Few great ideas to guide school practice are totally new. Conscientious educators have hit some good chords over the years; the challenge is recapturing that music and building a (pedagogical) symphony around it. Philosophical ideas about teachers' views of children, curriculum, teachers, and organizational structures are discussed. (MLH)

This article responses to comments on "Perspectives on the Future of the IDEA," by reiterating the need to protect the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's basic protections but change the law to embed current technological advancements into policies that drive educational services for students with disabilities. (CR)

Explains that problem students will have an opportunity to succeed in their education if they are given a chance to attend a rehabilitation institution where they will interact with a community of their peers who all suffer from similar predicaments. Provides three examples of rehabilitation institutions in Russia. (CMK)

Summarizes the five reasons why the National History Standards will have a minimal effect on history instruction in U.S. schools: (1) the controversy behind the standards; (2) the unrealistic and impractical nature of the standards; (3) competition with local policies; (4) the formulation of widely adopted textbooks; and (5) the nature of history.…

Presents some of the perceived pedagogical challenges posed by use of the World Wide Web. Proposes that the debate surrounding use of the Web in university teaching should center on learning and not technical issues. Learning issues and challenges discussed in this article include learning approaches, using the technical features of the Web to…

Describes a first-grade teacher's collaboration with a university professor to combine a supportive classroom with on-the-spot conferencing and publishing to support and document growth in student writing. Discusses underlying theories of the practice and illustrates the four-step process for conferencing and publishing. Asserts that on-the-spot…

Chronicles the experiences of a rural West Virginia school district as it moved toward implementing developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten through Grade 2. Examines the development of a plan for assessment and professional growth, and recommendations of the K-2 task force. Describes how four professional development goals were…

Examines the conceptions of educating beginning art teachers with specific reference to Canadian art education. Addresses the use of the visual journal, which demonstrates visual and verbal thinking, by preservice teachers at the University of British Columbia as a means to develop an artistic understanding of their growth as art teachers. (CMK)

Investigates the effects of individual versus cooperative learning on different aspects of 373 fifth-grade students' functioning: (1) cognitive; (2) affective; (3) metacognitive; and (4) social. Reports strong positive effects of cooperative learning on achievement and positive effects of cooperative learning in the cognitive level. (CMK)

Gifted children display unique depths of thought, understanding, and curiosity. They think critically and easily utilize information they have assimilated in order to understand new experiences. They are the ones who think of something no one else has thought of, have unique perspectives, or can grasp concepts with little effort. They are the ones…

Teaching public speaking is often part of a junior high or senior high curriculum as well as a part of the college curriculum of many four-year public institutions whereby a student is expected to demonstrate performance skills to an audience. For the exceptional student with disabilities, this presents more than the usual anxieties that beset…

Paulo Freire's revolutionary theory of pedagogy has influenced progressive educational practice and inspired educational activism around the world. Many contemporary nonformal educational efforts are deeply influenced by Freire's work. In Latin America approaches that draw on Freire's pedagogy are broadly known as popular education, while in the…

Educational researchers are increasingly using design as a means of advancing their understanding. Historically design in educational research has served as a way to implement theories for testing. The emerging design research paradigm treats design as a strategy for developing and refining theories. In this article, I discuss the lessons that can…

A key factor in the transition to university is the enculturation of new students into both the discipline they are studying and effective study practices. Most significantly, students, whatever their chosen discipline, must learn to become autonomous learners. Too often this process is either left to chance or seen as a natural attribute of the…

Of all Australian secondary schools in the current period, the government comprehensive high school is in most difficulty. This article looks at the developing fate of this school in terms of middle class social practice in relation to changing schooling loyalties. The recent work of Michael Pusey, Stephen Ball, Janet McCalman, Richard Teese and…