Beginning in middle school, there is an increasing gap between school and the home. In linguistically and ethnically diverse communities, there is often an even greater separation between children's school lives and the home. This toolkit provides teachers, particularly new teachers and those in high-poverty urban and rural communities, with…

This book focuses on teacher behavior and explores the concept of noncoercive classroom management. It is a companion to a previous book, "A Multiple Intelligences Road to a Quality Classroom." The book describes what teachers can do to eliminate fear and coercion, model learning tasks, honor all ways of being intelligent, collect…

This paper reviews evidence of the impact of individual merit pay systems for teachers on student achievement, presenting new empirical results from a system established within a collective bargaining environment. While many merit pay systems exist nationwide, very little empirical evidence concerning their influence on student achievement exists.…

This book offers strategies for high school teachers that provide tools for creating, repairing, and tweaking all the discernible components of teaching. The book is organized to move from context to teaching to discipline to thriving in teaching. The book includes tips on how to minimize discipline problems with effective curriculum and sound…

A national study investigated: (1) the amount of time high school foreign language teachers devote to the study of culture in language courses; (2) culture content covered in language courses; (3) strategies and materials used; (4) the extent of teacher cooperation in combining language and culture study, and whether it fosters inclusion of…

The report profiles the work of Marsha S. Slater, who teaches at the International High School in New York (New York), a highly successful school devoted exclusively to enabling English-as-a-Second-Language students to develop the linguistic, cognitive, and cultural skills necessary for success in and beyond high school. The report describes the…

Four elements in secondary schools make educational change difficult: (1) the presence of a unified faculty representing academic disciplines; (2) the students in the college-bound track for whom the curriculum is designed; (3) the sweathogs or delinquents in the general track; and (4) the parents who want to maintain their children in a safe…

The relationship between high stakes testing and the teaching of science was studied through case studies of two school districts and interviews and observation with 80 teachers and with principals, students, and district personnel in grades 8, 10, and 12 in British Columbia (Canada). Examinations discouraged teaching that promoted inquiry and…

Explores the relationship between ambiguity and uncertainty on one hand, and learning and school culture on the other, suggesting that schools must become places where uncertainty, ambiguity, and inquiry are cherished parts of the culture of learning. The paper includes high school faculty and students' reflections on such experiences. (SM)

This study investigated relationships among teacher experience, efficacy, and attitude toward implementation of instructional innovation. Surveys immediately following a staff development program on cooperative learning indicated that experience was negatively correlated, personal teaching efficacy positively correlated, and general teaching…

Analyzes one teacher's attempts to implement innovative assessment practices and a meaningful science curriculum that encouraged learning, in the face of traditional assessment expectations. Focuses on three dilemmas: maintaining student accountability in cooperative learning situations, evaluating lower-ability students on fixed standards while…

This high school language arts teacher combined the ideas of Total Quality Management (TQM) with traditional and cooperative learning techniques in his Journalism I class. Students used the process to create a quality paper. Students exhibited fewer behavior problems and greater interest, enthusiasm, and pride in their work. (JB)

A conceptual framework for understanding student and teacher commitment is illustrated, using data from a field study of 10 urban high schools. Results indicate that alienation and commitment are multidimensional. Commitments of students and teachers are mutually reinforcing. Five school factors--relevance, respect, support, expectations, and…

Describes ICEA (Iowa Chemistry Education Alliance), a consortium of high school chemistry instructors and university faculty that developed concept-oriented modular units for the high school chemistry curriculum and provided teachers with opportunities for peer collaboration. Discusses the ICN (Iowa Communication Network) that has synchronous…

Since its inception in 1997, Cisco's curriculum has entered thousands of high schools across the U.S. and around the world for two reasons: (1) Cisco has a large portion of the computer networking market, and thus has the resources for and interest in developing high school academies; and (2) high school curriculum development teams recognize the…