To examine how performance-based assessment changed mathematics teaching under conditions of moderate and low-stake assessment, middle school teachers were studied in five districts in Maryland and Maine, with interviews of 82 teachers and administrators. Findings suggest that effects of state testing on teaching may be overrated by both advocates…

Discussion of the design and delivery of distance education courses focuses on a course designed to teach middle and high school teachers how to use the Internet for science education. Highlights include peer collaboration; instructor feedback; student-centered learning; authentic learning; critical thinking; project based learning; student…

The 21st Century Schoolhouse Project is an international project involving six high schools from Israel, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the United States. The project includes English language, history, geography, and environmental science teachers and students working on environmental issues over the Internet while using English and…

The primary purposes of the study reported here were to investigate Greek mathematics teachers' beliefs regarding the nature of mathematics and mathematics teaching and learning, and to explore the various links between these beliefs and instructional practice. Two orientations that are characteristic of secondary mathematics teachers' beliefs…

This qualitative study addresses the link between urban high school teachers' beliefs about their students' preparedness to achieve success in science and the teachers' reported curricular responses to those beliefs. Eight high school science teachers from schools representing a range of achievement levels were interviewed using semistructured,…

Purpose: To investigate the extent to which secondary schools practiced aspects of total quality management (TQM). Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional research design was used in this study. A sample of 300 teachers in a residential session during a school holiday provided their perceptions on the practice of TQM in their schools. Data…

ACT conducts the only nationwide curriculum survey that empirically identifies current instructional practices and postsecondary expectations in order to develop tests that measure critical skills and knowledge. Every three years, it surveys thousands of middle school/junior high school, secondary, and postsecondary teachers in English/writing,…

This paper reports on the 30th study group sponsored by the Appalachia Education Laboratory's (AEL) Classroom Instruction Program. Twenty-three K-12 teachers worked in seven teams in six schools throughout Virginia to design and implement classroom interdisciplinary curriculum units with accompanying alternative assignments. Project research…

The goals of the QUILT program are to increase and sustain teacher use of classroom questioning techniques and procedures that produce higher levels of student learning and thinking, and to increase the incidence of student responses at higher levels of cognition. Educational research has established relationships between discrete questioning…

The framework for teaching described in this book is based on PRAXIS III: Classroom Performance Assessments criteria developed by the Educational Testing Service. This framework identifies those aspects of a teacher's responsibilities that have been documented through empirical studies and theoretical research as promoting improved student…

Increased interest in interdisciplinary instruction in secondary schools has led to the development of different models. At one school in the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia) three designs evolved when teams of teachers took on nontraditional, integrated instruction as a goal. In general, integrated curriculum designs in secondary schools match one of…

An inservice program to teach instructional strategies that promote metacognitive development to classroom teachers in their roles as instructional designers, based on the notion that instruction in metacognitive strategies must be incorporated into content instruction, is described. Teachers were informed about the following specific…

The evaluation of a high school teacher by his principal in Alberta, Canada, was examined by analyzing the conversations that occurred between the researcher, the principal, and the teacher he was evaluating. The analysis reveals much about why the principal undertook teacher evaluations, and what counts as evidence for good or poor practice.…

A high school teacher was studied who was known to have begun implementation of a modern paradigm of mathematics education, as described in the "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" and the "Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics," both by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. His…

A brief overview is presented of the use of educational media by teachers and students, along with some opinions about use and misuse. Opinions are supported by results of a survey of 55 teachers from the Binghamton City School District (New York) and information from informal interviews of teachers, library media specialists, and students. Most…