To weigh the negative effects of "primerese" against its supposedly improved readability, a study compared the reading of controlled basal stories with that of the same stories minimally rewritten into more natural language. Participants were 64 white, lower middle class first grade students selected from five classrooms (all with basal…

Intended for reading teachers and teacher educators, this book provides an analysis of 12 fallacious beliefs thought to be responsible for the perpetuation of ineffective and inappropriate approaches to reading instruction. The introduction looks at the dangers of the myths that underlie reading instruction, discusses how the myths arise out of an…

Teachers' perceptions of school restructuring were examined to determine the effects of reform on actual classroom teaching and learning processes. Interviews with 14 teachers at all school levels identified the following common themes: importance of flexible schedules; inclusion of interdisciplinary, meaningful curricula; and increased teacher…

The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences in how schools and school districts have successfully implemented the California mathematics and science curriculum frameworks. Implementation factors include: the use of cross-role teams and implementation plans; assistance; administrative commitment and pressure; program…

Preceded by preteleconference activities, this teleconference examines the definitions, history, assumptions, and consequences of tracking as well as barriers to change, restructuring responses to literacy and learning difficulties, effective alternatives to tracking, and specific grouping strategies. The following documents are included: "Keeping…

Secondary school curriculum is evaluated in this study designed to assess the degree of accordance between curriculum designers' intentions and perceptions of those intentions by curriculum implementors (administrators, supervisors, and teachers). A survey instrument was composed of nine sections that addressed learning objectives, classroom…

Predicated on the notion that workers will need to transfer new skills to a variety of situations, this document is intended to teach industrial trainers in Britain how people learn and how to train individuals to become independent learners as well as capable performers of specific job skills. The first section of the book is a mixture of…

Several evaluation formats were used to examine the impact that the Direct Instruction Model had on 600 selected students in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, over a 7-year period. The performance of students in the Direct Instruction Model was contrasted with the performance of similar students (on the basis of family income, ethnicity,…

This paper reports the analysis of data gathered during a six-week period in spring, 1983, in two junior high school classes in each of three subject areas: science, mathematics, and English. The purpose is to describe and propose some images or metaphors for depicting the processes associated with the enactment of tasks in these classrooms.…

Significant advances in hardware and software have increased the possible applications for educating limited-English-proficient students. Two major studies have focused on technology and its relationship to the education of this population. There is a great diversity of hardware currently in use in schools, either stand-alone computers or computer…

The Instructional Aide Program of the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools trained instructional aides to provide direct instruction to selected underachieving pupils in the classroom setting. The aides attended in-service training sessions and were provided with supplementary materials and numerous instructional activities in the areas of oral…

A course in English as a second language (ESL) offered at Golden West College located in Orange County, California is designed to help students from many ethnic backgrounds develop speaking and listening skills for success in school, social situations, and work. Students must be at the intermediate ESL level. Each unit of study consists of…

Although student evaluation of instruction has been shown to produce reliable results over class averages, considerable within-class variability exists that has not been investigated. This study looked at examples of student evaluations in which students diametrically differed in their evaluation of the same instructor. Patterns were noted. A…

This paper presents a set of three integrative exercises created to help college students develop workplace skills through simulation. Interviewing, listening, providing feedback, setting goals, empowering, coaching, managing change, handling conflict, and making decisions are clustered and modeled at intervals that synthesize course learning.

Research indicates that thoughtful technology use can positively influence learning process inside and outside the classroom, and one-to-one computing has been gaining popularity. Although some view such initiatives as passing, others look at the mounting research and see opportunities to reshape the nature of instruction and learning. This brief…