Background/Context: Discussion in classrooms has been cited as an activity integral to active participation in a democracy. Much research into classroom practice reveals that recitation, not discussion, is the most common form of classroom discourse. How teachers conceive of discussion, what they actually do when they attempt discussion with…

This book embraces the idea of listening to and learning from students. Although many educational theorists have long argued that incorporating children's perspectives about teaching and curriculum has the potential for increasing students' interest and participation in learning, their radical perspectives are still ignored or dismissed in theory…

This study investigated psychosocial mechanisms that may account for sex differences in internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety during adolescence using data from a prospective, multiwave study with a sample of early and middle adolescents (N = 350, 6th to 10th graders; 57% female). Girls showed higher initial levels of only depressive…

The high school dropout problem has been called a national crisis. Educators, researchers, and policymakers continue to work to identify effective dropout prevention approaches. One important element of such prevention efforts is the identification of students at highest risk for dropping out and then the targeting of resources to keep them in…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…

This packet contains technology-based learning activities for the transportation technology course at the orientation level (grades 9 and 10) of the Illinois Plan for Industrial Technology Education curriculum project. The packet includes a course rationale, mission, description, and course outline. Suggested learning objectives and suggested…

The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992, and the scale of the charter movement has since grown to 4,000 schools and more than a million students in 40 states plus the District of Columbia. With this growth has also come a contentious debate about the effects of the schools on their own students and on students in nearby traditional public…

K-8 centers combine grades in one location or school that are usually assigned to a separate elementary (K-5) and middle school (6-8). In 1998 the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, approved a pilot program to introduce to the district the concept of K-8 centers. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) initiated two K-8 centers during…

MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO WRITE, THROUGH INSTRUCTION IN JOURNALISTIC PROSE, IS THE PRIMARY AIM OF THIS NINTH-GRADE CURRICULUM GUIDE. IT CONTAINS FOUR UNITS--"AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WRITING PROCESS" (THREE LESSONS), "THE JOURNALISTIC REPORT" (FIVE LESSONS), "THE JOURNALISTIC ANALYSIS" (11 LESSONS), AND "THE…

This packet contains technology-based learning activities for the production technology course at the orientation level (grades 9 and 10) of the Illinois Plan for Industrial Technology Education curriculum project. The packet includes a course rationale, mission, description, and outline. Suggested learning objectives and suggested learning…

THIS STUDY AIMED AT--(1) CHARACTERIZING PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESSES OF DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS AND (2) DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING ON THE SUBJECTS' APPROACHES TO THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING PERFORMANCE. THE DESIGN INCLUDED 50 NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS AND 50 COLLEGE FRESHMEN DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS IN WHICH SUBJECTS WERE MATCHED ON…

This article discusses an instructional development system called "holistic" approach, a strategy to improve high school education in Chicago. The initiative includes new curriculum materials, aligned to district standards, as well as assessments and ongoing teacher coaching and training that are designed for the curriculum. The design…

A sample of 96 ninth-grade vocational agriculture students in 21 Illinois high schools participated in a study of the relationship between socioeconomic status and reading comprehension. An instructional unit was tested for reading level and rewritten at an easier level. Students were classified by socioeconomic class and randomly assigned to…

The transition from middle school to high school represents a significant event in the lives of adolescents, one that necessitates support from and collaboration among teachers, parents, counselors, and administrators at both educational levels. Successful transitions place particular emphasis on ninth-grade initiatives and can create one of…

In spring of 1990, pursuant to the federally funded School Health Education Project to Prevent the Spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, an annual survey was conducted of Illinois ninth graders (n=1,181) to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs concerning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Findings from the 1990 survey are…