Eight years ago the Cambridge, Massachusetts, public school system initiated alternative schools and methods to make education more relevant to various students. The article describes seven different alternative schools and programs for basics, moral development, preparation for work, relaxed classrooms, or discipline. (MF)

Describes a study done at a public community college that assessed the teaching styles of faculty, their technology use, as well as the factors that influenced their acceptance or rejection of distance technologies. Found that faculty acknowledged the need for change and were aware of technological innovations. (JDI)

Special education students (21 learning disabled, 12 emotionally/behaviorally disordered, 14 educable mentally retarded) and 30 nonhandicapped students were observed to identify teaching structures and tasks experienced during reading in both mainstream and special education settings. Several setting effects and a difference in the amount of time…

A rapidly-implemented, comprehensive reform of postcompulsory secondary education in Norway is chronicled and discussed. The changes included new curriculum design and content, instructional materials and methods, comprehensive inservice teacher training, and extensive planning and development. Considerations in the approach taken to change are…

Provides an overview of contemporary elementary-secondary education of black students in Southern Africa, focusing on curricula; instructional delivery; learning materials and equipment; examinations; enrollment and class sizes; teachers; teacher/student ratios; drop-out, failure, and repeater rates; economic considerations; rural-urban…

A two-year research effort assessed the effectiveness of the workshop approach to undergraduate and graduate student projects. The approach involved student reflective journals, individual student-professor conferences, structured small group discussions of project progress with peers, and presentations of final projects. The workshop approach was…

This paper focuses on educational services that attempt to contribute to the quality of life of students with intellectual disabilities. It addresses, from an Australian perspective, the areas of special educational facilities and their educational function, policy and curriculum, teaching strategies, integration, and parent role. (JDD)

This paper on speech production in children and youth with hearing impairments focuses on ways to foster clear speech throughout the daily classroom routine and curriculum. It describes elements of the program at the Montreal Oral School for the Deaf in Quebec, Canada, such as early intervention, maximal use of hearing, and parent participation.…

The article examines the depressed academic achievement of deaf children from Black and Hispanic minority groups and notes implications concerning educational assessment, placement, student expectations, curriculum development, staffing, and policymaking. Demographic data are also provided. (Author/DB)

This paper presents a review and comparison of qualitative improvements in the organization, needs assessment, educational methodology, evaluation, and research in continuing medical education in the United States and Canada. Accreditation, medical schools, medical societies and specialty boards, and health care systems and continuing medical…

This article reviews diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and undifferentiated attention deficit disorder; typical presenting features; theories of the biological basis of attentional disorders; and treatments, including medical treatments with stimulants and tricyclic antidepressants and nonmedical treatments such as…

This article describes an innovation that embraces elements of both technical and professional models of school improvement within the elementary division of a large school system. Emphasis is on development of the reciprocal learning instructional strategy for teaching academic content in regular classrooms and enhancing teachers' adoption and…

The student development movement may have represented a digression from the central educational mission of higher education. The Student Learning Imperative is the latest attempt to redirect student affairs into a realignment with student learning. This article offers practical suggestions for conceptualizing the content, methodology, and…

Examines the shortcomings of traditional schooling and the promise of learning in nontraditional environments in addressing student needs, teacher's role, and curriculum issues. Notes that the articles in this special issue indicate that a variety of situations and conditions lend themselves to nontraditional educational approaches or methods. (SD)

Researchers from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) have analyzed thousands of quantitative studies published over the last 30 years to determine what works in classrooms and in schools. In two earlier meta-analyses, McREL identified teacher and school practices that have the largest effects on student achievement. McREL has…