Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

The adoption and impact of curriculum innovation are most commonly researched in terms of roles that teachers and school administrators are expected to play. A study in New Zealand focused on the responses of students. This integrated studies project developed alternative approaches to the traditional junior secondary school curriculum. It included extensive use of computers and a enquiry-based approach that explored Maori and European cultures while integrating mathematics, history, and language arts skills. Data were collected from 3 cohorts of students each over 3 years to provide complete data on 415 students. Results show that students who elected to be involved in the integrated studies program had more positive attitudes toward computer use than those in the traditional school program, and they also reported more enjoyment of out-of-class activities. Students in the integrated studies program were significantly less alienated than their counterparts in the regular grade-9 programs, and academic achievement was also higher for English, mathematics, and science. Results demonstrate a lag of over 3 years between the implementation of the curriculum elements and their complete use, and that student attitudes toward the program developed favorably over time. This suggests the importance of support and encouragement for teachers as they work to implement the innovations. (Contains 1 table and 11 references.) (SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert