The purpose of this study was to measure pre-service teachers' attitudes toward information technology (IT) after completing a discrete IT course taught in a student centred-learning (SCL) environment during laboratory sessions. Evidence from this study suggests that there was a positive shift in the participants' attitudes toward IT. Pre-test…

This paper analyses the role of computers within the nursery sector and what are viewed as the potential benefits and concerns of introducing young children to computers. It also examines how the computer is introduced and presented to young children and the form it takes. Data collection comprises a number of methods: questionnaires,…

This research sought to examine the communicative impact of the Black English speech pattern, known as call-response, on African Americans within an educational environment. An ethnographic study of an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) classroom was conducted to ascertain the pedagogical and cultural meanings this speech event held…

How do international speakers of English assert their identities as legitimate teachers of English given the privileged position of the native speaker? To answer this question, we present case studies of two students from Taiwan in their first year of study in a 2-year master of arts in TESOL (MATESOL) program. The data included interviews after…

In this article, the author explores the experiences of teaching staff on the conflicts and contradictions of working in a mass higher education system in the UK. The author conducted an in-depth interview with members of staff working in the area of the social sciences at different universities in the UK. She focuses on how her interview…

Teaching culture in the foreign language (L2) classroom can be a real dilemma for instructors: What culture do we teach? What does it mean to learn about a culture? How can students learn culture? In order to answer these questions, we evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of two types of culture portfolios: a traditional one that used on-line…

With his 10th book, Improving Test Scores: A Practical Approach for Teachers and Administrators, Scott Mandel outlines steps educators can take to boost achievement on standardized exams while maintaining the integrity of their day-to-day teaching. Mandel, who holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from USC, teaches history and English at…

Quality measures were originally developed for research aimed at describing the settings that children spend time in and identifying the characteristics of these environments that contribute to children's development. They were also developed to guide improvements in practice. Increasingly, however, measures of quality are being used for further…

The ubiquity of documentary films in social studies courses, along with their potential to influence what students learn, clearly show that documentary films matter in social studies education. While the high rate of documentary film usage by social studies teachers indicates that they are amenable to bringing new films into their classrooms, they…

An increasing number of online graduate study programs require students to participate in collaborative work projects. And yet, educational research examining instructional strategies that facilitate learning in small groups online is limited. This article describes findings from a qualitative research project that investigated instructor…

Vocabulary acquisition traditionally has been a struggle for students with special learning needs. This study involved an eleven year old fifth grade student with learning disabilities in reading and writing and limited English proficiency. Assistive technology assistance was provided from the Franklin Language Master 6000b and Microsoft's Power…

This paper provides an overview of Nebraska's K-12 Internet Evaluation Project, undertaken cooperatively between the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Nebraska Consortium of Educational Service Units. The purpose of the project is to document the implementation model and effectiveness of its K-12 telecomputing activities as they impact upon…

Sixteen courses were taught over a 2-year period at eight universities using Perseus, a HyperCard-based hypermedia information system that contains multimedia information about the Greek world, in order to examine how type of assignment influenced student perceptions about the Perseus interface and learning performance. Data collection methods…

Few studies have investigated the knowledge and beliefs that undergrids science teachers' assessment practice. This study was conducted to investigate the perspectives of science teachers on classroom assessment, considering the constructs that inform teachers of their classroom assessment practice. The study was grounded in a socioconstructivist…

This manual, in workbook format, introduces the principles of how to conduct an effective employee performance appraisal in the higher education setting. It uses several case studies to illustrate these principles. It is designed to be used for individual study or group workshops and seminars. The topics discussed include establishing a positive…