Homework has been an integral part of the educational system for over 100 years. What likely began as simple memorization tasks has evolved into complex projects and sparked an increasingly heated debate over the purpose and value of homework assignments. This "Focus On" examines the purpose of homework, how to create homework that has value,…

Why do some students go above and beyond what is asked of them while others do just enough to get by? This "Focus On" debunks common underachievement myths (such as "some students aren't capable of learning" or "underachievers are lazy") and looks at ways to create a motivating classroom by providing teachers with effective strategies for engaging…

This ERS "Focus On" discusses curriculum-based measurement (CBM), the most widely used research-based method for student progress monitoring, which is required in Response to Intervention (RTI) approaches. CBM is supported by nearly 30 years of empirical evidence of its effectiveness in monitoring student progress to increase achievement. Teachers…

To paraphrase a quote by Thomas Jefferson, "there is nothing so unfair as the equal treatment of unequal children." Teachers cannot use a one-size-fits-all model of instruction to successfully reach all children. This "Focus On"--an update of our popular 2004 edition--is designed to help teachers assess and improve their own instruction by…

Evidence suggests that there is a crisis in adolescent literacy. Part of the problem is that students often receive little literacy instruction after elementary school. This "Focus On" examines the literacy instruction that adolescents need to be successful as they move on to more challenging texts in middle and high school. In addition, this…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) connects standards-based content to real-world scenarios through the use of projects to improve student achievement. By engaging students in authentic problems that do not have a predetermined solution, students learn both subject matter and critical 21st-century skills. This "Focus On" addresses what separates PBL…

This document provides guidance on effective practice in delivering personal finance education in secondary schools. It is based on the findings from research carried out by NFER (the National Foundation for Educational Research) on behalf of pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) as part of an evaluation of Learning Money Matters (LMM). This…

This "Focus On" describes instructional strategies that are effective for students with disabilities and that have also been shown to be effective in raising the achievement outcomes of underachieving students without identified disabilities. The authors first describe the challenging characteristics of underachieving students and discuss some of…

Lesson and unit plans designed by preservice teachers who developed their plans using the backward design model or a traditional model of curriculum design were compared. Two independent raters scored 153 lesson and unit plans developed by preservice teachers in two different sections of Educational Planning and Management. The plans were…

Helping students to become active and engaged learners at an early age is key to their success throughout their school years not only to raise test scores but to raise student achievement in a more meaningful way. If school staff work together, making maximum use of the knowledge base about teaching and learning, they will help students become…

The effects of systems-based mathematics instruction on students' mathematics achievement were studied over a two-year period. Students taught by that method for the full two years outscored those receiving one year of systems-based instruction, those previously taught by that method, and those taught exclusively by conventional methods.…

Describes and illustrates games and game settings used in two observational projects dealing with game play by young children. One project presented games encouraging use of strategies; the other provided game equipment and invited the children to invent their own rules and playing procedures. (DS)

Based on the theory that the human left brain hemisphere processes verbal-sequential data and that the right hemisphere processes visual-spatial data, this article presents a teaching strategy for stimulating both hemispheres. It also describes the study that contributed to this strategy. (DS)

Describes the development of a set of Internet-based instructional materials on frog dissection and anatomy for high schools, and reports on the effectiveness of Internet delivery for encouraging high levels of use and user satisfaction. The importance of the World Wide Web for distribution and use of educational materials is discussed.…

This manual presents a program of instruction, the Basic Skills Instructional System, which coordinates a number of teaching strategies into a single instructional system. Section 1 describes the organizational phase of the system: (1) teacher expectation; (2) resistance from low achieving students; (3) avoiding confrontations; (4) management of…