Background/Context: A common perspective found in the literature on classroom activity structures hypothesizes that a whole-class mode of instruction is linked with increased problems of achievement motivation for low-achieving students. If whole-class methods of instruction (e.g., recitation-style question-and-answer sessions) are rich in…

Describes a filing system used to get students to turn assignments in on time. Folders are kept for each student listing class assignments, whether the students had done the assignments, their grades, and their attendance records. As the files were accessible to the students, responsibility was placed directly on them. (PJM)

Provides a rationale for the workshop format in teaching technical writing. Discusses the benefits in areas such as motivation, audience awareness, and voice development and provides an outline for workshop sessions. Sessions include editing writing by others, writing a short paper, and group interaction. (HTH)

The authors assert that school writing programs inhibit students through meaningless topic assignments and emphasis on the technical aspects of transcription rather than the really basic skill of composing. They describe a first-grade classroom ideal for writing instruction, where the teacher collaborates in children's writing, instead of teaching…

This synthesis offers a descriptive inventory of research studies of cooperative learning at the secondary level. While cooperative learning techniques vary, they all share an interest in finding an alternative to "frontal teaching"--the teacher instructing the whole class or individual seatwork by students. Cooperative methods allow…

This paper provides an orientation to learning centers for middle school teachers. A description is given of the characteristics of a learning center and the kinds of student activities that can best be conducted in an area set apart for individual or small group projects. Benefits from using learning centers, are cited, such as added variety to…

This booklet provides practical tips, techniques, hints, and suggestions developed by and for college teachers. The handbook serves as a useful guide for teachers who wish to improve their performance in the classroom. Specific topics include keeping students' attention and interest, helping students to think, teaching effectively in large group…

Analyzes a case of a struggling student writer who was not helped by good classroom techniques. Proposes that for educators to help struggling writers, they need to focus on both the student and the activity system within which the student works. Concludes that educators need to take account of: teachers' and children's ideas; organization for…

This paper reports on observations from teaching an undergraduate information-based organization (IBO) course and builds on past research to explain the findings in student issues, achievement motivation, and small-group effectiveness in information management teaching. The paper has three purposes: (1) to describe the development of a new course…

Techniques and suggestions for establishing a junior high level individualized reading program stress efficiency, economy, and development of teacher and student morale. Over 20 tips, presented in alphabetical order, are illustrated. Examples of ideas discussed are: an answer key book, a book exchange, instruction notebooks and signs, evaluation…

A study was conducted of teachers of disadvantaged children during the 1979-80 school year in Dade County, Florida. The study involved nearly 100 inner city elementary teachers who were identified as being the most effective teachers in their schools. The teachers responded to a lengthy questionnaire which asked very detailed questions about how…

The intent of this theoretical paper is to recast our ideas about teaching mathematics as a result of an extensive research review on teaching behaviors. The product of this review is an explanatory curricular model which takes into account the content being taught. The purpose of studying teaching from a curricular perspective and the constructs…

The Early School Environment Study (ESES), developed by Paul Park and a team of ten teachers, begins with the philosophy that children learn through the solution of practical problems that are meaningful to them, and expands this approach beyond the science framework into the learning of language, mathematics, and social studies. This booklet was…

Presents the Two-Level Cooperative Group Learning Model, a small-group instruction technique, developed at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and based on the Jigsaw II approach. Outlines a sample unit, showing how student expert groups teach their home teams. Demonstrates the technique's benefits: greater student motivation and interaction,…