In the digital age, numerous technological tools are available to enhance educational practices. When used effectively, student engagement and mobile learning are significantly increased. "Social Media in Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice" contains a compendium of the latest academic material on the usage, strategies, and…

There are increasing concerns regarding the inability of many teachers to effectively reach children living in inner city areas. Numerous data show that despite previous efforts toward reform, students are still performing below expectation. In an effort to rectify this problem, many are looking more closely at the underlying issues that may be…

Developed by educators in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, public schools, this book shows ways to engage students in high quality work, reveal information about students that cannot be seen through standardized tests, and help students become responsible for their own academic growth. The Assessment Portfolios described are used in 21 Milwaukee schools…

Offers a summary of the first pastoral letter of the black bishops of the United States, "What We Have Seen and Heard." Sees the Catholic schools representing an opportunity for quality education and character development to many in the black community. (DMM)

This article describes a project which involved inner city elementary grade children with disabilities in writing and performing their own plays. A four-step playwriting process focuses on theme and character development, problem finding, and writing dialogue. The project has led to improved reading skills, attention, memory skills,…

This collection of articles, an EE (Environmental Education) Toolbox resource, provides a context of theory and example to complement the suggestions and activities in the Toolbox Workshop Resource Manual. Section one, "Definitions of EE," describes the scope and context of EE and provides historical background, specific definitions and…

This experimental curriculum guide for bicycle safety begins with a chapter listing vehicle and traffic laws pertaining to bicycling. Chapter 2 of the guide is organized by grade level. Appropriate lesson plans for bicycle safety are presented with aims, concepts activities and behavioral objectives. A 24-item list of activities summarizes these…

This guide is designed for New York City school teachers who will conduct tennis classes for about 50 students while using limited tennis facilities. The insides of school buildings and school playgrounds will constitute the "courts" for these lessons. This type of introduction to the sport is intended to give students a sense of the…

If school improvement efforts are to succeed, it seems clear that institutions of higher education, school districts, and state education agencies must work together to create new strategies, incentives, and options that will promote educators' learning of the new practices and perspectives that will change the core of educational practice. The…

Discusses the teaching of ecology and environmental education in urban environments by using field trips to city parks, airports, nuclear power plants, water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, incinerators, foundries, and forests. (MKR)

Presents the history and focus of the Urban Community School (UCS), an alternative community school in Cleveland, Ohio. Highlights innovative programs to address such issues as racial diversity, alternatives to violence and gender bias. Discusses funding sources in terms of UCS' growing budget and sliding scale tuition rates. (BCY)

Noting that one of the biggest challenges facing teachers in the late 20th century is knowing how to help students learn to use a computer as a literacy tool, this brochure shares six ways that one kindergarten teacher successfully incorporated the computer as an informal literacy tool in her classroom. The brochure first discusses the teacher…

Defines, illustrates, and evaluates three approaches to home-school collaboration: School to Home Transmission, Interactive Learning; and Partnership for School Success. Discusses pitfalls to avoid. (DM)

Recent classroom environment research has investigated the association between students' cognitive and affective learning outcomes and their perceptions of psychosocial characteristics of their classrooms. The findings of these studies suggest that student outcomes can be improved by creating environments that are conducive to learning. This study…

Independent neighborhood schools in inner-city areas serve primarily minority students. They are in a position to assist American educators in understanding the best methods of teaching minorities who usually do not reach their full academic potential in public schools. Teachers in independent schools use culture and sometimes religion as a basis…