A meta-analysis of research findings shows that, regardless of grade level, scientific discipline, or student, teacher, or school characteristics, students following science curricula that were developed after 1955 and emphasized scientific processes outperformed students following traditional science courses that emphasized scientific knowledge.…

Presents research that suggests how school administrators can have a significant impact on teacher motivation, especially by rewarding teacher performance. (Author/JM)

Faced with the possibility of mandatory continuing education laws, educators can learn from the mistakes and successes of other professions. Teachers and administrators must take a leadership role in planning and participating in continuing education programs throughout their professional careers. (Author/MLF)

Administrators in Red Bank, New Jersey, are confident that mastery learning is the key to their students' higher achievement. (Author)

Since Howard Gardner first published "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences" (1983), educators began applying his theory in classrooms. This article describes the varied curricular approaches--multiple-intelligence-based lesson designs, interdisciplinary curricula, student projects, innovative assessments, and apprenticeships--that…

Many Americans view today's youth as menacing. Actually, a small percentage are arrested or incarcerated for violent offenses, only 5% are arrested for anything, adults commit 86% of all crimes, and teenage male violence is a long-standing phenomenon. However, youth homicide is a gun-fueled epidemic. Educators must resist legislators'…

To educate children for a civil society, teachers should work to raise (noncollege-bound) students' skills to the levels that good jobs require. Maintaining the status quo and educating children to participate in Jeremy Rifkin's "third sector" are misguided options. The new basic skills should include hard skills (in basic mathematics,…

Despite the rosy image projected by child-centered reformers, zealots and profiteers are really driving the charter school movement. Charter schools cannot flourish without drastic wage reductions or huge spending increases, nor will they benefit America's poorest children. The market, which has already destroyed kids' neighborhoods and parents'…

As state legislators, school boards, and the public at large become more receptive, home-schoolers are gaining access to more resources, including those at public schools. Researchers disagree over home schooling's effects on academic achievement and social development. Home schooling could be an important resource for studying how children learn…

In response to stagnating economic conditions, the Swedish government introduced numerous "reforms," including a voucher scheme for approved independent schools. Since 1992, enrollments in independent schools have increased only 1%, segregation and interschool disparities have increased, and supports for special-needs children have…

According to Fordham University's 1996 "Index of Social Health," our society's overall well-being is decreasing significantly. Today's children are not sufficiently shielded from adult economic, political, and sexual forces. Children's social world has become poisonous, due to escalating violence, the potentially lethal consequences of…

Seeking an afterschool program to help some fourth through sixth graders with reading, writing, and analysis, an Ohio elementary school formed a partnership with John Carol University, in Cleveland. Tutors were future teachers enrolled in a Reading-and-Writing-Across-the-Curriculum course; tutees were 25 children who needed either remedial work or…

Long-term research in three countries suggests that a teacher's interpersonal skills are crucial to creating and maintaining a positive working environment. Describes the Questionnaire for Teacher Interaction, a measurement to determine how well teachers communicate with their students. Describes how effective teachers solidify relations with…

Describes how to use quizzes, tests, writing assignments, and other assessments to improve instruction and help students learn. Suggests that instead of teaching to the test, teachers test what they teach and follow assessments with corrective instruction. Also discusses the benefits of assessments. (Contains 14 references.) (WFA)

Outlines the 10 most significant trends to affect twenty-first century schools, including changes in work, lifestyles, technology, school demographics, international relations, the American family, locus of control in education, teacher training and recruitment, public education alternatives, and social values. The larger report predicts…