Teachers put much effort into selecting books and planning literature activities that will engage their students. On reflection, the author recognized a need to give students more freedom to choose what to read. Research shows that "when students were provided opportunities to select which text(s) they would read for a given topic or unit,…

The New Mexico Higher Education Department strives to bring leadership, guidance, and assistance to New Mexico's higher education stakeholders. The HED is committed to promoting best practices, institutional fiscal responsibility, and student achievement. Everything the agency does is through the lens of supporting New Mexico's higher education…

The New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED) and higher education institutions (HEIs) have set long-term statewide goals to increase 4-year graduation rates, improve transfer and articulation, and improve remedial education outcomes. HED is pursuing these goals through the following initiatives: (1) Statewide common course numbering and…

Judge Harry T. Roman, an electrical engineer and inventor himself, has selected the best entries in the 2007-2008 "Tech Directions" Inventors Award Competition. This year's challenge called for students to devise new uses for the common Ping-Pong ball. Of the results, the judge notes "The ideas submitted were most interesting, with a high number…

In 1795 America's preeminent scholarly organization sponsored a contest for the best essay on education. The two winners have been canonized in the scholarship on early American educational thought. This essay refocuses attention on the great contest itself, not only seeking understanding of the works that it produced but also analyzing its…

The procedures used by the Ohio News Photographers Association in selecting the 1979 Ohio "News Photographer of the Year" are described in this paper, and questions are raised about their adequacy. The paper tells how the judges analyzed the photograph portfolios on which the award was based, relates the judges' standards for evaluation,…

Information on how to make an application for a Fulbright Award is presented to assist faculty members, young scholars, and women and minority group members who are often underrepresented in these scholarly opportunities. Ways to help applicants improve their chances of selection in a competitive process are identified. Every year, there are about…

Several student artists from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (Washington, DC) were among those recognized during Arts Recognition and Talent Search Week. Selected students spend a week participating in master classes and workshops, and performing for panels of experts. Prizes and honors are awarded for achievement of established norms for…

Presented is a research based method by which a state or regional professional organization may select the outstanding paper from those submitted for consideration. The procedure is conducted in three steps: submission, initial review, and final selection. During the initial review process the selection committee (four or more members) reviews all…

This book provides scholarship information for college bound students on how they can turn their talents and accomplishments into money for college via contests and competition. It notes that these scholarships, usually sponsored by associations and corporations, recognize student excellence in leadership, citizenship, science and engineering,…

This paper reports on the investigation of the operation of the Teacher of the Year Award program in 28 states. It focuses on the method of selection for recipients of this award, and explores the nature of the judging process used in selecting candidates at both the state and national levels. Specific objectives are: (1) to determine the criteria…

The purpose of the thesis was to present the procedure and techniques used to select the fourth annual recipient of the Rear Admiral John J. Shieffelin Award for Excellence in Teaching. The data and results were analyzed and compared with the results from the previous year. Findings indicate that the best teacher in each of the eleven academic…

Comparative data are gathered on (1) the institutional and nontransferrable fellow awards and (2) individual and portable awards of the Danforth Fellowship program. Results indicate that students attending elite universities will overwhelm their competitors in a national competition that is academically oriented and that open competition does not…

In order to clarify the process and criteria by which faculty at Castleton State College in Vermont are chosen for merit awards, the faculty union representative and an administration representative were interviewed. Problems of evaluation and funding, common in merit programs, were found to be paramount, and it became evident that the ideal merit…

The 1976 Educational Testing Service (ETS) Invitational Conference served as a platform for individuals who have been prominent in educational measurement and research to present their views on issues surrounding the testing controversy. The 1976 ETS "The Testing Scene: Chaos and Controversy," presents a historical review of events surrounding the…