articles: "Same? Different? Both Same and Different" (Sara G. Tarver);…

The mission of the Association for Direct Instruction is to promote the improvement of effective educational methods. This journal, "Direct Instruction News," is their publication. The Spring 2003 (Volume 3, Number 1) contains the following articles: "Implementing DI Successfully" (Sara G. Tarver); "Textbooks: What?"…

This series of one- and two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the articles include the use of Hollywood films as a tool for teaching history; displaced homemaker programs; the relationship between teaching and scholarship; helping students write for the…

This issue of "Insights into Open Education" presents three short articles dealing with teaching poetry, English instruction, and the concept of time. The first article, "Teaching Poetry Tips" (Gem Reid), discusses the author's experiences conducting a week-long poetry workshop for a class of 30 second graders. The second…

Issues in making small-group instruction effective are addressed in this theme issue, which focuses on an approach called Complex Instruction (CI). Developed by Elizabeth Cohen at Stanford University (California), the approach is designed for middle school students in heterogeneous classes. The program is based on four goals to help teachers…

This report presents general criteria for authentic pedagogy, instructional activities rooted in a primary concern for high standards of intellectual quality, as well as more specific standards that can be used to judge the quality of assessment tasks, classroom lessons, and student performance. Examples are given of tasks, lessons, and student…

Designed to help educators examine their current student assessment practices and ensure that assessment activities lead to real improvements, this paper lists and discusses nine principles for assessing student learning. The nine principles are: (1) the assessment of student learning begins with educational values; (2) assessment is most…

This series of one- and two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the articles include: the use of "trigger films" in group learning situations; letter writing as a means of maintaining group cohesion in a nontraditional classroom; creative grading; the use…

This series of one- to two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) staff development; (2) integrating computers into the curriculum; (3) a strategy for selecting and hiring good teachers; (4) faculty involvement in support services…

This annual serial volume contains 19 articles offering practical pedagogical ideas from faculty at New Hampshire technical colleges. The following articles are presented: (1) "Goodbye Mr. Desrochers or What I Learned While Teaching My First Lit. Course," by Diane Chin; (2) "A Teacher Learns: Building a Fly Rod," by Walter…

This digest contains three articles which consider ways to enhance the effectiveness of special education programs. The first article offers guidelines for more fully including special education in the school community, in the context of broader educational reform and restructuring efforts. First the need for reform is addressed. Next, indicators…

This document consists of the eight issues of the series "Revista Investigacion Educativa" published during the 4-year period 1992-1995. This review of educational investigation seeks to promote the exchange of information about empirical research in education. It is published semiannually, and includes reports of both quantitative and…

This paper reviews the research on the effects of class size on educational quality in higher education, and discusses the characteristics of the students and kinds of course organization that facilitate effective large-class teaching. It notes that while early research found that class size mattered, newer studies have shown that factors other…