As part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), videotapes of classroom instruction were collected from 231 eighth-grade mathematics classrooms in Germany, the United States, and Japan. Findings suggest that written reports about teaching disseminated to teachers may have little effect on classroom practices. (SLD)

Improving student achievement hinges on adopting effective, research-based learning practices and activities. These include parent involvement, graded homework, direct teaching, aligned time on task, tutoring, cooperative learning, mastery learning, and teaching of learning strategies. Three high-achieving schools are profiled. (MLH)

Chris Mercogliano's book tells how teachers and students at Albany Free School create their own curriculum daily in a free-wheeling atmosphere shunning competition, compulsory learning, and social-based status awards. Founded in 1969, the school advocates attending to emotional and interpersonal dimensions of students' everyday lives. (MLH)

Focuses on an Internet-based instructional activity called a WebQuest. Highlights WebQuest components and explains the pedagogical rationale for the activity's structure. Describes a WebQuest designed to help preservice and inservice teachers examine the core democratic principles of the United States and the reflection of those principles within…

Describes a two-week visit to a private alternative secondary school near Seattle, Washington. The school is committed to holistic forms of learning through integrated and experience-based learning programs that allow students more freedom, trust, and responsibility than traditional schools. Academic structure is built around six core programs:…

Considers assumptions made in by Delucchi (Michael) and Smith (William L.) (1997) in their postmodern explanation of student consumerism. Suggests, instead, that problems encountered in college classrooms are more likely the result of two interacting social forces: (1) educators' changing pedagogy; and (2) shifting classroom dynamics. Discusses…

Presents a literary answer to the question of how literary theory informs educational practice. Suggests how professors in education, English, foreign language and library sciences might learn to listen to one another and combine their scholarly experiences to better inform the literary practices in all classrooms. Explores the topic of literary…

Suggests a new conceptualization of homework as a task that infiltrates family and peer dynamics and the nature of teaching in community organizations and in school. Argues that homework has important benefits for peer communication, thereby increasing a sense of community. Asserts that students can develop an aptitude for future homework from the…

An Anglo faculty member remembers the early years of Navajo Community College, now Dine College, on the Navajo Reservation. Student-led inquiry circles differentiated the curriculum from those of other colleges and explored areas that the faculty, especially Anglo teachers, would not have. The board of regents was more involved than is customary,…

Bob Goerke, principal of Jacksonville (Oregon) Elementary School and Oregon's National Distinguished Principal for 1999, raised student achievement by encouraging his staff to collaborate on articulating the curriculum. Proceeding gradually, he has encouraged joint planning, team teaching, and ability grouping. A blend of warmth, daily classroom…

A model designed to more accurately describe instructional processes in transitional bilingual classrooms had four dimensions: language content, language of instruction, communication mode, and activity structures. Testing of the observational tool in four fifth-grade transitional bilingual classrooms found high interrater reliability, a need for…

This article explores factors leading to development of antisocial behavior in children and later negative outcomes including school failure, delinquency, and violence. Best practices in screening and early intervention for at-risk and antisocial children are identified. Recommendations are offered based on research-based practices, tools, and…

Investigates the effects on students' literacy learning of implementing recommended practices for primary programs, mandated in Kentucky's sweeping education-reform effort. Finds that students taught by four "high implementing" teachers outperformed students of "low implementing" teachers on every measure of literacy…

Discusses the results of a recent Canadian study in which the perceptions of superintendents, principals, and teachers were analyzed and compared in order to determine the actual level of agreement between the practices for instructional supervision outlined in the school division's policy manual and the actual practice in the schools governed by…

In two Texas elementary schools with similar student demographics but different school and district environments, teacher expectations about bilingual education students were influenced by differing bilingual education goals, beliefs about the value of student native language, teacher beliefs and district expectations about curriculum, and the use…