The process of effective teaching--teaching that directly leads to student learning of standards-based content--is tenuous at best and easily disrupted by contextual and behavioral factors. In this commentary, I discuss the role of student support and mediation in teacher effectiveness and curricular reform. The most vocal students in physical…

Based on a participant observation study of a full-day kindergarten in a North Carolina public school in 1994, this report argues that instructional transitions or classroom rituals act as rites of passage enabling children to disengage from their home roles, transition to school roles, and assume the moral identity of the student role. Portal…

Teachers would find their jobs easier if they had a set of positive statements to communicate classroom rules to students rather than the frequently used "Don't Rules.""Do Rules" are behavioral objectives for use in the area of classroom behaviors. They are most effective when they state exactly what is to be done in a…

Issues that concern a culture are frequently reflected in the myths or stories that it tells. Education of its children frequently has caused discussion and debate in American society on topics such as "keeping up" with the Russians or whether test scores are higher or lower than five or ten years ago. Since television has become an influential…

Argues that in order to gain respect from students, adults must stress relationships over rules. Contends that rigid enforcement of rules breeds compliance, and compliance does not equal respect. States that students must be in healthy relationships with those whom they respect, and that adults should be respectable. (NB)

Asserts that conflict is inherent in school culture, and that respect and responsibility cannot be imposed on students. Explains that when these values become part of the norm of everyday interactions between students and adults in school, improvement will occur. Recommends character education, peer mentoring, and peer conflict mediation.…

The diagnostic-prescriptive approach to teaching clinically focuses directly on the student. The diagnosis and identification of the strengths and weaknesses of each student, both cognitive and emotional structure, establishes the teaching prescription of instruction. The changed behavior of each student in thinking, feeling, and activity is the…

This paper discusses the modern American junior high and middle school from the perspectives of an interested observer, the educational researcher, and the students themselves. Discussed briefly are three factors that place junior high/middle school education in a unique context--the developmental stage of the students who are served, the…

Science teachers need to stress several kinds of objectives in teaching and learning. One kind, cognitive, receives major emphasis by teachers. In addition to vital facts and concepts, pupils should also acquire major generalizations. And, in addition to facts, concepts, and generalizations, pupils also need to be able to think critically.…