Explores the assumption that issues-centered instruction is fine for advanced students but too difficult for low-achieving adolescents when reviewing case studies of world geography classes composed of low-achieving students. Concludes that teachers confront numerous difficulties in planning and implementing issues-centered instruction for…

A recent U.S. Department of Education survey correlated sociodemographic risk factors associated with children's learning problems with accomplishments and difficulties children bring to kindergarten. Family risk factors included mother with less than a high school education, family below the poverty line, unmarried or non-English-speaking mother,…

Emerging research on the brain and learning is challenging long established notions about how children should be taught. The authors use this research as a basis for providing more powerful strategies for reaching all students, including those with learning and behavior problems that have led to educational failure. Suggests ideas and practical…

Describes a review of research that addresses the effectiveness of simulations in promoting scientific discovery learning and the problems that learners may encounter when using discovery learning. (WRM)

Notes that camp directors and counselors should be familiar with learning disabilities. Defines learning disabilities and explains accommodations of materials, procedures, and equipment; modification of activities; individuals' learned compensation strategies; and communication issues. Sidebar defines types of learning disabilities. (SAS)

The present study explores the relationship between sentence recall and reading and language skills in a group of 7--11-year-old children with learning difficulties. While recent studies have found that performance on sentence recall tasks plays a role in learning, it is possible that this contribution is a reflection of shared resources with…

In Greece there is an almost total lack of special education after the primary school (6th grade). This is a descriptive study that aimed to examine social, academic and psychological characteristics of secondary school students with a history of special placement during primary school. It compared 86 students with a placement (group A) with their…

It is not surprising that many struggling learners have low self-efficacy for academics. They believe that they lack the ability to succeed. Consequently, they tend to avoid academics and give up quickly when difficulties arise. This article suggests practical solutions based on self-efficacy theory to improve the motivation of struggling…

Many practitioners are now grappling with the practical realities involved in collaborations between mainstream and special schools. Colin Gladstone is a teacher at Greenside, a special school in Hertfordshire. In this article he describes his experience of running a Young Enterprise Scheme project linking teenage students with severe learning…

Research has shown that people often do not claim labels associated with mental retardation or learning difficulties. We discussed the interpretation that this rejection is an example of a denial process, the purpose of which is to protect self-esteem. Alternative explanations for this lack of identification were offered, based on an understanding…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how sixth graders develop inquiry skills to construct explanations in an inquiry-based learning environment. We designed a series of inquiry-based learning activities and identified four inquiry skills that are relevant to students' construction of explanation. These skills include skills to identify…

The textbook remains a central resource for teaching and learning mathematics in many secondary classrooms, however, its effectiveness is open to question. In this article, the author argues three things: (1) that there can be a substantial disjunction between the assumptions and content of mathematics textbooks and the knowledge and experiences…

In this article, Andrew Martin, deputy head teacher at Greenside School in Stevenage, provides an outline of the development of the P scales as an assessment tool for pupils working below Level 1 of the National Curriculum. He recounts the difficulties his school found in using P scales to track pupil progress from year to year and describes and…

Children with motor learning difficulties (MLD) tend to be less physically active than their coordinated peers and one likely consequence is a reduced level of physical fitness. In this study, 52 children with MLD, aged 5 to 8 years, were compared to 52 age- and gender-matched control children across a range of health and skill related fitness…

Because of recent legislation, students with mild disabilities frequently receive science instruction in the general education classroom. Elementary teachers therefore have the challenge of teaching science to children with a wide range of abilities and preparing them to pass the federally mandated assessments in science. The emphasis in the…