The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Student Voice." Contents include: (1) Steps for Helping Students Become…

This guide is intended to stimulate professional reflection, dialogue and debate about mathematics and how to improve it. It draws together themes, features and characteristics of effective improvement in mathematics and descriptions of good practice. It offers a reference point for staff and teachers who are working together to improve…

This teacher resource book features 49 organized games that involve active movement and that provide positive play experiences for 3- to 5-year-old children. The games in the book encourage cooperative learning and teamwork, and help children develop important social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills. In addition to detailed descriptions…

Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Typical cooperative learning strategies used in grades 2 through 12 involve student teams in which students: (1) work on group projects that emphasize…

A collection of activities is presented for use at home to foster cooperative attitudes and build social skills. The activities are aimed at strengthening the cooperative bond in a family and giving family members practice in the skills needed to cooperate effectively. This handbook explains the cooperative learning concept, outlines the rules for…

This paper discusses the characteristics of children who are gifted and have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seven principles to reach and teach gifted learners with ADHD are recommended: (1) remembering that these learners have needs just like other children in their age groups; (2) having realistic expectations in helping these…

This guide instructs parents on how to maximize their children's educational opportunities at home and in school. A detailed agenda is given to help children and their teachers foster real learning, learning that is more than memorizing data or competing for grades. Real learning is discovering how to think, expressing creativity, and developing…

The implementation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics'"Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" implies fundamental shifts in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Intended for those individuals who will be instrumental in the implementation of those changes--teachers, administrators, and…

This paper advances a model for the use of parents in the implementation of cooperative learning strategies in the home, so that parents can join with teachers in providing a quality education for their children. The main principles of the model include teaching parents how to: (1) encourage their children by providing adequate opportunities for…

This guide provides information about how middle schools can promote the development and education of adolescents, especially about how they can focus students' attention on career opportunities and training. It also offers families some ideas about how they can encourage their children's career awareness, and it presents some criteria for parents…

This document tries to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the teaching and learning of science in order to provide parents and community leaders a base of information to help improve science education. Questions are posed in three major areas: science in American education; science in the classroom; and science in the home…

Promoting community awareness and understanding of the issues encompassed within the teaching and learning of school mathematics, and involving parents in their children's mathematics education are the first steps toward the goal that every child must gain mathematical power. This document helps to answer some of the most frequent questions that…