The first of Goals 2000, "all children in America will start school ready to learn," has been problematic to measure because of the ambiguity of "all,""start,""ready," and "learn." A more measurable and appropriate statement would be "all primary schools will be able to provide developmentally…

The article addresses clarity and coherence of lesson goals as a scaffold for student learning. In 13 physics classes video recordings of the introductory lesson of two topics were rated with respect to clarity and coherence of the lesson structure. HLM analyses showed a positive effect of classes with high goal clarity and coherence on the…

Despite the dramatic increase in children's experiences in cohabiting families, little is known about how living in such families affects children's academic success. Extrapolating from two theoretical frameworks that have been commonly used to explain the association between parental divorce and educational outcomes, the authors constructed…

In the United States, the federal government supports educational services, but what happens with technology integration when a country with a population the size of Massachusetts uses its centralized educational system to help students with special needs? The goal of this article is to share information regarding Israel's educational technology…

Several nationally visible institutions--e.g., Harvard, Duke, and Stanford--have made ethics an integral part of their degree requirements. Their high profile commitments reflect a broader trend, discernible across the academy, toward articulating ethics and values and the cultivation of personal and social responsibility as important outcomes of…

Over 20 years ago, the first university rankings entered public attention in the United States. Since then, there have been numerous other efforts to rank or rate universities or university departments. University report cards have become both popular with the public and increasingly important for academic institutions. A detailed examination of…

In this paper, the author explains why programs or potential programs designed to serve education in music and the other arts should be evaluated on the basis of breadth of coverage of standards-based skill and knowledge, of depth of coverage of that skill and knowledge and on the proportion of a given student population that they reach. Those who…

Data were gathered on the number of correct oral responses of students in 104 elementary-school classrooms. Observations were categorized as either initial instruction lessons (presentations of new information) or practice lessons (review of previously learned information) based on teachers' verbal announcements. The study provides initial…

In this paper, I reflect on the education that is being conducted in two Israeli schools, often held up as exemplary, that have the declared educational aim of cultivating tolerance and recognition of otherness. What is "going on" with those presumed to be the primary beneficiaries (the children studying at these schools) of an…

According to expectancy-value theories, increasing the utility value of a learning activity should result in higher motivation and better learning. In contrast, self-determination theory posits that the content of the future goals (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) that enhance the utility value of the learning activity needs to be considered as well.…

Michael Jordan, Oprah, Muhammad Ali--three African Americans that most of the world recognizes. However, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Powell's successor Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan are probably equally as recognizable around the world. They are not just prominent Black leaders in their respective…

During inquiry activities, teachers need to ensure their students are making progress toward learning goals. The informative questioning cycle can help teachers and students achieve these goals through simple techniques that can redirect and improve the quality of students' learning while it is in progress. The informative questioning cycle…

Distance learning began as an institutional innovation, but as the field matures it faces challenges in finding its place in the community college mainstream. This chapter describes the best practices that helped the Extended Learning Institute at Northern Virginia Community College evolve into a mature distance learning program that is…

What people mean when they use the phrase "content standard" varies all over the lot. In some states, content standards are little more than category labels describing collections of curricular aims in particular content areas. If a state's content standards are too numerous, then teachers do not know where to aim their instructional efforts. This…

The program of research on teacher-student relationships described in this issue is an important part of the field of classroom learning environments, although it has its own distinctive and significant features. The questionnaire on teacher interaction (QTI), the main instrument used in this research, follows the strong tradition in learning…