This research focuses on teacher instructional and curricular practices in gifted students' experiences in Islamic schools in the United States. Surveys were administered at private, full-time Islamic elementary schools to determine the extent to which differentiation practices for meeting the needs of gifted students and the integration of Islamic values were employed. Findings suggest that Islamic schools in the United States have limited programs for gifted students. A majority of teachers...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Strategies, Academically Gifted, Individualized Instruction, Teaching...
Teachers have the ability to give students opportunities to produce alternative, artistic responses to concepts they learn in school. When a student writes a poem for a character in an assigned story or engage in other activities, the classroom becomes a more interesting space, and students think in new ways. For gifted children, such opportunities can mean the difference between an enriched, challenging experience and just another dull day in class. Differentiated instruction can provide the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Student Reaction, Art Expression, Individualized Instruction,...
When a teacher plans instruction, he has in mind some prototypical students or group: someone like himself or some group similar to his in ability. With this conception of the prototypical students or group, he teaches only one-third of students to reach a level of achievement. At the end of semester, most teachers give their grades, generally reflecting students' IQ scores, according to a normal distribution curve. There are good learners and poor learners, faster learners and slow learners in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Methods, Outcomes of Education, Educational Change, Educational Objectives,...
Harriet Bishop (HB) Elementary School opened in 1996 with an articulated educational model developed collaboratively by the teachers, parents, and the administration. The model includes a mission, set of beliefs, and rationale for the instructional design. While nearly every school district or school has a formal mission, the statements articulated for HB are taken seriously. To support the mission, the students learn through an integrated curriculum using strategies such as differentiated...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Integrated Curriculum, Instructional Design, Academically Gifted, Student Interests,...
The students in 21st-century public middle schools are increasingly diverse in terms of language proficiency, cultural and ethnic representation, and varied levels of poverty; and, yet, they are being educated in a political climate that encourages mainstreaming special education and gifted services in the regular classroom. Given this context, this study sought to examine 48 middle school content-area teachers' beliefs about teaching in diverse classrooms to determine how these beliefs...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Middle Schools, Middle School Teachers, Language Proficiency, Ethnicity, Teacher...
The purpose of this study was to collect reliability and validity data on the School Characteristics Inventory (SCI), a quantitative measure based on Sternberg's (2000) theory of contextual modifiability. Data were collected from a national sample of middle school teachers and from teachers participating in a 3-year study investigating teachers' willingness to implement differentiated instruction or differentiated authentic assessments. Factor analysis indicated 6 factors (School Reputation,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reputation, Validity, Educational Innovation, Factor Analysis, Educational Change,...
In 2002-03, a qualitative study examined the experiences of 70 stakeholders connected to two community-based adult literacy programs in Manitoba, Canada. Self-directed learning was one of several elements that these research participants considered essential to the learning process. These literacy stakeholders defined self-directed learning as a combination of factors related to giving learners choices over what, how, and when to learn. They saw self-selected subject areas, assignment topics,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Literacy Education, Adult Basic Education, Adult Learning, Adult Students, Foreign...
Gifted students sometimes have been the recipients of a differentiated curriculum that is responsive to their needs, interests, and abilities without the concomitant understandings of the ramifications of learning that same curriculum. However, teaching gifted students the skills and content of a curriculum without helping them realize that the application or practice of the very things they learned in another context could have residual effects that place them in peril in a new or different...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Individualized Instruction, Teaching Methods, Student Needs,...
Teaching in a regular classroom has become more complicated than ever with increased student diversity and pressure to connect learning experiences to educational standards and test preparation. Although teaching to the middle is often what occurs in traditional classrooms to meet required standards, it is neither an appropriate nor meaningful method of instruction for coping with the inclusion of both students who are gifted those who have learning disabilities or other disabling conditions....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Independent Study, Gifted, Learning Disabilities, Student Diversity, Science...
Two children with similar physical disabilities were paired as mentor and mentee as a strategy of teaching self-determination skills. In this case study, the mentor was a junior in high school with a physical impairment and had possessed the desired qualities of self-determination according to transition rating scales. The mentee was a fifth-grade student with the same physical impairment, but according to adaptive behavior rating scales, needed to acquire self-determination skills as a means...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mentors, Physical Disabilities, Behavior Rating Scales, Adjustment (to Environment),...
Concerns about American's youth being productive workers, capable leaders and conscientious consumers in a global community are copious. The Committee for Economical Development (2005) reported that youth in the U.S. know little about the world or international issues and how this affects their future, acquire insufficient international skills and knowledge to maintain America's competitiveness in the global economy, possess minimum levels of proficiency in second languages, and attain...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Global Education, Physical Disabilities, Individualized Instruction, Elementary...
The number of children diagnosed with autism is on the rise, and teachers are seldom prepared to teach children with autism in their classes. However, it is possible to successfully include children with autism in general physical education settings by understanding inclusive physical education, individualizing instruction, targeting age-appropriate motor skills, using appropriate teaching strategies, managing challenging behaviors, utilizing unique and novel equipment, developing social...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Physical Education, Autism, Inclusive Schools, Individualized Instruction, Teaching...
Although, in many districts, physical educators are integral members of the Individualized Education Program (designed for students with disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism), in other districts, physical educators are only partially involved in the process or are not given the opportunity to be involved at all. However, the physical educator can provide more well-rounded assessments because they see the student involved in all three domains: the affective, the cognitive, and the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Individualized Education Programs, Disabilities, Individualized Instruction, Physical...
As educators it is crucial to cater to and meet all learning needs of students, including the needs of gifted and talented students. It is highly probable that each year in their classrooms teachers will have students that are advanced in mathematics and this will pose a challenge for them as teachers to meet their learning needs. Johnson (2000) states that, due to the sequential nature of mathematical content, pacing becomes a problem. If the situation does not change it is possible that...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Gifted, Talent, Interests, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Teachers, Student...
Some high achievers are not as easy to engage. Sometimes motivating high achievers is "a matter of being more sensitive to what they are interested in," says Don Ambrose, a professor of education at Rider University in New Jersey. But too often classrooms are not set up for that kind of sensitivity. Research shows that schools are consistently failing to provide opportunities for top students to realize their potential. Teachers are teaching to the bottom half of their classes with...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Curriculum Development, Educational Strategies, Academic Achievement, High...
Many teachers, fueled by their passion, classroom experience, and entrepreneurial verve, decide to start their own schools. With the needs of children driving their every decision, teachers can create successful schools where students thrive. In this article, teachers who established their own schools--from public charters to private enterprises--share a glimpse of their journeys.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Economic Development, Personal Narratives, Teacher Educators, Charter Schools,...
Quantifiable measures required by many state education laws and the federal No Child Left Behind Act may be driving out the innovative learning and pedagogy that help develop the creative right-brain thinking that Daniel Pink and others are calling for. "Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College," a report issued by the American Association of American Colleges and Universities, outlines a methodology widely used in studio courses in the visual arts,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Experimental Curriculum, Secondary Education, Mentors, Visual Arts, Creativity,...
Whether through movies, stories of immigration, or a myriad of other out-of-the-box ideas, teachers are finding ways to help immigrant students create new futures in a new country. This article looks at schools around the country to find truly creative strategies for teaching immigrant students that work for ESL specialists and regular classroom teachers alike.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teachers, Immigrants, English (Second Language), Educational Strategies, Immersion...
This case study addressed issues of ESL mainstreaming by examining a teacher's experiences and needs in teaching a social studies class where ESL students were mainstreamed. Extended observations, semistructured interviews, and documentary analysis served to unravel classroom dynamics, showing that the teacher modified various aspects of teaching to accommodate the needs of ESL students, which facilitated their access to the content, but at the same time created problems that had not been...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Experience, Individualized Instruction, Social Studies, Case Studies,...
All students are entitled to a respectful and meaningful education in this decade of No Child Left Behind, and yet attention to the gifted wanes with the emphasis on standards-based education and testing. Educators of the gifted have wrestled with this dilemma for many decades, even as early as the 1920s when Leta S. Hollingsworth, noted "mother of gifted education," first studied the issue of what constitutes a respectful and challenging education for the gifted. Since that time,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Planning, Independent Study, Academically Gifted, Federal Legislation,...
Keller's Personalized System of Instruction dominated the literature in the teaching of psychology and behavior analysis in the 1970s and 1980s. After this brief flourish of interest, PSI research trickled off to a nearly imperceptible stream in the 1990s. However, with the increasing availability and ease of use of computers and the internet, along with demand created by an ever-growing need for distance education, PSI is beginning to curry favor among a new generation of faculty members. The...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Educational Technology, Researchers, Individualized Instruction,...
Student retention has remained, over many decades, a strong area of concern in postsecondary education, for good reason. Retaining students is a key factor in an institution's maintenance of its stability and reputation, and it helps students and society to avoid the all-too-common consequences associated with a lack of education, including underemployment and poverty. Remedial and developmental education offerings are an important response to student attrition. Remedial and developmental...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Liberal Arts, Student Attrition, Remedial Instruction, School Holding Power, Higher...
Intelligence testing is an important part of any individualized education plan; however, a verbal test measure may not be appropriate for the child with a physical disability, visual impairment, and/or the inability to speak. A child with a physical disability may not be able to point accurately or build a tower with blocks; a child with a visual impairment may not be able to identify the colors in the small boxes contained in the test, and a child who is unable to speak may not have the same...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Intelligence, Educational Needs, Visual Impairments, Physical Disabilities, Testing,...
Adults with developmental disabilities are often excluded from participating in a variety of online activities, which are part of everyday life in our digital, knowledge-based society, using information and communication technology (ICT). Numerous barriers are associated with their non-participation, including a lack of basic computer and Internet skills. In recognition of these limitations, 11 adults with developmental disabilities were provided with individualized training and assistive...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Developmental Disabilities, Educational Technology, Assistive Technology, Literacy,...
In an attempt to find ways to improve persistence rates in its distance courses, the Cegep@distance introduced different forms of collaboration (peer interaction and collaborative learning activities) in selected courses. A mixed methodology was used to understand the effects of these interventions, relying on a quasi-experimental design for the evaluation of the effects of peer interaction. The objective of the study was to understand the impact of peer interaction and collaborative learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Quasiexperimental Design, Control Groups, Evaluation, Context Effect, Interaction,...
This article summarizes a unique approach to reducing the achievement gap that strategically blended differentiated curriculum with schoolwide enrichment teaching and learning. The theories of enrichment and instructional differentiation were translated into practice in an elementary school that had previously embraced a remedial paradigm. This enrichment approach resulted in improved student achievement and the reduction of the achievement gap between rich and poor and among different ethnic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Strategic Planning, Educational Change, Educational Environment, Individualized...
Understanding student performance in Algebra I is important because this course serves as the gateway to advanced coursework in mathematics and science through the remainder of high school and into postsecondary education. In the current study, we analyzed secondary data to evaluate the relationship between selected indicators of mathematics and the Algebra I performance of academically able and gifted learners who participated in above-level talent search testing. We used structural equation...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Homework, Academically Gifted, Structural Equation Models, Algebra, Individualized...
The present study evaluated the effects of classwide satiation and embedded reinforcement procedures on preschoolers' activity preferences during scheduled free-play periods. The goal of the study was to increase time allocation to originally nonpreferred, but important, activities (instructional zone, library, and science) while continuing to provide access to all free-play activities. The satiation intervention applied to preferred activities resulted in increased time allocation to the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Science Activities, Play, Time Management, Reinforcement, Preschool Children,...
This exploratory analysis examines the text selection practices of four pairs of pre-service and in-service teachers during a course on content area reading instruction in English language arts. Each pair independently negotiated responsibilities for selecting the texts used in a series of four lessons. Results of this analysis identify several factors in the process of text selection that may influence the kinds of texts teachers choose for their classrooms, including teacher knowledge of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Characteristics, Content Area Reading, Reading Instruction, Language Arts,...
African American students are overrepresented in special education and underrepresented in gifted education. This is in large part due to students' poor performance in core academic areas such as reading, math, and writing. Differentiating instruction in early grades could assist in closing the writing performance gap between African American and majority students, with the intended outcome of increasing the likelihood of students achieving their academic potential. Research-based strategies...
Topics: ERIC Archive, African American Students, Disproportionate Representation, Gifted, Special...
There is considerable evidence that well-designed multimedia resources can enhance learning outcomes, yet there is little information on the role of multimedia in influencing essential motivational variables, such as student engagement. The current study examines the impact of instructor-personalized multimedia supplements on student engagement in an introductory, college-level online course. A comparison of student engagement between courses that feature increasing numbers of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Feedback (Response), Online Courses, Individualized Instruction, Multimedia...
This article reports on a case study of an exemplary teacher who was a participant in a professional learning project, WriteIdeas. The teacher provided instructional support in writing to a targeted student with learning difficulties in an inclusive Year 8 English classroom. Analytical frameworks were developed and applied to the data that had been collected from various sources. The case study sheds light on the multi-faceted nature and complexity of providing responsive and tailored...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Writing Instruction, Inclusive Schools, Learning Disabilities, Teacher Effectiveness,...
In this article I seek to explore the ways in which different forms of differentiation can promote the inclusion of gifted and talented students in the classroom. Macbeth, the text being studied by this particular class, was the set text for the Standard Attainment Tests (SATs). This article discusses briefly the inherent problems involved in identifying gifted students and the difficulties they encounter in the classroom, before considering the forms of differentiation which might be employed...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Inclusive Schools, Secondary School Students, Academically Gifted, Females,...
This pilot qualitative case study was designed to investigate how the quality of life (QOL) of a child with Asperger's Disorder was impacted by her placement in an inclusive education setting which provided no specialized social skills instruction. Direct and indirect data were gathered and examined regarding themes that centered around QOL dimensions and exemplary indicators derived from the body of literature regarding QOL measurement for persons with disabilities. Positive results included...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Inclusive Schools, Individualized Education Programs, Participant Satisfaction,...
This research study focused on the special nature (i.e. different from mainstream education) of special education and the experiences of teachers with regard to the challenges they face in teaching the mentally handicapped child. Special schoolteachers have the responsibility to offer not only good, but also highly individualized and goal-directed instruction. The aim with the research was to investigate the following research questions: What are the experiences of teachers regarding the major...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Grouping (Instructional Purposes), Disabilities, Guidelines, Phenomenology, Special...
This paper reports a small-scale study conducted with 34 primary-school teachers in Hong Kong to determine how they meet the personal and academic learning needs of students officially identified with specific learning disability (SpLD) in their classes. Information was collected from the teachers via a structured questionnaire listing possible strategies for classroom use, and via an open-ended request for additional information from the teachers concerning their current practices. Results...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Learning Disabilities, Student Needs, Elementary School Teachers,...
Offering differentiated courses to cater for a wide range of ability can lead to "dumbing down" when brighter students choose easier courses, which they can handle well without undue effort. This occurred when differentiated English courses were introduced in the senior secondary certificate in the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia. To avoid this trend continuing, new differentiated courses reported on a common scale were developed. At the same time a new preparatory course...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Attitudes, Measures (Individuals), Foreign Countries, Individualized...
Identifying effective interventions to help children with autism reach their potential has been a source of disagreement among professionals and parents for decades. The complexities of the challenges that face children with autism, and uncertainty about best practices, have delayed progress. This article identifies seven critical program components that address some of the challenges associated with providing effective and efficient autism intervention programs. The results for children who...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Autism, Children, Intervention, Program Effectiveness, Barriers, Best Practices,...
The study investigated whether online professional development courses with different levels of support have different impacts on teacher outcomes. Variations of an online course for middle school algebra teachers were created for four experimental conditions. One was a highly supported condition, with a math education instructor, an online facilitator, and asynchronous peer interactions among participants available as participants worked through the course together. Another was a self-paced...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Algebra, Teaching Methods, Mathematics Teachers, Middle School...
The purpose of this study was to explore the opinions and perspectives of special education teachers and parents of children in special education regarding the implementation of individualized instruction within the special education system in the People's Republic of China. The study group consisted of a random sample of 344 parents of children in special education and 100 special education teachers in Beijing. Valid and reliable questionnaires were developed. Analysis of data from...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Questionnaires, Parents, Foreign Countries, Special Education Teachers,...
This action research project made an attempt to increase the reading comprehension levels of special education reading resource students by raising academic efficacy through public acknowledgement of improvement, scaffolded instruction through the use of differentiated teacher created matrices, and graphic organizers to solidify the relationships between events in the reading passages. Academic efficacy increased 21% P less than 0.001. The mean reading increased 0.88 grade equivalents and 6%...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reading Comprehension, Special Needs Students, Middle School Students, Action...
The purpose of this paper was to understand how Turkish mothers make meaning of the disability of their children with Mental Retardation (MR). Thirteen Turkish mothers who had at least one child with MR were the participants of the study. A qualitative interpretive framework was used for collecting and analyzing the data. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Mothers' beliefs on the nature, causation, and treatment of the disability of their children were the main focus of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mothers, Mental Retardation, Individualized Instruction, Foreign Countries, Parent...
Embedded in the contemporary issue of gifted education is the contentious notion of ability grouping. The debate surrounding appropriate educational provision for gifted students continues to argue the cognitive and affective influences of ability grouping on gifted students. While recognising the various forms of intellectual giftedness, analysis of the research about mathematically gifted students, especially during adolescence is scarce and underrepresented (Diezmann and Watters, 2002)....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Adolescents, Ability Grouping, Males, Grouping (Instructional...
This article describes one school's year-long effort to provide equitable access to the core curriculum to a very culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse student body while increasing teachers' needs for responsive professional development by piloting a dramatic change in the special education service delivery system with the support of professors from a local university. First, the authors briefly examine the literature on collaboration, co-teaching, and differentiated...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Delivery Systems, Core Curriculum, Democracy, Individualized Instruction, Special...
With contemporary classrooms becoming increasingly diverse, educational authorities, teachers and school administrators are looking to teaching and learning strategies that cater for a variety of learning profiles. A paradigm that is gaining ground in many educational circles is differentiated instruction. This model proposes a rethinking of the structure, management and content of the classroom, inviting participants within the learning context to become engaged in the process, to the benefit...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Individualized Instruction, Educational Research, Learning Theories, Student...
The purpose of this action research study was to examine the effect of an adapted swimming program in terms of improving the performance and behaviour of an individual with kyphosis-scoliosis, with the use of an individualised education approach. The sample consisted of an adult woman with kyphosis-scoliosis. The pre-swimming phase included a holistic evaluation of the abilities of the individual in terms of swimming performance, measurement of the behaviour according to the Rutter Scale and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Muscular Strength, Aquatic Sports, Physical Activities, Action Research, Holistic...
We examine the argument that teaching will be more effective if adapted to individuals--what we call the interaction/adaptation hypothesis. What is likely correct about this hypothesis (but needs more research) is that modality of instruction may need to be adapted to certain types of content (e.g., geometry vs. literature) or to domain of objectives (e.g., cognitive vs. psychomotor). What is also correct (and has much empirical support) is that instruction needs to be adapted to the learners'...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Prior Learning, Individual Differences, Teaching Methods, Evidence, Individualized...
South Valley Academy (SVA) believes in and provides structure for personalization. All students have an advisor that can give them the one-on-one attention they deserve. As an advisor, it was the author's job to quickly identify students in need of extra support and coordinate that support with other staff members and parents. SVA also believes in mastery learning. Students are not given one grade such as a B. Instead, evaluations are broken down into skills and habits to more clearly delineate...
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indian Education, Teaching (Occupation), Career Development, Educational...
While there is a resurge of interests and writings on the differentiated instructional process (DIP), and reflection in teaching is important and perennial, there is no known writing which explicitly displays the role of reflection in the DIP. Using a synergistic review of literature, the author contributes to filling this literary gap and clearly displays the role of reflection in the DIP. The literature reviewed displayed seven concepts: Reflection enables the process of adapting the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Techniques, Formative Evaluation, Classroom Environment, Teaching Methods,...
Do all schools need brick-and-mortar libraries? In this article, Johnson and Mastrion share their contradictory thoughts to the question. Johnson says some schools don't need library facilities or programs or librarians. These schools' teachers and administrators: (1) feel no need for a collaborative learning space; (2) feel the ability to process and communicate information in formats other than print is unnecessary; (3) view voluntary reading as a waste of time; (4) are content to provide...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Library Facilities, Libraries, Individualized Instruction, Media Adaptation,...