Describes the interviewing measures used with children as part of the assessment activities in a longitudinal field experiment. Explores children's motives, attitudes, and perceptions relative to the development of prosocial behavior. Finds that significant grade and sex differences are shown for measures used. Questionnaires for older children…

Discussion of computer literacy, database technology, and higher-order thinking skills focuses on a study that compared the problem-solving performance of fourth-grade students receiving search strategy training during computer-assisted instruction with students who did not receive training. Time spent on problems and the number of correct answers…

Describes a study which explored the effects of a program to help low-achieving fourth and fifth grade students increase their mathematics achievement. Students and teachers organized into a community of learners; the curriculum, organized around units of study with major concepts, skills, and operations, was effective for all achievers. (SM)

Effects of the involvement, classroom structure, and autonomy support of 14 teachers on the behavioral and emotional engagement of 144 third through fifth graders were studied across a school year. Results suggest that behaviorally disengaged students receive teacher responses that should further undermine motivation. (SLD)

Presents a diagnostic teaching unit designed to identify effective teaching strategies for fourth- or fifth-grade students with learning or behavior disorders. The unit uses "The Popcorn Book" (de Paola) for activities to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies across the content areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. (CR)

This study assesses the predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale (PKRS) for later academic achievement and explores the utility of a domain-specific measure of kindergarten readiness. Kindergarten readiness scores were significantly correlated with both math and language arts achievement as measured by New York State…

This study of the effects of three years of piano instruction is based on a sample of 117 fourth-grade children attending public schools in Montreal. The children had never participated in formal music instruction, did not have a piano at home, and their annual family income was below $40,000 Can. Children in the experimental group (n = 63)…

The USA is undergoing tremendous cultural changes as we open the first decade of the 21st century. In this paper the author discusses the need to close the performance gap that exists between White, African American, and Latino/a students. To do so, educators must carefully consider several important cultural forces. The author examines the shift…

We queried Florida elementary teachers about how they perceived their principals' professional and personal inviting leadership behaviors during a time when many teachers and principals felt a lot of pressure due to test-based accountability. Despite the pressure, teachers reported that their principals demonstrated fairly high levels of inviting…

In order to examine trends in educational reform in Kentucky, two studies of student portfolio evaluations as perceived by Kentucky teachers were described and compared. Under the Kentucky Educational Reform Act, student portfolios can serve as a basis for official evaluation of school performance. The first study, conducted in the fall and spring…

The cost of including hands-on tasks in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment was analyzed. In recognition of growing interest in performance assessment in science, the framework for the NAEP science assessment called for the inclusion of hands-on tasks with hands-on activities and questions about the…

After 10 years of teaching rule-driven, procedure-based, algorithm-oriented mathematics, an elementary teacher describes how she began to rethink her teaching style after returning to school for a graduate degree. Her rethinking is based on the first of four student teaching events that spanned an entire school year in which she used the…

Parental involvement is critical to a child's success in school. This handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 4 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Education "Program of Studies: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has launched an initiative called the Cardiovascular Health Promotion Project to teach heart-healthy habits to children. One of the programs developed by this initiative, CATCH, the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health, is the largest…

This manual has been prepared by Ohio educators and the Ohio Department of Education to assist teachers in preparing their students for success in the Ohio Fourth-grade Proficiency Tests in Writing, Reading, Mathematics, Citizenship, and Science. Actual student responses to the April 1994 field test items are used in this manual to illustrate…