With the exception of teachers, most educators are convinced that principals can have a powerful leadership role in curriculum and instruction. Achieving lasting educational change requires specific strategies, such as adaptive problem solving, school-level focus, compatibility, administrative leadership, teacher involvement, top-down or bottom-up…

Discussion of teaching literature through multimedia argues that simpler techniques explaining visual symbols such as illustrations, annotation of texts with commentaries, explanations, word meanings, and maps are not sufficient for conveying the message in culturally displaced (i.e., foreign language) texts. (18 references) (EA)

A survey of 790 blind and visually impaired persons in Arkansas assessed their use of technological assistive devices and their unmet needs, focusing on life functioning, spending practices and credit options for purchasing devices, funding support systems, travel practices, information sources, and satisfaction with services and devices.…

Review of the literature suggests that class participation by female students is increased when the teacher is female and/or the teacher has had training in sex equitable behavior. Women students rate female teachers higher than male teachers; and later achievement and confidence of female students are correlated with attending a women's college…

An environment that values evaluation as a means of effectively using resources is a prerequisite for development of administrative computing systems. Collaborative development of student information systems by a variety of campus offices increases the likelihood that useful information will be available to administrators for evaluating…

A systematic communication skills workshop for teachers was investigated for its effectiveness in enhancing both teacher attitudes toward children and selected teacher behaviors associated with effective teaching. The training model was found to improve teacher attitudes and skills for 378 elementary school and secondary school teachers in South…

Provides examples of how holistic procedures can be implemented by teachers who want to supplement the required basal. Demonstrates how students' reading ability, language acquisition, and communication skills can be strengthened as teachers activate prior knowledge, provide language-rich environments, consider reading/writing connections, and…

Suggests effective music instruction helps children use extramusical analogies to describe what they hear. Introduces music vocabulary, and asks questions that guide students to complete musical descriptions. Claims meaningful description is the result of training that is focused on developing listening skills. (NL)

Discussion of the use of computer networks to create electronic communities highlights a research strategy that compared educational activities conducted across electronic networks to examine features of successful and unsuccessful electronic communities. Networks described include university researchers' networks; teacher networks; student…

In response to demand, an institute for specialized French language instruction in Moscow has increased its offerings of business French. The demand appears to come from four groups: economists; technical professionals; language specialists; and government officials. This interest has caused a rethinking of instructional approach and methods. (MSE)

Compared patterns of group interaction for (n=28) fifth- and sixth-grade students during small group discussions designed to reduce misconceptions related to division. Highly interactive patterns of discourse were found to be associated with effective learning. (Contains 25 references.) (MKR/Author)

Discussion of peer-based collaborative learning focuses on two related studies: a micro-structure comparative analysis of students' psycho-social behaviors in computer-based collaborative learning experiments conducted in face-to-face and distributed learning environments; and an examination of cognitive effects of peer-based collaborative…

Reports on the initial stages of an ongoing action-research project in multicultural teacher education. Viewing curriculum as the creation of culturally significant domains for conversation, the project inquired into how a secondary English-methods course centered on issues of cultural diversity and emerging professional identities was taken up by…

Describes a classroom e-mail project conducted during the 1996-97 school year in a southern suburban school. The project involved three fourth grade teachers and their students, and was developed collaboratively among faculty at a nearby university, the principal, and the fourth grade teachers. Reports on the project's activities, problems…

Examines the nature of a middle school classroom during the development of a community of learners by focusing on teacher/student interactions and the connections made by students with people outside of the classroom. Finds that the teacher's role is critical in creating a community of learners. Contains 54 references. (Author/WRM)