Inclusion is a way of providing a normalized educational experience for all children with disabilities. Educators differ, however, on the meaning of inclusion, from full-inclusion advocates to those who assert "inclusive" means that learning needs are met in a range of service delivery contexts. Three components of inclusionary schooling that are…

This videotape recording (20 minutes) and print profile illustrate how educators are using technology to help students with disabilities succeed in science. In the first segment of the video, several elementary classrooms in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are visited where students with and without disabilities carry out inquiry-based science with the…

Written with teachers, administrators, and students of Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, this book is grounded in a 2-year action research project that created an inclusive high school. Chapter 1 provides snapshots of interactions in an inclusive high school and refutes some of the concerns expressed by teachers and administrators.…

This study evaluated the implementation of inclusion concepts and the attitudes of secondary teachers toward inclusion in one Midwest school district. Nineteen general and special education teachers were surveyed with a specially developed questionnaire. Follow-up interviews and class observations were also conducted. Data analysis indicated that…

This study evaluated Metropolitan State College of Denver's Teacher-in-Residence (TiR) alternative licensure program. To participate, teacher candidates must possess a baccalaureate degree, have a teaching contract in a participating local school district, enroll in the TiR program, and pass a state content test. This study examined what Metro…

In the year 1998, California began a massive experiment that focused on testing students and holding teachers and administrators accountable for results. The goal: dramatic, system-wide improvement. Schools' performance began to be measured using California's Academic Performance Index (API). In 2001, with passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB),…

Discourse analysis, a qualitative method for examining verbal interaction, can be an effective method for evaluating medical school clinical teaching, through clarifying interaction patterns, highlighting factors impeding effective instruction, and identifying microskills needed by clinical teachers. Having faculty members coach each other also…

Over the past decade or more, educators and policymakers have sought to define new directions for teacher education in order to address widely perceived failures to prepare teachers adequately for the challenges to be faced in schools, especially those serving the poor and English learners. As colleges of education and urban school districts have…

This article explores the experiences of six First-year teachers working in the broad, cross-categorical field of early childhood special education. A multicase approach provided insight into the complexity of teachers' roles and work with young children with special needs in a range of settings, with children of various ages and developmental…

The United States has engaged in intensive reform efforts in school mathematics education in the decade since the publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Standards for School Mathematics. This context has generated interest in how to best develop reform-oriented teachers. In this article the authors describe their thinking…

A Pennsylvania district used study groups to help teachers districtwide change their science teaching to standards-based practice of inquiry. Standards-based inquiry instruction requires that teachers have a deeper content knowledge as well as understand the process of inquiry. Making those changes requires support and a collegial environment.

Electronically mediated professional exchange is viewed as a valid form of professional dialogue and support. This study examines an effort to link teachers in 10 isolated schools to collaborate in curriculum planning and delivery, focused on a site for resource sharing and communication. Viewed in terms of data concerning extent, nature, and…

Since at least the 1980s, motivated, in part, by findings from international comparisons of students' mathematics achievement, some American (U.S.) educators and policy makers have initiated educational reform that focuses on improving teaching practices and curriculum designs by advocating for the adoption of Asian educational models. The…

Growing awareness of the importance of teacher quality in mathematics and science has stimulated a variety of national reports and funded initiatives for the purpose of improving teaching and learning in K-12 schools. This study examined the work of awardees in one federally-funded program that included a focus on increasing the number, quality,…

This paper discusses a reform project (The Professional Development System: Collaboration for Quality Education) collaboratively developed by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the Brunswick and Duplin County (North Carolina) public school systems. The project takes a systems approach to changing the way teachers are educated and…