A dilemma arises in the attempt to establish procedures for valid assessment of academic learning. Measures of learning with high pedagogical validity often have poor psychometric properties. Conversely, tests that are well-constructed by psychometric standards may succeed in sorting and ordering students or schools, but have little pedagogical…

This study explores the use of design technology to teach a unit on poetry in a fifth grade class. The main goals of the poetry unit were to develop students' abilities to use their own creative voices to express themselves and to write descriptive poetry that creates detailed images for the reader. This unit was implemented in a fifth grade class…

This article offers responses from various authors to the article "Incarnational immersion-based learning in cultural contexts: A charity model," by Dr. John Trokan (2005.) Mount St. Joseph's program on incarnational immersion-based learning, as described in the article by Dr. John Trokan, will have the participating students' eyes…

Assessment of the effects of two small-group cooperative techniques and the whole-class method on academic achievement in English as a foreign language for seventh-graders (N=665) revealed that the group methods (Discussion Group and Student Teams and Achievement Divisions) registered significantly greater improvement than the whole-class method.…

Reviews and analyzes the Effective Schools Movement. Concludes that all schools should adopt the components of these proven successful programs within the context of an equity-based education, whose components are the following: (1) access; (2) process; (3) achievement; and (4) transfer. (FMW)

This study demonstrated that, although standard instructional design revisions of a traditional textbook chapter had no effect on teacher attitudes toward adoption of the material, the revised version of the chapter significantly improved student performance. Teacher and student participants in the study were from the St. Petersburg…

The optimum situation for a school system is one in which bureaucratic influences and practices support classroom learning. The study reported in this policy brief examines a transformation toward this state of affairs in the country's eighth largest school district, the 140,000-student San Diego City Schools. An unusual leadership arrangement…

Middle level educators can't always define it succinctly, but they know courageous, collaborative leadership when they see it. Examples of courageous leadership can range from a cancer-stricken teacher who inspires a whole school, to an educator who makes little strides by modeling the art of "hanging out" for students for whom social interaction…

The purpose of this book is to help educational change agents and educators ensure student success through high school by implementing educational practices that research has shown to be effective. The intended audience includes legislators, school board members, educational administrators, teachers, representatives of educational organizations,…

This study took place in a sixth grade math class at Webber Middle School in Saginaw, Michigan. A literature review indicated that a classroom that students perceive as safe, supportive of their autonomy, and of their learning increases intrinsic motivation. With this in mind, the author created a study, which would look for connections between…

Today, English language learners (ELLs) represent an increasing proportion of U.S. middle and high school enrollment. As a result, mainstream content-area teachers are more likely than ever to have ELLs in their classrooms. At the same time, education policymakers and researchers are increasingly calling for improved academic literacy development…

This collection of articles address three themes: the growing research supporting the belief that technology in education makes a difference for student learning; innovative ways to use technology in teaching; and firsthand accounts of schools that have successfully implemented technology in their classrooms. Through effective use, educators can…

The first in a series of annual reports designed to provide new ideas for faculty at California's Los Rios Community College District, this document reviews innovative instructional techniques and presents an overview of classroom-based assessment and cooperative-collaborative learning. Following a brief introduction, the report describes (K.…

This report describes a project to develop more effective types of assessment in high school classes. The targeted population was high school students in two different middle-class communities in the northern suburbs of Chicago (Illinois). One site in a very stable, homogeneous community, predominantly white, contains 1,155 students. The other…

A survey of 39 special and general education teachers and administrators from 7 New Mexico towns assessed their knowledge and acceptance level of fully inclusive education within the rural, culturally and linguistically diverse state. The results were analyzed by two subpopulations, general and special education teachers, and the total population…