This article explores the ways in which the language of the hero's journey can serve as a heuristic for teachers at all stages of their professional experience. Teachers in Canada and the United States were interviewed via Skype about their experiences around writing and literacy. Four teachers are profiled here, two from Canada and two from the…

Student suicide is a serious issue facing intermediate/secondary schools. Teachers have the potential to play important roles in addressing such risk. This study utilized semi-structured interviews with six intermediate/secondary teachers in Newfoundland concerning their experiences of working with a student who had returned to the classroom after…

Teachers in inclusive classrooms are challenged to provide reading instruction for students with a wide range of instructional levels. This article reports on the implementation of guided reading in four middle years inclusive classrooms, the impact on student engagement and reading progress, and teacher perspectives on the guided reading…

Placed within the context of rural teaching and learning and the use of new technologies, this paper presents a comparative study of three technological approaches to the presentation of curriculum in schools. Supported by three different research projects in one Canadian province, it highlights three areas of e-learning: the use of video…

Educators have long recognized that parental and community supports are important underpinnings for children's success in school. With respect to the teaching of writing, however, little research has been conducted to provide evidence of effective practices teachers use to involve parents and communities. As part of a national Canadian study of…

The term "open education" has often been confused with the concept of open area classrooms, not only among educators and the public, but in research as well. The effects of these two concepts were tested in a study of 56 teachers and their students in fifth- and sixth-grade classes in British Columbia. The results showed classroom types…

One in a series of reports on a gifted program jointly formed by three school systems in Alberta, Canada, this report presents information about the development, implementation, evaluation, and revision of the Gifted and Talented Program in the Camrose school system. The Camrose program is the smallest of the three, consisting of pull-out programs…

The academic progress and self-concept of North York (Ontario, Canada) learning-disabled and educable retarded students were studied, with particular reference to the effectiveness of placement in mixed exceptionality versus single exceptionality programs. Information was gathered from the published special education literature, students' files,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which principals, teachers, parents, and students report that the recommendations of the 1981 Middle School Report were being implemented in each of the five middle schools in the North York (Ontario) school system. The 13 recommendations addressed such issues as the philosophy of the middle…

This document reports the results of a Canadian survey that questioned approximately 4,000 students and 200 teachers on marine related topics. The student population consisted of children from the fifth through ninth grades. Their questionnaire included items on: (1) attitudes toward the ocean, wildlife, and marine resource issues; (2) orientation…

In classes of four different sizes (16, 23, 30, and 37), teachers' expectations, student achievement in six areas, student and teacher attitudes, student self-concept, and various classroom process variables were studied. Class size effects were only noted for teachers' expectations and for one area of mathematics achievement. (Author/GDC)

This study compared teachers instructed in use of Landsat satellite maps through one-way television and simultaneous telephone group conferencing to another teacher group instructed directly. Thirty teachers of intermediate children in Edmonton and Sherwood Park, Alberta, received 5 hours of instruction about Landsat maps over a 2-week period;…

An eight-stage model was developed for implementing a five-month program of sustained silent reading. Data from 65 intermediate grade classrooms (using individual students as analysis units) revealed no significant differences on standardized and informal measures and no significant interactive effects. The teachers' summative evaluation found the…

A study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and degree of implementation of the reading dimension in the English Language Arts curriculum in grades 4, 8, and 11 of English language schools in Manitoba, Canada. At each grade, the student test assessed five major areas of reading performance. Assessment materials consisted of a student test, a…

A study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and degree of implementation of the reading dimension in the English Language Arts curriculum in grades 4, 8, and 11 of English language schools in Manitoba (Canada). At each grade, the student test assessed five major areas of reading performance. Assessment materials consisted of a student test, a…