The purpose of this article is to promote a deeper, more complex understanding of the challenge that "recess time" poses to elementary school educators and to thereby understand the practices in which they are currently engaging. Because teachers are expected to shepherd students through a vast array of learning standards while remaining…

Many preservice teachers come into teacher education programs with a rule-based view of mathematics, a view that is to a large extent indicative of their previous school experiences. In teaching preservice elementary school teachers, this author has used his instrumental understanding as the starting point for rich discussions about the…

This article describes a research study in which a biologist and his research on Antarctic seabirds became part of an integrated science course for prospective elementary teachers. Students used the scientist's database on seabird chick growth rates for an experimental design investigation while the "regular" classes had a single science…

The purpose of this bulletin is to help teachers, supervisors, administrators, and other educators improve the English skills of culturally different youth. In an effort to gather available research and successful classroom practices, the Secondary Schools Section of the U.S. Office of Education invited a group of leaders to participate in a 3-day…

The purpose of this election-education program is to help develop an informed electorate and to instill in future voters an appreciation of the importance of the right to vote. It provides a framework for discussions of the electoral process and gives students in grades three through six an opportunity to face the responsibilities and challenges…

This publication is designed to provide assistance to local school districts in Illinois in meeting two new requirements: (1) to submit objectives for student learning to the State Board of Education which meet or exceed the State Goals for Learning and (2) to identify local goals for excellence in education. School districts have the option to…

Analyzes efforts by school districts reorganizing science curricula in Illinois. Describes state goals for Illinois: Knowledge and Vocabulary; Science-Technology-Society; Scientific Enterprise; and Science Process. Discusses how school districts emphasize the 4 state goals for grades 3, 6, 8, and 11. (YP)

Using collaborative critical reflection as an index, this study examines the asynchronous and face-to-face discourse of 28 suburban Chicago elementary teachers developing problem based learning (PBL) curriculum. Statistical analysis of the corpus produced by the 2 mediums shows that the asynchronous online network emerges as the medium of choice…

These materials are for use by elementary and middle school teachers in the state of Illinois. This document contains five modules for teaching water conservation. Topics include: (1) "Life Depends on Water,""What is Water?" and "The Hydrologic Cycle"; (2) "The Treatment of Drinking Water"; (3)…

The birds of Illinois and their particular habitats are explored in this guide which is a part of a series of Nature Discovery publications. The materials are designed to directly supplement the natural science curricula and to complement other subject areas including social studies, language arts, music, and art. The program is formated for…

These materials are for use by elementary and middle school teachers in the state of Illinois. This document contains five modules for teaching land use and solid waste concepts. Topics include: (1) "Earth's Closed System"; (2) "Waste Alert"; (3) "Solid Waste/Litter"; (4) "Hazardous Waste"; and (5)…

This handbook presents information on the minimum requirements for teacher certification in the state of Illinois. Requirements are listed for: (1) certification by transcript evaluation; (2) application procedures for individuals with foreign credentials; (3) qualification of teachers--utilization of certificates; (4) waiver of additional student…

A survey of a random sample of Illinois elementary, junior, and senior high school second language teachers investigated three areas: (1) teacher preparation, training, and oral proficiency levels; (2) percent of the target language used by the teacher in the classroom within a specific time span; and (3) the teacher-perceived usefulness and…

Research on a week-long internship in inner city Chicago schools and community agencies revealed that "border crossing" can assist social studies preservice teachers in learning about the inner city, but critical reflection and long term program commitment to unlearning racism and developing multicultural teaching competencies are…