A study compared outcomes of master's programs in public administration and other professional-education programs organized in cohort (intact student groups in lock-step course patterns) and noncohort formats. Students in cohort format had cognitive and affective learning gains equivalent or superior to traditional format students. Learning gains…

Since the announcement in 1999 of a plan to tie teachers' salary increases to student achievement by Denver Public Schools, there has been a flood of nationwide policy activity around teacher compensation. This paper examines pay plans in Denver, Toledo, Minneapolis, and New York City, offering a snapshot of the changing landscape of teacher…

A discussion of bilingual education programs focuses on the methodology and stated results of program evaluations. It begins with definitions of five program designs for limited-English-proficient students: English-only; structured English immersion; English as a Second Language (ESL); structured home language immersion; and transitional bilingual…

The Teacher Peer Support Program (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) described in this report was monitored for 2 years, from its inception in the 1990-1991 school year. The main objective of the research was to ascertain the degree of success of a formal induction program. Sources of information included questionnaire data from two cohorts of novice and…

A study of effective training programs for community and court interpreters is reported. The characteristics of 25 well-established interpreter training programs in North America, Europe, and Scandinavia were examined, and 6 of these programs were selected for site visits. The purposes were to identify outstanding models of interpreter training,…

This study sought to identify variables related to higher levels of elementary and secondary school teacher use of wait-time I and whether knowledge and skill can be increased by focused staff development. Wait-time I is the time a teacher pauses after asking a question before acknowledging a student's response. The study used research on QUILT…

This four-part application for the National Center for Research in Vocational Education's 1995 Exemplary Career Guidance and Counseling Programs award describes the goals and operations of a student services and counseling program at Washington's Renton Technical College (RTC). Parts 1 and 2 present general information on the program for 1993-94,…

An Undergraduate Research Fund (URF) at Indiana University South Bend that has supported over 100 projects and distributed over $25,000 to students since 1989 has yielded several lessons regarding the program's success. URF not only funded student projects but provided small grants to faculty mentors who encouraged and worked with students. Three…

The analysis presented here attempts to specify the various conditions, including school-wide and classroom practices, that maximize English language learners' opportunities to meet challenging outcome expectations, and synthesize them into a model for change at the levels of school and classroom. The attributes of effective programs identified…

The report evaluates a Swiss bilingual education program in the City of Sierre/Siders in which 19 Francophone children aged 5-6 years received half their instruction in French and half in German over a period of a year. Participants were evaluated for their German language skill development in November, February, and June. Results indicate that…

When designing a program to improve the critical thinking skills of students, it is important to identify the specific learning outcomes for which to strive. In addition, the instructor must determine why students are not currently exhibiting the kind of critical thinking skills desired in order to develop the appropriate techniques and methods to…

This guide describes a collaborative approach to high quality and relevant evaluation of a workplace basic skills program that can be carried out as part of normal program operations. It is designed for use by educators, union representatives, managers, supervisors, participating employees, and funders. The guide is organized into five phases. In…

There are over 3 million children in the United States whose primary language is other than English. Although bilingual education has been effective in meeting their needs, its availability is limited, and the alternative is often limited or no English instruction at all. It is not yet clear how effective total immersion is for non-English…

This document presents the findings of a two-year investigation of Interactive Research and Development on Schooling (IR&DS). IR&DS is an alternate means of conducting school-based research and development and an extension of Interactive Research and Development on Teaching (IR&DT). IR&DS is seen as a means to: (1) involve school personnel in…

There continues to be a great deal of debate about the role that field experiences play in teacher development and about the relative contribution of various individual and institutional factors to the socialization process. Field experiences in teacher education entail a complex set of interactions among program features, settings, and people…