Discussed is the classroom suitability of an open learning computer microworld centered around families of quadratic equations that provides a framework for exploring questions about parabolas to establish the link between the graphical and the algebraic representations of quadratic equations. (JJK)

The effects of an intervention--Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing--to improve students' expository writing abilities was studied. The program emphasizes teacher and student dialogues about expository writing strategies, text structure processes, and self-regulated learning. Results of 183 fourth and fifth graders indicate that dialogic…

Discussion of the interaction of instructional strategies and learner characteristics focuses on linearity versus nonlinearity, self-regulated learning, and advance organizers in knowledge acquisition in a Web-based hypermedia learning environment. Highlights include results from an analysis of covariance; variables including computer anxiety and…

Analysis of an outcome-based, self-paced high school in Canada demonstrates the difficulty of changing the "grammar of schooling" even through extensive reform. The need to be seen as a successful school and the unintended consequences of pedagogical changes practically neutralized the intended reform, leaving the school's middle-class…

Presenting a higher education case study from Mexico: "Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (ITESM-CCM) College, Mexico city campus, describing faculty best and worst practices using a blended learning approach in e-learning and face-to-face instruction. The article comments on conceptual definitions of blended…

This article presents findings about the implementation of a system for rapidly assessing student progress in math and reading in grades K-12--a system that potentially could reduce pressure on teachers resulting from high-stakes testing and the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Interviews with 49 teachers and administrators in one…

Identifying effective interventions to help children with autism reach their potential has been a source of disagreement among professionals and parents for decades. The complexities of the challenges that face children with autism, and uncertainty about best practices, have delayed progress. This article identifies seven critical program…

A number of second language class activities are presented that stimulate interpersonal interaction and develop communication skills. The exercises are also designed to accommodate learners' different learning styles, pacing needs, skill levels, and course content. They include: a questionnaire activity in which students must discover facts about…

This guide for paraprofessionals offers practical guidelines for assisting in inclusive classrooms. The guide presents an overview of the special education system and an assortment of strategies and ideas to implement in the general classroom environment. An introduction explains the philosophy of inclusion and differentiates it from…

Education in general and special education in particular are undergoing rapid and dramatic changes, and a number of current trends offer implications for future policy and practice. It is becoming clear that principles of special education are shaping the future of all education. As schools become more inclusive, attention is focused on…

This book is designed to give parents and teachers of children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays an alternative reading program. The program is based on a functional, language-experience approach which attempts to compensate for common deficits in auditory memory and verbal skills. The seven chapters of Part 1 describe how children…

This document is an individualized learning module designed for use with fifth- through seventh-grade students. The module is designed for use in the juvenile section of a public library that maintains a card catalog. It can easily be adapted to any library setting that utilizes a juvenile card catalog. Although computer-based card catalogs are…

Three papers by the same author address: (1) educational methods for gifted children in the regular classroom; (2) principles of enriching the gifted child's development in the home; and (3) modifying lessons to optimally challenge gifted students. The first paper is titled, "Classrooms with Growing Room." It stresses the need for gifted children…

This article tells the vocational education success story of the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC). The success of the program results in part from the fact that it is not a high school in itself, but a program that brings together youth from various locales and mixes them with adults taken from the working population in the…

Summaries of recent research have found computer-assisted instruction to be a highly motivating method of instruction that fosters independent study and provides for the immediate feedback necessary for the encouragement of individualized learning. A nonexperimental study was conducted with fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students (n=88) in a…