A Glimpse at Current Teaching Practices with Preliminary Survey Results

Prepared by Richard Jackson, Kevin Koziol and Lisa Rudowitz from the Teaching Practices Group at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College with the editorial assistance of Nicole Strangman, CAST

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This report is intended to provide stakeholders with a glimpse of the ways in which teaching practices are playing out in classroom settings as we enter the third millennium. The report outlines current trends in teaching practices, materials, and assessment approaches in America's now highly diverse classrooms. Drawing on the research literature and broad scale national surveys, the report addresses four separate questions:

1. What does the typical American classroom look like?
2. What are teachers and students doing in American classrooms?
3. What materials are students and teachers using?
4. How are teachers assessing student learning?

Appended to the report are the results of a preliminary survey conducted on a convenience sample of general educators from the metropolitan Boston area. While quite limited, the survey results serve to ground some of the findings from the more broad scale investigations described in the report. Both sources of information reveal that teachers today are implementing a host of instructional adaptations and accommodations to meet the diverse needs of students.

Citation

Cite this paper as follows:

Jackson, R., Koziol, K., & Rudowitz, L. (2001). A glimpse at current teaching practices with preliminary survey results. Peabody, MA: Center for Applied Special Technology, Inc. Retrieved [insert date] from http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/teaching_pract...