In December 1992, the National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment (NCSESA) discussed preliminary working documents addressing Science for All, an ambitious plan to develop comprehensive science education standards by 1994. The science standards will define the understanding level that all students--regardless of background,…

A Michigan teacher involved her fourth-grade class in developing effective writing criteria by providing students with interesting writing samples and challenging them to select "plus" sentences from their own work to read in class. This modeling technique helped students recognize good writing and gain appreciation of the standards for…

Differing in purpose, emphasis, and results, three types of action research (individual teacher research, collaborative action research, and schoolwide action research) allow educators to investigate areas of concern and meet classroom and school challenges. Faculty should consider five elements: purpose and process; support provided by outside…

In "Snapshots from High School: Teachers' vs. Professors' Views," Dona Kagan describes an indirect dialog that she orchestrated between two Alabama high school teachers and two unnamed education professors ("Educational Leadership," March 1993). Burch says that Kagan misrepresents and oversimplifies university/school-classroom…

At Southegan High School, in Amherst, New Hampshire, all students, including those with physical and emotional disabilities, are fully included in nontracked, heterogeneously grouped classes. Full inclusion is possible because of three program components: collaborative planning time; curriculum design characterized by planning backward from final…

Through the Human Rights Education Program, teachers in Long Island's predominantly white, middle class Shoreham-Wading River School District are teaching students to see past the confines of their own cultural experience. Gaining perspectives about the dominant culture and its perpetuation of inequality helps students grasp how things might be…

Student response to learning styles at a private middle school in Minnesota has been overwhelmingly positive. The information in a student's Learning Style Inventory profile often helps parents grasp their child's approach to learning. Learning styles practices are encouraged by faculty miniworkshops and inhouse training sessions. (MLH)

Interagency collaboration to serve youngsters' needs should be comprehensive, preventive, child-centered, and flexible. Streamlining collaboration involves mapping the territory, surveying the field, reviewing current needs and services, developing a plan, and getting started. Pitfalls include talking without acting, creating an interagency czar…

About 96% of youngsters in Northern Ireland are educated either in Catholic schools or in state-operated, predominantly Protestant schools. Since 1985, 40 integrated schools of all grade levels have sprung up throughout the country. At integrated schools, which maintain balanced ratios, students talk about their common history. (MLH)

A Tennessee elementary school's adoption of a looping program, allowing teachers to stay with their classes for two years, resulted in improved student confidence and teacher/parent relationships. Looping places less pressure on young students to learn all curriculum objectives in one year. Lessons and benefits are summarized. (MLH)

Nearly 2 million new teachers are projected to enter U.S. schools in the next decade. Currently, 30% of beginning teachers leave during their first five years. To support new teachers, schools should carefully consider novices' teaching schedules, cooperate with university training programs, and provide mentors. California's state-supported…

Presents a portrait of Japanese elementary schools--stressing close human connections, social and ethical development, and an indepth curriculum--that differs profoundly from the U.S. mainstream media's version. In Japanese elementary schools, learning is cooperative; success depends on setting and meeting rigorous personal goals and performing…

Describes professional-development schools, partnerships between university teacher-education programs and schools, involving professors, teachers, and teacher interns. Tells how mutual respect and collaborative innovation developed in one such professional-development school in Camden, New Jersey. (PKP)

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…

In 1981 the University of Vermont redesigned its graduate level education curriculum and formed school improvement collaboratives with rural schools to improve instruction and supervision. Since the development of the school improvement projects there has been an increase in student achievement across the state. Includes a map, case history, and a…