This book presents 21 case studies of young children with disabilities in a variety of family situations and settings, for early interventionists to study in planning and applying recommended practices. Section I, "Defining and Delivering Quality Services in Early Intervention," provides two introductory chapters: "The Search for Quality…

A third-grade teacher and a teacher educator argue that, in an elementary mathematics class in which the teacher is encouraging the children to communicate and justify their mathematical ideas, the features of a mathematical task shape the mathematical discourse. They conjecture that divergent tasks, problems with many correct answers, may…

This essay focuses on teachers as peacemakers. Peace education is discussed as multifaceted and cross-disciplinary, emphasizing the teaching of peace, nonviolence, conflict resolution, social justice, economic well-being, political participation, and environmental concern. The report asserts that any curriculum for young children should stress a…

The major purpose of the Higher Education Survey (25 statements rated 1=very well to 5=very poor) was to determine if there is agreement between higher educators ratings, those of employers, and graduates themselves in terms of Saginaw (Michigan) Schools'"graduate standards" which are: (1) academic achiever; (2) self-directed learner;…

A workshop for language teachers focusing on cooperative learning techniques is described. First, an example of the effectiveness of cooperative learning is demonstrated using a simple classroom game requiring interaction to solve a problem. The activity provides an opportunity for learners to practice questioning techniques in an authentic…

This book contains a set of authentic performance assessments that offer students the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and multiple science abilities through communication, problem solving, inventiveness, persistence, and curiosity. The specific knowledge and science abilities are drawn from those identified in Benchmarks for Science Literacy…

This study sought to discern the extent to which a sample of talented math and science students displayed domain-relevant skills possessed by those expertly trained in history. Subjects' experiences varied in terms of their exposure to primary source materials. The students were presented with five different kinds of documents related to the…

This paper is a critique of problem-based learning and focuses on, first, the concept of life as problem-governed and professional practice as problem-solving; and, second, the utility of problem-based learning as a pedagogical approach in pre-professional training. The paper suggests that a problem-based approach to professional education is…

This paper reports on five related studies on upper elementary school students' beliefs about the role of real-world knowledge in solving mathematical word problems, and on possibilities of overcoming their unrealistic mathematical modeling. Findings from the first study of 75 Belgian fifth-grade students showed that as a consequence of current…

In a climate of rapid change, increasing innovation, and proliferating knowledge, lifelong learning is an important educational objective. Lifelong learning skills need to be developed if educators intend for their students to stay current in their fields. Staying abreast of new innovations, research, techniques, and information is a prerequisite…

A program for national educational evaluation was established in Sweden in 1989. In 1992, a second data collection was carried out. The program is designed to serve national and local purposes of evaluation. One concept that has been emphasized strongly is an "explorative way of working." Evaluating an explorative way of working is a…

Crisis management is an all-too-frequent element of being a day care director. This guide is intended to help day care administrators not only to survive such events but to cope in ways that have been proven to be successful program enhancements. The guide is divided into five major sections covering the most important areas of director…

This teacher training module presents the Student Membership Snapshot (SMS) system, a problem solving approach for teachers responding to increasing student diversity. The first chapter describes student diversity in learning styles, curricular outcomes, and social connections. The next chapter details the three steps of the SMS process:…

The call for educational reform has caused mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment to come under both professional and public scrutiny. The three elements contesting for leadership in assessment reform are the conventional testing agencies, reformers led by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and political agencies…

The cognitive processes students use in doing the 1996 science assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were studied using two booklets from the 1993 NAEP science field test. Blocks of items from these booklets, a hands-on task block and either a conceptual/problem solving block or a theme block, were administered to 16…