During the 1990s, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded a number of large-scale initiatives designed to change the way mathematics and science are taught in schools. These efforts, called Systemic Initiatives, shared a common emphasis on aligning all aspects of the educational system in support of a shared vision of effective mathematics…

This book examines the real-world implications of cooperative learning techniques used in a fourth-grade mathematics class and sixth-grade social studies class in a culturally diverse, suburban elementary school. The book documents not just the successes, but also the failures and missed opportunities exhibited by participating teachers and…

This study examines courses in the marketing program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to compare the academic performance of students in traditional and learning community classroom settings. Two sections of students, a traditional 17-week course and a block scheduled 5-week course, served as the sample in the study. The block scheduling…

Teaching all students to high standards may not be achievable with the way the vast bulk of schools in the United States are organized and managed. Under current school structures and management practices, marginal improvements are possible; significantly raising student achievement is not. Accomplishing this requires dramatic improvements that…

This monograph presents the "Shared Responsibility Framework of Social Interaction for Collective Investment," which offers a perspective on social interaction in the process of change. The framework attempts to integrate the dynamic features of educational reform by attending to components linked with personal and collective investment in reform…

This paper presents information and strategies designed to enable teachers and counselors to understand, practice, and utilize the group process known as open classroom meetings. It considers the types of classroom meetings that can be utilized, such as social problem solving meetings, open-ended meetings, and educational diagnostic meetings. The…

Recent studies suggest unionization constrains administrators, impedes reform, and makes achieving accountability difficult. Interviews with 11 principals and analysis of the collective bargaining agreement between the New York City Board of Education and the United Federation of Teachers indicates rigid work rules prevent the flexibility and…

Based on thirteen examples of humanities programs across the U.S., this book attempts to address the question of what an effective core humanities curriculum should include. It looks at issues such as course requirements, standardized versus more flexible programs of learning, and the question of how responsive such programs should be to current…

Once used only to record special events in the classroom, video cameras are now small enough and affordable enough to be used to document everyday events. Video cameras, with foldout screens, allow children to watch their activities immediately after they happen and to discuss them with a teacher. This article coins the term instant video…

This paper presents baseline data on students (mean age 10 years) with severe emotional disturbances at four public schools, two in Kentucky and two in Vermont, who will be followed in an evaluation of the application of a coordinated, community-based system of care operating in both states. Data are summarized concerning the service systems…

Considered the problem of growing concern about future enrollment at community colleges and discussed programs designed to bring the college to the student rather than the opposite. (Author/RK)

Dean Troutt leads the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and makes a cogent argument for continuing studies for our nation's adults. (Editor)

Three key words--relevance, centrality, and innovation--are explored in this article. Four-year institutions and high schools may well envy the ease with which community colleges and technical institutes seem to meet the relevance criterion demanded of them. Occupational education should be the central function of post-secondary schools.…

Describes an environmental education program at the State University of New York's Ashokan Field Campus in the Catskills. Elementary school teachers and other participants use basic raw materials and early tools to learn the skills of the various crafts used by colonists as they settled the wilderness. (JR)

Teacher-child interaction in an open classroom was observed and teacher behavior and its resultant effectiveness was rated by means of a coding system developed early in the observation process. (JB)