Questionnaires assessed the Braille instructional needs of 200 people who had lost their sight after learning to read and were enrolled in Braille courses. Findings indicated that Braille instructional sessions were often only once or twice a month instead of the recommended daily frequency. Individualized teaching methods and materials are also…

Differentiated instruction in speaking and listening skills for gifted students might involve an expanded range of opportunity, faster paced instruction, replacement of basic skills instruction with more advanced activities, opportunities for self-selection, individualization, and personal evaluation. Activities that emphasize cognitive and…

This article argues the importance of using an individualized approach in teaching multicultural pupil populations and illustrates this with specific applications made to meet the needs of the culturally pluralistic student population of South Africa. (DB)

Mastery learning offers a way for teachers to offer individualized instruction to students and to help more of their students be successful in learning. Practical implications of using the mastery learning approach are described, followed by evidence of its effectiveness. (JDD)

Students can fall behind early in reading and never catch up. Hoboken (New Jersey) teachers are using Reading Recovery, an innovative New Zealand program, to provide low-achieving first graders with daily tutoring sessions for 18 to 22 weeks. Reading Recovery offers confidence-building strategies that combine skill-and-drill and whole-language…

The article describes a senior elective in virology developed at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. Students work independently through a series of course units, selecting 12 study topics from a catalog of 35 topics in medical virology and discussing their reading daily with the professor. (DB)

A major problem facing schools is lack of curricular differentiation and academic challenge for the most academically able students. Also, contemporary textbooks have been "dumbed down." Curriculum compacting is a flexible, research-based technique enabling high-ability students to skip work they already know and substitute more…

Discusses whether integrated learning systems (ILSs) provide good education and suggests the need to consider what learning technologies can deliver best and what humans can teach best. Opposition to ILSs is discussed, focusing on negative views of machines; and support for ILSs is reviewed, including individualized instruction and motivation.…

The New Community School in Lafayette, Indiana, a parent-run school, and Ann Arbor's Community High School demonstrate the challenges of running alternative schools (in finances, organization, and member burnout) and the sense of community that evolves in the process. (SK)

Interview with three Ohio directors of Reading Recovery, an intervention that accelerates the literacy acquisition of low-achieving first-grade readers. Discusses the dramatic growth of the program since its pilot year, 1984-85; how Reading Recovery differs from traditional remedial reading programs; the program's theoretical underpinnings and…

Programs for academically gifted students are being sacrificed to address elitism charges and budget crunches, at the same time that funding for students with other exceptional education needs is expanding. Gifted students can be reenfranchised by preparing teachers appropriately, differentiating course content, and improving pacing and grouping…

Twelve learner-centered recommendations for Web-based instruction are discussed, relating to safe learning communities; student engagement; students' choice; facilitating learning; public and private feedback; apprenticing student learning; recursive assignments; electronic writing and reflection activities; student Web link suggestions; clear…

This article discusses methodologies for differentiating instruction for gifted students in regular social studies classes including curriculum compacting, conceptual thematic units, questioning strategies, interest development centers, independent study, and mentorship. Recommendations comply with performance expectations of the National Council…

This article suggests strategies to make classroom curricula adaptive, flexible, and challenging to all students, including those with disabilities. Descriptions of eight sample learning activities illustrate the multiple adaptations possible. Principles such as the importance of the team approach, peer involvement, development of functional…

Reviews an autobiographical account of Fred Keller's experiences, documenting how traditional methods of instruction failed him both as a student and as a teacher, and how this failure motivated his quest for alternative methods of instruction culminating in the development of a personalized system of instruction. (KS)