Adapting support contingently to student needs by first diagnosing their current understanding, that is, scaffolding, is considered a key aspect of excellent teaching. The use of classroom scaffolding is rare, however. We therefore investigated the benefits to teachers of a professional development program that was based upon a model of contingent…

In terms of teacher quality, Steele believes the best teachers have reached a stage she terms inspired, and that teachers move progressively through the stages of unaware, aware, and capable until the most reflective teachers finally reach the inspired level. Inspired teachers have a wide repertoire of teaching and class management techniques and…

The greatest challenge facing America's schools today isn't the budget crisis, or standardized testing, or "teacher quality." It's the enormous variation in the academic level of students coming into any given classroom. Unfortunately, the issue has become enmeshed in polarizing arguments about race, class, excellence, and equity. What's…

Tutors often make use of explanations that do not promote learning. One reason for the ineffectiveness of explanations might lie in tutors' failure to take into account a tutee's understanding in order to individualize instruction. To test whether tutors provide more effective explanations when they are assisted in assessing a tutee's…

This article reports on a case study of an exemplary teacher who was a participant in a professional learning project, WriteIdeas. The teacher provided instructional support in writing to a targeted student with learning difficulties in an inclusive Year 8 English classroom. Analytical frameworks were developed and applied to the data that had…

Presented criteria for an individualized instructional program and, as well, examined a traditional model of instruction. (RK)

Presents a teaching model which utilizes a multimedia approach to facilitate individualized instruction in a physics unit for high school students. The model includes objectives, activities, check points and satellite activities. Reports favorable reactions from both students and teachers who have used this instructional approach. Bibliography.…

PREP (Preparation through Responsive Educational Programs) is a teacher training model that is part of an educational research project presently in its fifth consecutive year of operation in Washington, D.C. area junior high schools. Its primary objective is the development and evaluation of procedures and curricula to assist academically or…