Reports on a three-year ethnographic study of the visual arts curriculum in three elementary schools. Finds three distinct orientations: (1) the rote, teacher-centered orientation; (2) the open-ended, student-centered orientation; and (3) the higher order, cognitive orientation. (CFR)

The principal of one urban New Jersey middle school chose to deal with a long history of student behavior and discipline problems by making every class single sex. The change helped curb classroom distractions, reduced discipline problems, and restored a sense of order. (SM)

An elementary school teacher describes her experiences with language minority students and presents her strategies for teaching the whole class effectively while meeting individual needs. The article offers five suggestions for adjusting teaching to reach all students at once. (SM)

Strategies are presented for developing a sense of ownership in learning, for use with students from culturally diverse backgrounds who have mild to moderate disabilities. The strategies include structuring a physical environment conducive to ownership; encouraging student ownership in classroom management; and encouraging ownership in academics.…

Describes the underlying philosophical and cultural changes associated with classroom organizational changes in one eighth-grade teacher's attempts to implement National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards. Observations and interviews indicated that there were two distinct cultures ("book world" and organic or…

Examines the nature, consequences, frequency of occurrence, and victims of classroom communication apprehension, and what kind of classes, classrooms, and teachers affect the probability of its occurrence. McCrosky's critical summary of research in this area serves as a basis for comparison. Supplementary tables included. (JD)

A small rural high school initiated an 8-period day to offer students the increased number of credits required for graduation. Elective offerings, elective enrollments, and participation in extracurricular activities increased. Teachers and students liked shorter classes, grades improved, dropout rates declined, and teacher-pupil ratios dropped in…

Summarizes the central assumptions of the communicative language teaching model and the potential difficulties that regular classroom teachers may face in implementing it. Seven criteria for use in organizing communicative classrooms are presented, and applications of these criteria to decisions about organizing classroom interaction and the…

Reports on the relationship between the seating patterns of students and their observed attitudes toward class activities in an English-as-a-Second-Language class. Discusses issues of physical territoriality, psycholinguistic territoriality, and active participation by students. (CFR)

Reports on a study of 124 secondary social studies teachers about the treatment of the 1991 Gulf War in their classrooms. Finds that, with few exceptions, knowledge about the war was provided by television news and other media and that students were not asked to conduct in-depth research or other critical thinking activities. (CFR)

The present study examined the relationships between teacher structure, teacher behaviors, and child care quality. Participants included 72 female teachers from 44 preschool classrooms. Both a global measure of quality and a measure of teacher-child interaction were utilized. Results showed that a co-teacher structure was associated with higher…

In an urban magnet middle school serving mostly minority, poor, and low achieving students, the presence of high levels of interracial interaction and positive student-teacher relationships was attributed to the school's curricular, academic reward, and classroom activity structures, and to a faculty subculture that encouraged teachers to foster…

Describes the use of cooperative learning groups in junior high school French classes. Summarizes how cooperative learning affects: (1) student attitudes towards French, (2) student relationships with peers, and (3) student-perceived personal gains from this experience. (PMJ)

Presents findings of a qualitative study of musical learning processes. Findings are reported in terms of the nature of strategies used by children as they work with peers to solve compositional problems. Also finds that successful students moved back and forth from holistic approaches to segmented activities. (CFR)

Reports on a series of structured interviews with 176 secondary teachers to elicit opinions about their initial professional training and their later practical experience with classroom behavioral management. Finds that the vast majority of teachers believe classroom management skills to be of major importance to them. (CFR)