This article comes largely from observations made on-the-job while teaching mathematics in a government high school in the ACT. The issues canvassed will be familiar to those who have considered the arguments for and against ability grouping in mathematics education. It is speculative in nature, hinting at a synthesis of opposing views in the ability-grouping debate and ending with a proposal about how the practice of streaming might be aligned better with numeracy outcomes.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Numeracy, Ability Grouping, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction,...
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...
Seeking information about preconceived notions of the educational needs of children who are gifted, we asked 285 undergraduates in prerequisite classes for teacher education to complete questionnaires. Topics addressed included the need for special services for children who are gifted, perceptions of forms of service delivery in elementary schools, and egalitarian versus elitist issues in gifted education. Preferences among our respondents fell in favor of services carried out in general...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Misconceptions, Educational Needs, Elementary School Students, Academically Gifted,...
Many schools are initiating projects that place laptop computers into the hands of each student and teacher in the school. These projects entail a great deal of planning and investment by all involved. The teachers in these schools are faced with significant challenges as they prepare for teaching in classrooms where every student has a computer. Using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model of change, this study investigated the concerns of teachers in the early stages of a one-to-one laptop...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Environment, Computers, Adoption (Ideas), Teacher Attitudes, Educational...
In this article, the author shares her perspectives on the Bringing Theory to Practice project and liberal education. The Bringing Theory to Practice project has developed strategies and support for the necessary research and for initiatives individual campuses have proposed to affect the multiple and troubling increases in forms of student disengagement. Association of American Colleges and Universities' (AAC&U) partnership with the project has emphasized liberal education's commitment to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, General Education, Colleges, Campuses, Audiences, Liberal Arts, Student Needs,...
Conducted for the Bringing Theory to Practice project, this literature review examines the theoretical and research bases for linking engaged learning, student mental health and well-being, and civic development. The findings of this review are discussed briefly in this article. Current prevention literature recommends a shift from targeted interventions toward community-level approaches in addressing students' mental health concerns. In this article, the author presents a definition of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Practices, Mental Health, Well Being, Time on Task, Learning Processes,...
Middle school teachers, like all educators around the nation, are encountering classrooms comprised of an unprecedented number of students from various cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. Due to the influx of immigrants entering the U.S. educational system, the number of students who speak a native language other than English has grown dramatically and will account for about 40% of the school-age population by 2040. The reality of a multicultural, multilingual student population dictates...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Strategies, Student Needs, Middle School Students, Teacher Effectiveness,...
Students have problems in their lives, but can teachers help them? Should teachers help? The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act and its emphasis on standardized test results have forced school systems to produce high scores, and in turn school administrators pressure teachers to prepare students for taking standardized tests. Teachers may want to deal with students' problems, but a required curriculum emphasizing skill drills has compromised teaching time. Teachers are not free to determine what...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Needs, Federal Legislation, Teacher Responsibility, Problem Solving,...
For many children, mathematics is an inherently difficult subject to learn. Between 5 and 8 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 14 have a particular type of cognitive deficiency that limits their aptitude to acquire knowledge and understanding of fundamental ideas in numeracy. Increasingly, researchers in the cognitive sciences are studying this deficiency under the name dyscalculia, a disorder in which normally intelligent children demonstrate specific disabilities in learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Instructional Design, Mathematical Aptitude, Mathematics Skills, Academic...
The first half of this article reviews literature on some of the unmet needs of gay and lesbian students in schools and highlights educators' attitudes and beliefs toward individuals with differing sexual identities. Although the majority of literature reviewed in this article does not portray educators as being supportive of gay and lesbian needs, the author does not dismiss those teachers, educators, administrators, Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) groups, and allies across the country who educate...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Minority Groups, Homosexuality, Sexual Identity, Educational Environment, Student...
Today's classroom is a rainbow of cultures, traditions, and languages. In Hmong culture, parents think of a teacher as an authority figure who understands student needs, knows what would help students learn to excel academically, and understands how to teach students to become productive individuals. In this article, the author presents some information about the Hmong culture that will help K-12 teachers understand their Hmong students and provide them with the very best education. (Contains 1...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Methods, Student Needs, Elementary Secondary Education, Hmong People,...
Most of the students at Milpera State High School are in Australia because of wars, famine, or economic devastation in their homelands. Many have suffered the additional loss of parents and other family members. Some have low (or nonexistent) literacy in their native languages, and many have had few opportunities for formal education. Such students enter high school well behind the grade level that their ages would indicate, and when they learn to read and write in English, they are learning to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Literacy Education, Educational Quality, Refugees, Multiple...
Arizona State University's basic writing "Stretch Program" has now been in existence for more than ten years. Statistical data for nearly 8,000 "Stretch Program" students continues to indicate that the program helps a range of at-risk students succeed. This is true, also, for students from under-represented groups, who comprise roughly 40% of "Stretch Program" students. "Stretch" has been replicated at other colleges and universities, but as with any...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Basic Writing, High Risk Students, Disproportionate Representation, Student Needs,...
Everybody is doing it: differentiating curriculum to make it deeper, broader, parallel, and more complex. No longer the private property of gifted specialists, differentiation is now a democratic pursuit of classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and anyone else who subscribes to "Educational Leadership." In an era of competency-based tests that seek to measure schools and students on the lowest common denominator--"Who knows their basic skills?"--differentiation has...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Improvement, Instructional Leadership, Academically Gifted, Educational...
In this article, we discuss the theory of successful intelligence as a basis for identifying gifted children, teaching such children, and assessing their achievement. First, we briefly review the theory of successful intelligence. Then, we describe how to teach and assess for successful intelligence. Next, we discuss and answer potential objections to teaching for successful intelligence. Then, we present some data based on teaching for successful intelligence. Finally, we draw some...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Intelligence, Gifted, Ability Identification, Teaching Methods, Cognitive Style,...
Both the current school reform and standards movements call for enhanced quality of instruction for all learners. Recent emphases on heterogeneity, special education inclusion, and reduction in out-of-class services for gifted learners, combined with escalations in cultural diversity in classrooms, make the challenge of serving academically diverse learners in regular classrooms seem an inevitable part of a teacher's role. Nonetheless, indications are that most teachers make few proactive...
Topics: ERIC Archive, School Restructuring, Inclusive Schools, Gifted, Cultural Pluralism, Profiles,...
I am honored by the articulate comments of the respondents to the questions raised in the lead paper, "Two Wrongs Do Not Make a Right: Sacrificing the Needs of Gifted Students Does Not Solve Society's Unsolved Problems." These five colleagues have proved themselves to be sensitive to the multiple issues and constituencies involved and highly constructive in their suggestions of steps to be taken to right the wrongs to which I referred. While we may not agree on some of the details...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Public Schools, Student Needs, Disproportionate Representation,...
Dr. Robinson's proposed action plan will serve the needs of highly achieving gifted students. However, defining giftedness as high academic performance based on traditional assessment procedures could reverse the field's fledgling success in supporting culturally diverse gifted children and youth. Changing the focus of equity in gifted education to economic representation will not decrease educators' responsibility to understand the learning needs of racially, culturally, and linguistically...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Poverty, Academically Gifted, Equal Education, Access to Education, Student...
In this article, I present a framework that can be used in our work with special groups of gifted students--one that recognizes the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), racism, and other limiting factors on educational achievement and provides a blueprint for interventions. This framework stems from Urie Bronfrenbrenner's ecological theory of development and emphasizes the role of social support systems in the development of talent. I then argue that two important reasons to retain a strong...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Cultural Influences, Minority Groups, Program Development,...
While Robinson argues that we are sacrificing the needs of gifted students--"we are punishing the innocent for the sins of a society that has been unable to conquer these problems" (p. 251)--I propose a different argument: We are punishing diverse students, also innocent victims, for the sins of a society and an educational system that have not adequately addressed historical and contemporary social injustices. Minority students who are gifted and have the potential to achieve at...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Minority Groups, Student Needs, Social Justice, Academic...
Korean children's school experiences as new immigrants to the United States are often emotionally turbulent because of environmental and psychological stresses that result when moving from one culture to another. With some basic knowledge and some suggested approaches, teachers can assist these children, whose numbers are increasing, to have a successful educational experience. This article presents 14 specific suggestions that teachers can use to help newly immigrated Korean children have a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Attitudes, Parent Teacher Conferences, Home Visits, Korean Americans,...
In response to information regarding students' postschool outcomes, the past 15 years have reflected an increased focus on improving transition education and services for youth with disabilities. Three specific initiatives characterize this development: (a) federal special education and disability legislation; (b) federal, state, and local investment in transition services development; and (c) effective transition practices research. Outcomes of these initiatives include (a) an expanded...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Needs, Transitional Programs, Family Involvement, Student Development,...
In this article, the ways in which special education for students with learning disabilities was perceived as "special" historically and what we know about effective special education instructional practices for students with learning disabilities currently are summarized. The influence of monitoring progress, providing explicit and systematic instruction, understanding the critical factors associated with progress in academic areas such as reading and math, and teaching students in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Integrated Services, Learning Disabilities, Special Education, Teaching Methods,...
Teaching children who are victims of Katrina is not a multicultural education issue per se. However, there are some intersections between the victims of Katrina and the educational responses to them, and some of the primary constituent groups and issues that multicultural education represents and intends to serve. These are children of color and poverty who are marginalized in schools relative to resource allocation, learning opportunity, and academic achievement. Unfortunately, the lessons...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Multicultural Education, Student Needs, Educationally Disadvantaged, Disadvantaged...
The Principals Excellence Program (PEP), a cohort-based professional development project for administrator-certified practitioners, is one of 24 projects across the United States supported by federal funds from the No Child Left Behind legislation. The three-year program is conducted through a partnership between Pike County School District, a high-need rural system in Central Appalachia, and the University of Kentucky, located 150 miles away. A major goal for PEP is improved school leadership...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mentors, Federal Legislation, Holistic Evaluation, Leadership Effectiveness, School...
Every year the college rankings in "U.S. News & World Report" raise voices disparaging the rankings' methods, validity and contribution to status-driven consumerism. Now, voices are rising against a September 2002 "Worth" magazine article, which ranks preparatory schools not according to the quality of education, but merely on which schools appear to be the major feeders for Harvard, Princeton and Yale. All of this fuss over rankings--whether flawed, limited or simply...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Higher Education, Rating Scales, Student College Relationship, College Environment,...
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,...
As the number of adult students enrolled within higher education programs increases, educational institutions must respond by addressing their needs on a continual basis. Adult learners possess a wide variety of characteristics which are not common to a traditional student, including personal life barriers, financial responsibilities and different learning styles. This article identifies some of these characteristics, and discusses ways for administrators and educators within higher education...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Higher Education, Adult Learning, Adult Students, Learning Experience, Student Needs,...
Adult learners are being attracted to university programs based on the granting of either academic credit or the recognition of prior learning (RPL). Typically, this attraction is being aligned to fast-tracking degree attainment or student cost effectiveness. It appears from the literature that there are varied interpretations and application of RPL within Australian universities. This can be problematic for adult learners with diverse experiences and expectations. Given the uniqueness of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Prior Learning, Higher Education, Adult Education, Adult Students,...
Current social and economic circumstances are presenting universities with a more diverse general student intake whose support needs are increasingly similar to those of traditionally defined equity groups. This paper examines a Murdoch University equity program to demonstrate that simply increasing access does not always translate into increased benefit. It presents an argument for the restructuring of existing equity enabling programs and increasing transitional support for all students to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Access to Education, Student Diversity, Student Needs, Equal Education, Educationally...
Syllabi from undergraduate and graduate courses offered at a small, private liberal arts college in central New York were examined to determine what percentage contained information that would make it easier for students with disabilities to access supports or accommodations to improve their success in the course. A total of 111 syllabi were examined for the presence or absence of information relevant to students with disabilities. Given that a significant percentage of the course syllabi...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Special Needs Students, Student Needs, Disabilities, Course Descriptions, Liberal...
High school students engaging in career decision making encounter significant challenges due to changing social and economic conditions. The student needs assessment focus of this study provides unique insights into student perceptions of the effectiveness of high school career programs. Results indicated that Grade 12 students value resources that support transitions, have a passion for career, and report a wide range of occupational choices. However, students may not perceive career...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Needs, High Schools, Needs Assessment, Program Effectiveness, Public Policy,...
In examining recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas, David Monk begins by noting the numerous possible characteristics of rural communities--small size, sparse settlement, distance from population concentrations, and an economic reliance on agricultural industries that are increasingly using seasonal and immigrant workers to minimize labor costs. Many, though not all, rural areas, he says, are seriously impoverished. Classes in rural schools are relatively small, and teachers tend...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Recruitment, Teacher Competencies, Teaching Skills, Geographic Location,...
Many young children in immigrant families do not have good access to health and education services. To the extent that their life prospects are compromised as a result, these children--and the entire society--suffer. This article discusses the needs of children from birth to age eight, with a particular focus on the education needs of young children in immigrant families. Key observations include the following: (1) Children's skills in kindergarten and their achievement at the end of third...
Topics: ERIC Archive, After School Programs, Young Children, Family Literacy, Immigrants, Interpersonal...
This paper reviews how service learning pedagogy is being used by one program to 1) increase the visibility of and advocacy for school health education and the coordinated school health program (CSHP) and 2) meet the needs of students in its master's level professional preparation programs. Three benefits to employing service learning are emerging: practice, relevance, and internalization of health education competencies; student and school district "buy in" of CSHP; and the building...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Comprehensive School Health Education, Health Programs, Service Learning, School...
Many paraeducators work with individuals with disabilities and follow them throughout their day to their various classes. In such cases, the paraeducator may be asked to attend physical education with the child with a disability and do tasks he or she is not trained to do. Paraeducators can be extremely helpful in many ways, but there is a need to provide them with training and support that will help them to become an asset to a physical education class and develop a feeling of ownership....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Physical Education, Disabilities, Paraprofessional School Personnel, Staff...
This article presents a framework that identifies areas of expertise necessary for mainstream teachers to be prepared to teach in classrooms with native and non-native English speakers. Currently, explicit attention to the linguistic and cultural needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) is lacking in most teacher preparation programs. A recent AACTE survey of 417 institutes of higher education found that fewer than one in six required any preparation for mainstream elementary or secondary...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Effectiveness, Linguistics, Second Language Learning, Literacy, English...
In this time of high stakes testing, teachers' working with English Language Learners (ELLs) becomes a high-stakes teaching act. Nationally, mandated testing is increasing in the schools even as school demographics are changing. The growing numbers of language-minority students come with varying levels of English proficiency, from little or none to fluent bilingualism. Teachers find it difficult to bring all their native-English-speaking children along to an acceptable level of performance in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Strategies, Literacy Education, Language of Instruction, Testing, Second...
In the United States in the last few years, a considerable amount of attention has been given to literacy programs as a way to close the academic gap between English-only (EO) students and English language learners (ELL). Teacher education programs around the country have been dealing with issues of academic inequity for some time. There are no recipes for effective teacher education programs. Classroom inquiry, however, has been identified as a useful approach that assists teacher candidates...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Student Needs, Teacher Education Programs, Second...
This article unravels the political, public, and private discourse shadowing Mexican immigrants in the Southwestern U.S. The author illustrates how the dominant discourse with regard to immigration in the U.S. has led to the dehumanization of migrant people significantly impacting what occurs in their daily lives and directly influencing the perceptions of both policymakers and educators. Negative connotations are ascribed to the movement of people of color the moment they cross the border. The...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mexican Americans, Cultural Differences, Immigrants, Mexicans, Public Opinion,...
In this article, the author discusses African American researchers' perspectives on the experiences, impact and success of Black teachers with Black students in public schools. This study builds on an earlier study that focused specifically on these researchers' insights about the impact of the "Brown versus the Topeka Board of Education" decision on Black teachers, Black students, and Black communities. In this study, the author attempts to focus on what is known about successful...
Topics: ERIC Archive, African American Students, African American Teachers, Teacher Student Relationship,...
With the inclusion of students identified as at-risk or with serious behavior problems in general physical education, behavior management has become ever more challenging. A positive behavior-management plan that fosters behavior changes through support and intervention, rather than punishment used to control students, can prove effective. Physical educators need to identify, observe, and analyze the student behaviors they wish to prevent or develop; design and implement a plan, customized to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Physical Education, Behavior Problems, Inclusive Schools, Student Behavior,...
Standard-driven curriculum, evidence of learning through assessment, meaningful performance outcomes, and the growing diversity of student populations are transforming how inclusion is implemented and evaluated. To provide all students with a quality instructional program that meets individual educational needs in the context of political and social justice, a culture of collaboration, community building, and reflective practice is needed. The areas of socio-educational cultural change...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Physical Education, Student Needs, Program Administration, Educational Change, Equal...
First Year Experience (FYE) programs have been implemented in universities and colleges to address the emergent needs of matriculating students. It is well documented that many students are not prepared for the rigors of postsecondary education and FYE programs are designed to supplement the necessary academic and life skills. These academic and life skills range from knowing the location of the library to seeking out appropriate personnel when personal issues arise. Evaluating programs...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Freshmen, Academic Persistence, Longitudinal Studies, Student Needs,...
The ever increasing availability of mathematics education software and internet-based multimedia learning activities presents teachers with the difficult task of deciding which programs are best suited for their students' learning needs. The challenge is for teachers to select pedagogical products that not only promote significant mathematical learning but also offer user-friendly functions, and are useful in the classroom. With the aim of assisting teachers in the selection process, this...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mathematics Education, Multimedia Materials, Computer Software, Data Analysis,...
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...
This article deals with the increasing academic pressure facing five-year-old children who are in kindergarten schools in the U.S. Part of the reason kindergarten is becoming more and more academic is a growing understanding of the importance of early learning and the capabilities of young children. Proponents of ramping up standards in early elementary education tend to focus on the numbers: more children learning to read or do math sooner must be good. These achievements, however, may come at...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Kindergarten, Young Children, Child Development, Academic Standards, High Risk...
Many people in higher education are concerned about the declining numbers of foreign students attending New England colleges and universities. Restrictions on student visas since the September 11 terrorist attacks, along with increasing competition from higher education institutions across the country and around the globe, have both contributed to the decline. While New England higher education and economic leaders work to re-assert the region's magnetism abroad, there is also a need to refocus...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Immigrants, Economic Impact, Educational Status Comparison, Foreign Nationals,...
New England institutions have long been in the forefront of recruiting foreign students. Recently, the numbers of foreign students studying in the United States has declined partly as a result of visa problems, widespread perceptions that the United States no longer welcomes foreign students and increasing anti-Americanism abroad. The primary barrier to increasing numbers of foreign students, however, has been, and still is, lack of financing. Foreign students are not eligible for most forms of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Recruitment, Foreign Students, Student Loan Programs, Access to Education,...
This article is part of a yearlong series that will more closely examine the recommendations made in ACTE's postsecondary reform position statement and highlight best practices for implementing each of the recommendations. The sixth recommendation in ACTE's postsecondary reform position statement is to increase financial support for low-income students. Cost barriers and the absence of strategies to increase financial aid often result in fewer opportunities for all students to access...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Postsecondary Education, Student Financial Aid, Vocational Education, Grants, Low...