A study examined the effectiveness of a writing center in improving student writing. All Composition 121 instructors except those who taught in the writing center were included. Students (1519 were enrolled in 69 sections of Composition 121) and instructors were randomly placed into three groups: Group I, the experimental group; Group II, the…

Presents the personal experience of 24 students who took part in the TOPS Clerical Training Course with regard to the course as a whole and of various aspects, such as the curriculum, methods of teaching, and relationships. (CT)

Discusses two strategies for preventing violence in the schools: (1) improving the learning environment and academic achievements of students; and (2) teaching violence prevention in the schools. When addressing violence as a public health issue, these traditional school-based prevention strategies prove to be useful. (MAK)

Notes the discrepancy between students' use of the Alexander Technique in class and on stage. Discusses three fundamental self-use objectives of the Alexander Technique: the reduction of excess physical compression and muscularity; the unification of body/voice and thought; and the expansion of the field of attention. Demonstrates how each…

Teachers are not adequately engaged in collaborative inquiry where it matters most, in the daily learning-teaching interactions between students and teachers, leading to failure in developing true learning communities by majority of school improvement efforts. Collaborative analysis of student learning (CASL), a particular form of learning…

Objective: This report describes an educational intervention designed to improve psychiatry residents' inpatient charting skills. Methods: The residency training committee formed a multidisciplinary team to study the problem by using quality improvement principles. The team hypothesized that residents' charting would improve with education about…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) asks that states "restructure" schools that fail for six years running to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward full proficiency on the part of all students by the year 2014. Although restructuring efforts by most states have been modest, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2002, directed the School District…

The Council of the Great City Schools has prepared this eighth edition of "Beating the Odds" to give the nation another look at how inner-city schools are performing on the academic goals and standards set by the states. This analysis examines student achievement in math and reading through spring 2007. It also measures achievement gaps between…

In 1992, the authors collaborated to develop a set of norms for oral reading fluency for grades 2-5. Since then, interest in and awareness of fluency has greatly increased, and Hasbrouck and Tindal have collaborated further to compile an updated and expanded set of norms for grades 1-8. This article discusses the application of these norms to…

Research regarding parent involvement in their child's education is summarized. Parent involvement practices that may be developed when home and school computers are added as resources are discussed. (MT)

The author finds the National Commission on Excellence in Education's report, "A Nation at Risk (1983)," deficient in three major aspects. It underestimates schools' contributions; it identifies the wrong problem; and it prescribes simple solutions for complex problems. (JMK)

This article discusses how instant video revisiting (IVR) promotes reflective thinking for both teachers and children. IVR was used as a daily classroom experience with both the children and the teachers throughout one semester in two preschool classrooms with children 2.5 to 5 years old. The teachers used a digital video camera to generate data…

An ex post facto study examined third grade students' achievement test scores both before and after the adoption of a literature-based basal reading text. The experimental groups consisted of five third grade classes at Terre Town Elementary School (Indiana) for each of the years 1988 through 1993. Mean scores were plotted and data were visually…

Research has shown that teacher expectations not only determine certain types of student performance but also serve to sustain low and high levels of performance. A model shows how teacher expectations are formed, how they are communicated, and how they sustain levels of student performance in physical education. (JN)

This prospective, longitudinal study showed that an intense educational program significantly improved academic performance in underserved students who were selected solely for their desire to participate in the program and their parents' willingness to support them. Mean performance in six representative components of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests…