Much continues to be written about the failure of U.S. schools to provide a quality education for at-risk urban students. Private Nativity model schools have been instituted in response to the need to provide quality education at the middle school level for such students. As the number of these and other alternative middle schools increases, a…

This source book is designed to give parents, teachers, and other caregivers of young children more than 200 sample activities for children that are fun, easy, and educationally sound. Chapter 1 introduces principles of early childhood programs, the "home-school connection," and tips on how to communicate with children. This chapter also gives an…

Research indicates that the goals and evaluative standards held by young children are influenced by developmental factors and the classroom context. This study investigated the goals held by first grade students as they undertake classroom activities and the criteria by which they evaluate their work. The larger purpose was to explore the…

Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality (ASQ) is a five-step process which guides program staff as they evaluate the quality of their program so they can develop priorities and improve achievement of goals. The five steps in the ASQ process are: (1) preparing for program improvement; (2) gathering information; (3) building the Action Plan; (4)…

This report summarizes 2 years of activity within the Edutex network. Launched in 1990, the Edutex initiative aimed to explore the educational possibilities and limitations of a telematic network for schools. Teachers and pupils in 20 primary and secondary classrooms in the French, Italian, and German speaking parts of Switzerland and in France…

This guide provides lessons for teaching primary research skills to elementary and middle school students. The lessons introduce basic research processes, emphasizing the use of primary sources and direct observation. A six-step process is described that applies to all grade levels. Examples are provided to help the teacher or media specialist…

Issues in the design of research to describe educational practice are examined, and arguments for and against particular methodologies are summarized. A single study is used for illustrative purposes; it explores the relationship between English taught as a second language in school and English language needs in the workplace. The study uses both…

A study of 23 secondary school students in year 11 at a British comprehensive school investigated students' feelings about English and Bengali, their native language, their language learning history, how they had developed English language skills in a predominantly Bengali-speaking community, how they had maintained and developed their Bengali,…

Problems involved in reducing the achievement gap among ethnic groups in the Seattle (Washington) public schools were studied. An 11-member team selected 25 elementary schools and 216 classrooms for the study, which included classroom observations, teacher questionnaires, and measurement of ethnic achievement gap reduction through California…

A discussion of family literacy projects focuses on alternatives to traditional methods of program evaluation. In the first chapter, the distinction between standardized and alternative assessments is clarified and the special evaluation needs of family literacy projects are highlighted. The remainder of the handbook is intended to help program…

An observational instrument was developed to facilitate the peer coaching process by special education consulting teachers with regular class teacher colleagues. Use of the instrument was piloted by a special education consulting teacher with three middle school teachers whose classes included special education and at-risk students. The instrument…

This guide provides precise, detailed descriptions of empirically validated best practices to promote learning in infants and young children with disabilities. It is designed to be a practical and comprehensive, easy-to-read introductory methods text that addresses the fundamental issues associated with implementing the legislative mandates of the…

This practicum was designed to develop learning experiences for teachers which would improve their ability to be accountable for children's progress in play-oriented educational programs. The primary objective was to increase teachers' competence with regard to knowledge about play, and their skill in assessing and reporting developmental progress…

The development of a HyperCard application program, "Connecting to Your MARS Account," is described. The program was intended to assist users of the biomedical computer system at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), the Medical ARchival System (MARS), to connect to their computer accounts. Criteria from instructional, graphical,…

This conference proceedings document serves to establish the state of the art, highlight important methodological and conceptual issues, and identify priorities for future research in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. The document includes the papers from two opening presentations, issue papers and reactant papers, a…