A study identified the competencies needed by and the inservice problems of vocational teachers involved in teaching disadvantaged students in self-contained classrooms. During the study, each of the 100 vocational education teachers instructing disadvantaged learners in state/federally funded self-contained programs for the disadvantaged in…

This minireport deals specifically with one classroom environment variable, the physical structure of the classroom as an open-space or a self-contained room. The data for the analyses were drawn from 190 primary grade classes (grades 1-6) and 182 intermediate grade classes (grades 4-6). Classes were analyzed as units, using class means. A total…

This action research study examined how peer tutoring of students with disabilities causes changes in the attitudes of high school peer tutors. Data were gathered through surveys, interviews, and open-ended questions completed by 18 high school peer tutors. Results showed that the peer tutors involved held positive attitudes and beliefs toward…

This study examined whether graphic organizer instruction would facilitate comprehension, recall, and information transfer, and how much explicit instruction was necessary for independent generation of graphic organizers. Fifth graders read social studies information with or without graphic organizers and explicit instruction. Explicitness and…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Division of Special Education (DSE), per Missouri Revised Statute 162.1136, conducts an annual study of the educational status of eligible blind/visually impaired students and reports the findings to the Missouri Legislature on December 1st each year. The information contained in…

A study gathered quantitative and qualitative data on the cognitive and affective outcomes for gifted students (grades 3-6) in full- and part-time programs from three classrooms in each of two neighboring school districts, one urban and one rural. While the belief emerged in both districts that the full-time program served the needs of gifted…

The relationships between schools' physical environments and the teachers who work in them were explored. Eleven middle school teachers were interviewed about their orientation toward and operation in their schools. They were asked what they thought were their schools' most important features, how they felt about the buildings, what were its good…

Study explored differences in conversational power by comparing discourse in whole language and traditional basal second-grade classrooms. Researchers compared the contextual setting and discourse of rug-time during reading instruction in the classrooms. Results suggested two contrasts between teachers' rug-time discourse: imposed versus generated…

A comparative investigation of the place of the sixth grade in public education used a shadow study technique to address three questions: (1) What is a sixth grader's day in school like? (2) In what ways do programs provided for sixth graders differ, depending on where the grade is located in the school system? (3) How does what is known of the…

In order to determine if there is an adequate amount of storage in the elementary classrooms of the South Bend Community School Corporation, 180 teachers representing a random selection of 30 percent of all K-6 teachers were sent a questionnaire by means of the school's mail service. Responses from 97 (54 percent) of the sample were utilized.…

This report discusses the outcomes of a project that examined the acquisition of reading and writing skills in 135 children with deafness or who are hard of hearing. Eighty-three of the children attended a state-sponsored residential school and 52 attended a local school district program where students with deafness or who are hard of hearing are…

This study examined whether 81 sixth grade students from various socioeconomic and racial backgrounds perceived any disadvantages in being taught by a team of teachers rather than by a single teacher in a self-contained classroom. Critics of team teaching assert that a self-contained classroom provides more stability, security, structure, and…

The effect on achievement of the timing of the transition from elementary to intermediate school was investigated. Focus was on determining whether it matters if children transfer to an intermediate school at grade 6 or at grade 7. The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test was administered to grade 5 students in spring of 1981. The sixth and…

This paper is the first-year report of a three-year project in Edina, Minnesota, developing a system for measuring differences among classroom environments and organizational patterns. Dimensions measured include teacher preferences for classroom structure, student perceptions of learning environments and classmate behavior, student attitudes,…

The report assesses the impact of career awareness-oriented dramatic play procedures in elementary school children. A sample of 90 second graders from North Carolina (66 from open classrooms and 24 from self-contained classrooms), who participated in a dramatic play program in which they constructed a model community in the classroom, was compared…