The idea that distance education lacks intimacy and is therefore inferior is based on an embedded metaphor that sustains a restricted and limiting mental model of ideal instruction. The authors analyze alternative conceptualizations of intimacy, space, and place as factors in the development of effective instructional models. They predict that the…

This article illustrates (a) 2 recent innovations in the changing criterion research design, (b) how these innovations apply to research and practice in special education, and (c) how clinical needs influence design features of the changing criterion design. The first innovation, the range-bound changing criterion, is a very simple variation of…

Although many of us would like to get beyond lecturing, we often lack concrete strategies for doing so, particularly in our larger classes. This paper suggests one such strategy for creating a discussion-based course. The success of such a course is predicated on students reading and thinking about the course material (receiving "first exposure")…

This study investigates sense of community as a central integrating factor promoting students' attachments to school and thereby their striving to adopt the school's norms and values. Data from observations of 232 elementary classrooms and from student questionnaires were used to test a model linking teacher classroom practices to students' sense…

The Shared Christian Praxis model for religious education, developed by Thomas Groome and described in the diocesan religious education curriculum, "Sharing Our Story" (SOS, 1991) has been highly influential in Australian Catholic religious education. This paper explores the planning, implementing, and evaluating of religious education…

Inspired by the work of Donald Schon and John Dewey, educators today consider reflective practice a viable alternative to the technical-rational paradigm that has historically dominated educational thought in the United States. This paper argues that wholetheme constructivism can lead to a deeper understanding of reflective practice. Dewey…

Eight articles, published in various issues of "Education Week" starting in March 1994 and ending July 1995, track the work of eight educational reform design teams: (1) "Back to the Future" (Lynn Olson)--the virtues and values of the past in a modern context; (2) "A Welcome Change" (Ann Bradley)--instruction school…

Based on a longer report with the same title, this digest summarizes what college faculty can do to improve their teaching. It maintains that faculty need to stop viewing college teaching as "covering the content" and start viewing it as "helping students learn." To help faculty achieve such an instructional transformation,…

This digest summarizes principles of performance assessment, which connects classroom assessment to learning. Specific ways that assessment can enhance instruction are outlined, as are criteria that assessments should meet in order to inform instructional decisions. Performance assessment is compared to behavioral assessment, mastery learning, and…

This book offers successful teaching approaches based on college surveys and interviews with 30 professors who have received awards for teaching excellence. Chapter 1 is an overview of the challenges of college teaching. Chapters 2 and 3 consider agents for change, institutional inertia, and an historical evaluation of faculty development.…

This paper describes a program to increase motivation and interest in social studies among fourth-grade students in a growing middle class community in central Illinois. The lack of motivation and disinterest in social studies is evidenced by student attitude surveys, teacher surveys, teacher observations of student time on task, and student…

This paper summarizes the first year experience of the Natrona County (Wyoming) school district in implementing a combined classroom model for educating intermediate grade students with emotional and behavior disorders (E/BD) in a general education setting. The combined classroom model involves two normal size classrooms made into one, three…

A cooperative work group experiential format is proposed for an introductory college computer course, which views the computer as one of several components of a business information system. The system is applied to a five-step problem solving model, consisting of problem analysis, problem understanding, making decisions, designing the solution,…

This workshop, designed for Chapter 1 compensatory education teachers, administrators, and staff, offers alternatives to the widespread use of worksheets. Four strategies for alternative classroom methods are explored: cooperative learning, peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching, and theme-based instruction. The following elements are included in the…

The Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS), which evaluates teachers for career ladder placement, is compared with Hunter's model of effective teaching behaviors in this report. Teaching behaviors set forth in each model include encouraging student participation, providing feedback, efficiently managing instructional time, effectively organizing…