Creating a classroom environment which is conducive to learning is one of the most important things a teacher can do. This becomes even more crucial as students enter classrooms with their cell phones, pagers, and beepers. Additionally, many students are tardy for class, leave early, or may not appear in class on numerous occasions. Therefore,…

Surveys were conducted to investigate contemporary thought regarding organizational practices at the elementary level, with particular attention to identifying the extent to which departmentalization was supported by research and actually employed in 24 elementary schools in the Midwest and in 41 Des Moines elementary schools. Four committees…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether collective bargaining significantly affects teacher time, particularly time spent in instruction and preparation. The study was based on recent research indicating that student achievement is affected by the time teachers spend in these areas. Researchers divided the activities performed by…

Secondary students who read an economics lesson silently scored significantly higher than students who received an oral presentation of the lesson. A significant interaction between lesson organization and student ability level indicated that highly organized economics lessons increase student learning under certain ability level conditions.…

Discusses results of a three-year investigation of personal, social and academic adjustment by learning disabled students. Concludes that younger children in self contained classrooms achieve more academic and personal success than older ones and those in mainstreamed classes. Identifies five critical factors affecting educational outcomes with…

Two studies are discussed which represent alternate hypotheses pertaining to classroom seating position and its relationship to grade in the course. The experiment described here attempts to disentangle the environmental and self-selection explanations for the two previous studies. (SA)

A study was conducted at Mississippi State University to assess differences in the academic achievement of two matched groups of two-year college transfer students. One group (N=30) had attended a junior college which followed a traditional semester time table of 15 to 18 weeks, while the other group (N=30) had attended a junior college with a…

THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN GROUPING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN FOR EFFECTIVE LEARNING. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SECTION HAS EXAMINED NUMEROUS RESEARCH STUDIES ON GROUPING. DISCUSSED ARE QUESTIONS CONCERNED WITH RELATIVE VALUES OF GROUPING CHILDREN ACCORDING TO NEED, SPECIAL ABILITIES, AND ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS. PREDICTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF…

This paper examines school productivity research--research regarding school effects on students, divided into two broad classes according to whether the dependent variable is (a) later life consequences or (b) immediate student outcomes. The discussion is organized in four sections. First, six major issues in the methodology of school productivity…

Using empirical evidence from 48 classrooms, argues that structural and organizational factors affect the stability and the formation of ability groups in an elementary classroom, which in turn affect growth in academic achievement. Holds that teachers are often impeded from forming the types of groups most conducive to student learning. (CMG)

People know that coaching for verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests can improve scores, although gains can be modest. Nevertheless, scores on retaking such tests can remain stable or even decrease following coaching. People do not know if such findings apply to coaching for tests of attainment. However, research into formative assessment shows…

This ERIC digest reviews the history of the multigrade classroom, and summarizes research findings on multigrading effects on achievement and attitude. It also states requirements of teaching and learning in multigrade classrooms. Multigrade classrooms have ranged from the one-room schools of the early 1900s to the ungraded classroom of the 1960s…

This study attempts to determine whether or not ability grouping is desirable for effective instruction. Parents volunteered their children for assignment to a heterogeneous social studies class. Students were divided into a Volunteer Group, a Non-volunteer Group and a Non-response Group. Students for the heterogeneous classes were randomly…

Examines the effects of class size on student achievement in classrooms in which teachers use whole class instruction and those in which students are in ability groups. Results suggest that classroom pedagogical practices mediate the affect of class size on learning. (SA)

A study comparing the performances and preferences of college statistics students in streamed and mixed-ability groups revealed that both types of class organization are workable, but students prefer varied abilities in small work groups. (AM)