In 2015, Liberty, (Missouri) Public Schools was updating resources for several content areas. Content consultant Diana Laufenberg, executive director of Inquiry Schools, had been working with secondary teachers to study options for the best and most current instructional practices in social studies. As teachers considered using online resources…

Teaching technical writing without formal training can be daunting. However, there are many resources available that can provide background and materials for teaching. My approach involved reading textbooks and articles not only on approaches to technical writing but also on what students can expect once they complete their education and are…

As states and districts begin the work of turning common academic standards into curriculum and instruction, educators searching for teaching resources are often finding that process frustrating and fruitless. Teachers and curriculum developers who are trying to craft road maps that reflect the Common Core State Standards can find themselves in a…

From replacing print textbooks with digital content created by teachers or gathered from outside sources to encouraging students to explore the world around them digitally, many districts are creating a new type of student-friendly teaching and learning environment that goes beyond just adding computers to classrooms. Through a wide range of…

Not long ago, children were passive recipients of what teachers and textbooks gave them. they read and heard about the earth, about the great changes produced on its surface through the activity of nature and man, about their people, their life and work and their adjustment to their environment, but no concrete experiences helped them to…

Introduces standards-based middle grades mathematics instructional materials designed to engage and challenge students in mathematical investigation. Details the challenges of change for teachers, administrators, parents, and students. Highlights a study of the Missouri Middle School Mathematics Project, which implemented one of the NSF curricula,…

In this annual report to the nonpublic participant schools of Project PEP (Providing Equitable Participation), 39 exemplary instructional improvement programs written by the schools are described. Schools were encouraged to make long-range improvement plans by focusing on acquisition of Title IV-B supplementary instructional materials and library…

When parents called for the removal of certain classroom and library materials from the Mexico, Missouri, public schools in 1982, the Mexico Board of Education unanimously refused their request. After separate complaints about the magazine "Humanist," a film of Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery," as well as her book…

This report describes the literacy activities of Missouri Public Libraries in 1996. The report includes: a letter from the Missouri Secretary of State; national and state literacy statistics and trends; a description of the library survey and its results; state library efforts; lists of Missouri and national literacy organizations with contact…

The Missouri Professors of Educational Administration (MPEA) initiated the Leaders for Learning project to create technology based instructional materials aligned with the standards of the Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). With funding from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), faculty from…

There is a general demand for information in regard to the condition of drawing and art in the elementary and secondary schools of this and other countries. In partial response to this demand Mr. Royal Bailey Farnum, specialist in drawing and handwork in the New York State Education Department, has prepared this manuscript showing the status of…

A comprehensive career education program (K-14) was developed and implemented in a three-county non-urban area of Missouri. Curriculum guides were developed by teachers from the 10 participating schools in career awareness (K-6), career exploration observation (7-9), secondary component (10-12), and occupational cluster curriculum development.…

In the last 8 or 10 years there has been unusual progress in the establishment of kindergartens in most of the cities and States, but still the kindergarten is a phase of school work less known than the work of the grades in the elementary schools. Many school officers and school architects lack information as to the character of rooms and…

A study was conducted to develop competency-based curriculum materials and a computer-based analysis system for farm business records to assist local vocational agriculture teachers of adult/young farmers in their group and individualized instructional programs. A list of thirty-five competencies in financial management were validated using…

A project addressed the lack of rural school laboratory facilities and limited opportunities for staff development by training 22 high school physics teachers in rural Missouri to use videotaped "virtual" laboratory experiments and student data-collection worksheets. Surveys identified 19 topics for which physics teachers reported…