This study describes the implementation and effects of a 32-week teacher-led spatial reasoning intervention in K-2 classrooms. The intervention targeted spatial visualization skills as an integrated feature of regular mathematics instruction. Compared to an active control group, children in the spatial intervention demonstrated gains in spatial…

Among 20 Ontario elementary school teachers (average teaching experience 13 years), none had ever taught creative dance but all felt it should be included in the elementary curriculum. Barriers to implementation included lack of training and confidence, little support from administrators and policymakers, and lack of resources and facilities. (SV)

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) was designed by McMaster University to measure the outcomes of childrens early years as they influence their readiness to learn at school. The EDI was piloted in several Canadian cities in recent years through two national initiatives. Building on these initiatives, Alberta Learning piloted the EDI as a…

Self-reports and teacher-ratings were used with eight year old children in assessing their attitudes toward school, teacher, self, and independence. Results indicated teachers tend to rate unidimensionally and their ratings correlate more highly with achievement. (Author/JKS)

Reanalysis of data on 154 British Columbia teachers and 2,533 third-grade students, drawn from the 1990-91 Reading Literacy Study of the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Despite British Columbia's reputation for whole-language reforms, teacher approaches to reading instruction were eclectic and unrelated to…

This study examined teachers' and parents' perceptions of pedagogical successes in, and problems with, the implementation of mixed-age classes in primary education. Questionnaires were completed by 44 teachers in 2 British Columbia school districts, and by 41 parents of children in mixed-age classes in those districts. Some of the teachers were…

Reports an 18-month ethnographic study of mentoring in two Canadian primary classrooms. Videotapes of student teachers' practices and audiotapes of coaching conversations with their mentors suggested that the contexts of mentoring structured the student teachers' experiences and that the mentors' practices resembled their teaching practices.…