Summarizes a study into the feasibility, problems, benefits, and implications of using mastery learning in teaching French to students in Scottish secondary schools. Examples are provided of target objectives, specimen test materials, progress cards, and class activity records, and implications on class organization are discussed. (EAO)

Reggio Emilia's pioneering effort in preschool education has been widely replicated throughout Italy, where almost 90% of nation's children aged 3-6 enroll in national, municipal, private preschools. These preschools are unlike any in the United States. There are no building principals or school boards. America must invest more time, money, and…

The organization of the college, its services, student learning procedures, and economic considerations are described in this report. Background information summarizes the dramatic expansion of Zambia's educational system and the country's unfulfilled demand for secondary education. Efforts of the National Correspondence College's efforts to meet…

Describes pedagogical experiment with emphasis on the student and his/her specific needs and motivations. Involves self- and group work with teacher support. Individual work alternates with group work, focusing on production of a project or task corresponding to objectives defined by members of group. (Author/BK)

Discusses thematic centers in which teachers select a theme and design of several classroom stations on the topic. Describes application of the technique in one Canadian class of six-, seven-, and eight-year olds, many of whom were English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Identifies characteristics of the technique. (SG)

A teacher education seminar, designed to be an egalitarian "community of learners," is critiqued. In an effort to make classroom learning relations more equal, instructors referred to themselves as seminar leaders and sought student participation in the curriculum decision-making process. The most significant consequence of the…

Conducted in 1991, this study surveyed the quality of day care centers in the province of Pavia, Italy, in order to provide a description of the centers and to trace educational patterns in the infant, young toddler, and toddler sections of the centers. The 32 day care centers located in the province employ a staff of 342 and provide 1,700 places…

Data on beginning reading practices in 23 countries are presented in this report. Each entry provides information about the age at which children are introduced to reading; the methods, materials, and classroom organization used in the primary reading classes; and the involvement of parents and family in beginning reading activities. Selected…

Discusses ways in which the simulation technique can be used in classes of 30 or more students by structuring the simulation so that all the students are involved simultaneously, although in different ways. Seven stages are suggested for developing, presenting, and doing a simulation; a sample simulation is presented. (SED)

Contends that geographers in North America, Australia, continental Europe, and developing nations generally teach larger classes than do British geographers. Asserts that British higher education is being transformed from an elite system to a mass educational system. Presents suggestions for teaching large classes. (CFR)

Examines gender association in the primary classroom and organizational strategies that may influence gender integration. Discusses the effects of strategies to increase gender integration in relation to cross-gender friendships and gender differentiation across subjects. Argues that classroom organization can be influential in the degree of…

Attitudes towards "setting," a form of student grouping by ability, were studied in four Scottish primary schools. A slight majority of students and a slight minority of teachers preferred set classes. Positive aspects of sets included smaller classes and independent learning in lower-ability sets, and positive class atmospheres.…

Investigates the relationship between school environment and science classroom environment in secondary schools. Reports that the characteristics of the school environment are not transmitted automatically into the science classroom. Concludes that the effect the school-level environment has on student learning is mediated by classroom process…

It is believed that the best of the new progressive infant and junior schools in Leicestershire County, England, are superior to those in the United States. Primarily found in the infant schools, this new concept in education emphasizes an environment in which a child is encouraged to learn but is given the freedom to do so in his own style at his…

Two models for using information and communication technologies to teach physics to students in remote areas of Canada and Russia are described. In Canada, an intranet electronically links schools in a Newfoundland school district to the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Advanced placement physics is delivered via the Internet. Newfoundland has…