This discussion of collaborative training of early childhood educators promotes increased collaboration between regular and special early childhood educators. It examines teacher competencies in curriculum, class management, professional consultation and collaboration, teacher-family relationships, child-child interactions, exceptional children,…

Discussion of peer-based collaborative learning focuses on two related studies: a micro-structure comparative analysis of students' psycho-social behaviors in computer-based collaborative learning experiments conducted in face-to-face and distributed learning environments; and an examination of cognitive effects of peer-based collaborative…

Describes a five-step process by which preschool teachers can meet the individual needs of all children, including those with disabilities, while maintaining a group instructional format. The process links assessment to curriculum, has planned teacher-directed individualized group instruction, implements behavior management techniques, and…

Growing student diversity, reports and government mandates, ninth-grade transition problems, and middle-school influences have produced new enthusiasm for high-school reorganization. Restructuring approaches such as block scheduling, differentiated instruction, academic teaming, house plans, career academies, heterogeneous grouping, and integrated…

Focusing on assessments of the performance of one fourth-grade student, the article makes a case for teaching and moral perception (the capacity to comprehend the unique needs and aspirations of individual students), arguing that assessing students in the absence of moral perception is a serious mistake. (SM)

Examines four key themes from a national study, focusing particularly on beliefs and practices of middle school teachers and principals as they relate to academically diverse learners. Provides insight into how middle level educators think about and address academic diversity in their schools and classrooms, and suggests areas for staff…

Belief in a "web of support" helped a San Diego-area high school make structural adjustments that foster inclusion while challenging all students. Inclusive curriculum design requires planners to develop a central issue or question, identify richly detailed source material, and design a culminating project and interrelated lessons. (MLH)

The Central Valley (California) Educational Research Consortium asked 118 area principals what they were doing to improve their lowest achieving students' education. Respondents are focusing on individualizing instruction, aligning curricula to standards, advocating teaching to standards and tests, promoting new curriculum methodologies, and…

Two years ago, Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington, committed to making each student's sojourn a personalized learning experience, even in a school of 1,500. The teachers at Shorecrest took a closer look at their student population and found out several unmet needs of the significant minority group of students. Among those findings…

The requirements of (NCLB) and the 2004 reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) emphasize higher standards and achievement of all students. Fundamental changes are being implemented in organizing for instruction, staffing, and differentiating instruction. Leaders recognize the wall must come down between general and special education…

In this article, the authors discuss three reform strategies designed to produce educational equity. The first strategy, heterogeneous grouping, does away with the controversial practice of placing students in different tracks based on their ability, which can polarize the student population into pro- and anti-school camps, create a "caste system"…

This study is about examining beginning teachers' needs in relation to helping primary school children with mild learning difficulties. Both pre-service and in-service teachers were approached to assess their experience and needs in this area. In common with previous work in Ireland and internationally, beginning teachers were found to have…

This book includes ideas, strategies, techniques, and lessons for the inclusion of students with mild disabilities in regular classes (grades 6 through 12). An introduction discusses inclusion in the context of federal legislation, the continuum of services model, essential personnel, and inclusion models. The first section of the main text…

This booklet identifies major trends and practices in special education and relates them to current and expected changes in school policies and practices. Four specific trends are identified as grounded in evolutionary social forces that are likely to persist and result in lasting changes in school and society. These trends include integration and…

Mandatory introductory level college courses, or "service courses," tend to be taught in lecture format, in a linear order from the instructor's point of view, and to classes of anywhere from 50 to 600 or more students. Students have individual differences and diverse learning styles which are difficult to address in a large class.…