Describes an innovative new curriculum being implemented at Walnut Creek Middle School (Pennsylvania) and an advanced networked computer environment that supports it now and will also meet future needs. Topics addressed include physical facilities; networking goals, both short-term and long-term; fiber-optic cable versus copper; and future…

Some school reform programs, such as the "Copernican Plan," advocate long blocks of classroom instruction time to allow greater instructional flexibility and active student participation in classroom work. This study investigated the effectiveness of this strategy by examining the perceptions of high school teachers who were entering or…

"Great High Schools" are described as the first phase of a master plan to renew the physical facilities of the Pittsburgh School System from elementary school through middle school and high school. Various design features, technological innovations, instructional functions, and organizational and operational characteristics of these…

AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO REPORT WAYS OF ACCELERATING INNOVATION IN THE ENGLISH TEACHING. THROUGH A SERIES OF QUESTIONNAIRES TO STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS AND A MAILING LIST OF OPINION LEADERS, PRIORITIES WERE ESTABLISHED, AND INNOVATIVE AND UNDERUSED PROGRAMS OF VALUE WERE COLLECTED. THE STUDY ALSO ATTEMPTED TO LOCATE REASONS FOR THE UNSATISFACTORY…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Committee Reports Education Spending Bill: Senate Appropriations Bill Continues Cuts to Education Funding;…

SEVENTY-EIGHT EDUCATORS FROM 13 NORTHEASTERN STATES AND WASHINGTON, D.C. PARTICIPATED IN THE 3-DAY CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON TOPICS OF INTEREST TO BOTH STATE SUPERVISORS AND TEACHER EDUCATORS. MAJOR SPEECHES WERE (1) "A REVIEW OF RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC REGION" BY G.M. LOVE, (2) "REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS OF…

The presentation, review and evaluation of innovative vocational-technical curriculums in operation was the major function of a San Francisco conference sponsored jointly by the Center for Technical Education at San Francisco State College and the Center for Studies in Vocational and Technical Education at the University of Wisconsin. Major…

This preliminary report describes five social studies pilot programs in the counties of Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York, Pennsylvania. It is expected that these pilot endeavors will affect educators in the counties served by SPEEDIER as follows: 1) increase understanding of the newer content, ideas, and strategies in the pilot programs; 2)…

Describes the goals and outcomes of the "We Love Science Day" programs that resulted from the inservice course, "Creative Integration of Science in Elementary Education" for Pennsylvania teachers. Provides samples of the hands-on activities that were offered to students, parents, and teachers. Includes a calendar of…

The Parkway Program was designed to investigate the possibility that a high school could be organized independently of any fixed institutional facilities, whether these be a school building or a fixed faculty. One hundred and forty-three Philadelphia High School students were selected at random from among applicants representing all eight…

The described plan projects future demographic changes in the school district community; and examines the kinds of educational programs, school facilities, and financing that will be required. Following an introduction and a summary of the major recommendations, four chapters, each developed by a professional educational specialist in close…

PROGRESS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF THE OAKLEAF PROJECT, AN INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, WAS SUMMARIZED IN THIS INTERIM REPORT. THE OAKLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SUBURBAN PITTSBURGH WAS USED AS THE PROJECT LABORATORY FOR PRODUCING A CURRICULUM IN AN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT WHICH WOULD BE RESPONSIVE TO…

Driven by advances in instructional technologies, the processes of teaching and learning have come under new scrutiny in recent years. Some have called for renewed interest among faculty in the "scholarship of teaching", whereby a portion of their time goes to assessing their pedagogical styles and seeking technology-enhanced…

This volume describes for educators how to create simple models of the full costs of educational innovations, including the costs for time devoted to the activity, space needed for the activity, etc. Examples come from educational uses of technology in higher education in the United States and China. Real case studies illustrate the method in use:…

This study of the first year of an inter-organizational diffusion effort by a national educational laboratory, a state department of education, and nine local school districts focuses on the implementation phase within the Research, Development and Diffusion (RD and D) strategy of an aesthetic education program which uses the arts as the…