This paper explores personalised learning, which is a "new" teaching and learning style in the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners launched by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for England in 2004. The research was based on semi-structured interviews with 13 teachers mainly in charge of Key Stage 3 at two 11-18…

The paper investigated four Chinese graduate students' perceptions of the major differences between North American and Chinese classroom teaching styles. Major differences in the following five areas were identified: 1) the teacher's role, 2) the student's role, 3) the form of class organization, 4) the teacher's expectations, and 5) the student's…

This article provides an evaluation of the rationale for, and impact of, setting with English classes in the second year of secondary school in one Scottish authority. The Council's education department has a long-standing policy of mixed-ability classes in English for the first two years of secondary school (S2). A number of schools approached…

Noting that the design of the classroom used for early childhood and kindergarten classes can contribute in powerful ways to the education of young children, this paper applies principles of architecture to the organization and shaping of the interior classroom space. The paper maintains that five principles, when applied, create a climate of…

Defines a school-based reading policy and explores the issues involved in setting up a program, including awareness and use of school resources, recording student progress, evaluation, parental involvement, and classroom organization and teaching methods. (FL)

Family grouping (a classroom organization plan in which elementary school children of differing chronological and developmental stages are grouped in a single class) is a means for providing continuity between home and school with a minimum of psychological and emotional shock. (MJB)

Discusses development of pupil grouping in European compulsory education into two opposite class organization types, mixed ability classes and ability-grouped classes. Categorizes the types along two dimensions with three program types and three grouping types, yielding nine teaching categories. Discusses comparative results of streaming and mixed…

This article discusses individualized instruction in physical education programs and suggests how to implement a "levels approach" to meet student needs. The Secondary Physical Education Curriculum and Resource Guide was prepared to integrate curriculum planning components with a focus on individualization. (DF)

Preliminary results of this study of the preconditions for pedagogical change in Swedish schools indicate that national curricular emphases have changed, but that accompanying changes in teaching methods may conceal wide variation in content and import. The study's objective was to identify the factors conducive or hostile to change in the…

The quality of instruction may be similar in both traditional/graded and innovative/nongraded classrooms. This essay discusses the results of instruction observed in several nongraded (of varying degrees) Swedish schools serving grades 7-9. A multigraded organization requires more planning by teachers for individualization of instruction, and…

Effects of a category system for social organization in the classroom on teachers' abilities to adopt a more flexible role are investigated. (GW)

Studied the existence of optimal classes (classes in which students reach maximal individual achievement with little difference in outcomes within the class) in two German samples from a reading literacy study, representing more than 270 classes of eighth graders. Findings show different proportions of optimal classes in the five basic German…

Despite some fears that small schools would have difficulty implementing the British National Curriculum, findings from 50 schools (9 with fewer than 100 students) show that small schools may provide greater opportunities for innovative curriculum and class organization and strong curricular leadership from headmasters who teach. (SK)

Recent British discussion paper raises issue of how children should be organized for teaching in primary classrooms. Although contrasting relative strengths and limitations of whole class and group organization, paper fails to show how teacher should move from one form of classroom organization to another. Article reviews different classroom…

This research investigated social and academic outcomes from single-sex classrooms in a Tasmanian coeducational government primary school. Interviews, observations and surveys formed the basis of the evidence. Teachers, parents and children reported positive benefits from the class organisation, but these differed according to gender. Staff…