Suggests that watching for certain signs can help music teachers to improve students' performance in jazz solos. Recommends dealing with problems one at a time beginning with the most blatant and focusing on good communication skills as the basis of improvisation. Discusses lack of spacing, repetition, planning, form, and finality. (DK)

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of recent educational reform efforts in Washington State and to determine what educators believe to be the most important future areas of focus. In particular, the researchers wanted to determine whether school-wide improvement efforts (i.e. School Improvement Plans (SIPs), School Improvement…

Based on the theory of multiple intelligences, this guide is designed for teachers as they assist students through a progression from understanding multiple intelligences and their own intelligence strengths to developing strategies to set clear educational goals, discover their passions, and develop self-advocacy. The guide's units, each of which…

This paper discusses whether critical thinking can be taught in the college classroom. It argues that education in general provides the tools for thinking, and therefore, improves the capability for better thinking. The Alverno College faculty, as an example, has improved student critical-thinking ability because the faculty stresses explicitness,…

A guidance counselor implemented a 10-week practicum intervention designed to reduce the number of suspensions and repeat offenses among 9th and 10th graders. A team approach was used to implement a discipline and counseling model that incorporated guidance services as a routine intervention strategy with repeat offenders. The intervention program…

Phase II of a three-phase study developed a statewide overview of compensatory education in Texas and examined instructional practices and other variables related to a broad definition of student success. Questionnaires (developed in Phase I) received from 3,235 campuses (a 55% return) collected descriptive information on compensatory programs and…

This Language Arts Framework provides a description of what students should know and do in English, language arts, and reading classrooms, kindergarten through twelfth grade. The framework addresses the interrelatedness of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. The intent is to raise expectations for student performance, provide…

This teaching guide urges the use of sentence combining as a technique to improve both the reading and the writing of students. The guide offers practical activities in sentence combining in forms that will make classroom teaching more interesting for the instructor and elicit more productive work from the student. The guide is divided into the…

Block periods of 75, 90, 100 minutes, or longer require good teachers to continue to develop and improve their teaching skills while keeping the student engaged over a long period. The fewer class meetings in the semester or year, and the rich potential for creativity and innovation provided by the longer period all combine to offer a challenge…

Offers six suggestions for making the college student's encounter with the reading clinic a pleasant and successful one. (FL)

The teacher's job is to help people to learn; memory is an integral part of the learning process. The author argues that the memory can be developed by specific methods and that teachers can help their students to learn more effectively by showing them some simple way to improve memory. (Author)

Nine teachers in programs serving school-aged children or adults with severe disabilities received training on applying rules in data-based instructional decisions. After one-two years of implementation, the teachers' decision making and the effect of these decisions on student progress were evaluated. Some support was found for the benefit of…

Lesson planning can be divided into three types--content, process, and context. Each type helps to organize classroom activities, and together they establish the ambiance of the learners' journey. Content plans focus on information students should know. Instructional strategies designed to introduce or elaborate the content presentation should be…

This publication reviews empirical research in an effort to: (1) help educators improve their understanding of self-concept development; and (2) identify effective strategies for developing positive student self-concepts. An introduction and a brief section on definitions is followed by a discussion of early (pre-school) self-concept development.…

A music teacher specialist at an elementary school with a typical kindergarten music program implemented a 10-week practicum intervention designed to improve the auditory sequencing skills of kindergarten children through increased instruction in music. Test scores on screening measures indicated the need to improve the children's auditory memory…