Since 1999, the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) has provided funding to provincial school authorities for projects designed to improve student learning and performance. Conducted in three-year cycles, this unique approach has successfully helped to initiate approximately 1,600 grassroots projects led by school districts, teachers,…

The setting of this study took place in an inner city. The purpose was to determine the effectiveness of a neurologically integrated approach in teaching 43 at-risk pre-first graders their letter sounds and formations during 45-50 hours of summer school. There were four sequential phases to teaching this alphabetic approach: imagery, auditory,…

This pilot study investigated the effects of allowing sixth-grade students in a rural south Georgia school to use stress balls during direct instruction and independent practice. Data from learning style inventories, surveys, journals, teacher observations, and formal assessments were collected for 29 sixth-grade students in a language arts class.…

Compared the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary dropout prevention science course with a traditional dropout prevention course. Analyses of process and recall skills from the district's science achievement tests revealed significant differences in academic performance for curriculum type, gender, and race/ethnicity, with no significant…

Investigated factors affecting high school students' attendance. Data from student, staff, and administrator interviews and review of attendance data revealed serious problems in how students perceived they were treated by staff and peers as well as problems related to school climate and curriculum and instruction, which destroyed student…

Presents data on the percent of full-time public school teachers indicating the extent to which participation in professional development activities in various content areas improved their classroom teaching, by number of hours spent in professional development in that content area in the last 12 months (1998). (SM)

Interviewed high school students to determine whether teachers used instructional strategies that students believed helped them master new materials, noting whether the match between learning style and instructional format differed depending on student gender and race/ethnicity. Male Latinos reported more mismatches between learning and teaching…

Discusses various methods used to teach Braille, beginning with pre-Braille skills that must be developed before children reach school age. Also discusses various techniques used to teach Braille skills to students who have a severe vision loss or low vision and reviews different commercial programs designed to teach Braille reading to various…

Discusses results of a study that identified promising practices in both dropout prevention and transition programs for youth at risk in 67 Florida school districts. Practices related to timing (grade range), curriculum, setting, and partnerships are reviewed. (SLD)

Presents a seven-step model that describes a cognitive and behavioral loop that may explain actions of some impulsive and out-of-control youngsters. Suggests some intervention strategies that take the cognitive loop into account and help the student work toward personal control. (SLD)

Assessed the effects of a proactive instructional approach to school-wide discipline in common areas of an urban elementary school of 555 students on the social interactions of students and referrals for disciplinary action. Results show a clear improvement in social behavior that was maintained throughout the experiment. (SLD)

Presents results of a study on extremely effective and ineffective elementary schools in the Netherlands involving 124 schools with high proportions of ethnic minority students. Findings show that schools with a high percentage of ethnic minority students are not necessarily ineffective. In the most effective schools, teachers spent more time on…

The middle school teacher is the first line of defense against dropout risk for students. This article presents a plan for teachers to design and conduct learning units that cure, rather than cause, further risk. The plan is supported by a model based on recent brain research that meshes student interests with curricular constraints and goals.…

This second part of a two-part essay shows how teachers, especially middle school teachers, can reduce academic risk. Two hypotheses are examined: (1) the more the classroom culture respects students, the more students respect the purposes, principles, and people in the classroom; and (2) assessment of learning must be fair and meaningful for all.…

Defines and discusses at-risk readers, and reviews assessments of student classroom performance. Strategies that have been successful with at-risk readers in the elementary classroom are discussed, including dramatization, parallel drama, semantic guides, word images, connecting reading and writing, and media-intervention. (SLD)