In an educational environment where experiences offered to children are increasingly being shaped by testing regimes and rigid curriculum design, learning experiences can often border on the bland and the neutral, or at best, focus on positive emotions such as joy and happiness. The work which is described in this article was designed to stimulate…

Using the method of qualitative metasynthesis, this study analyzes 49 qualitative studies to interrogate how high-stakes testing affects curriculum, defined here as embodying content, knowledge form, and pedagogy. The findings from this study complicate the understanding of the relationship between high-stakes testing and classroom practice by…

The current methods of student evaluation are of doubtful value. An adequate substitute needs to be found. (CK)

Educators make decisions on how they are going to approach teaching and learning based on the goals they are required, or hope, to attain. In many cases, when high-stakes tests are utilized to determine whether a curriculum has been taught and students have mastered it, the curriculum and teaching are so aligned with testing objectives that the…

Describes one teacher's habit of bending the rules with relation to issues of English curriculum and testing. Describes teaching as being often a subversive activity. (HB)

Examines how six major areas of foreign language education in Florida have been significantly affected by the proficiency movement. These areas include oral testing, curricular goals, instructional materials, teaching methods, state and county initiatives, and standards of achievement for teachers and students. (11 references) (GLR)

Examines the reasons underlying ignoring of dictionaries as a language resource in the teaching of modern foreign languages (MFL). Notes the audio-visual and audio-lingual emphasis on learning strategies focused on minimizing error. Concludes that the ability to produce better language through dictionary use is worth the effort of referring to one…

Discusses several issues important to chemistry: enticing top-notch students into the discipline, keeping up with the tremendous growth of chemical information, and promoting chemistry to the general public. Suggests eight methods to answer these issues. (MVL)

A discussion of teaching and testing methods for children with disabilities focuses on techniques appropriate for use in developing countries. The book has several purposes. Its aims are to: (1) discuss practical, step-by-step methods that can be used readily in existing classrooms; (2) describe ideal methods and materials as long-term goals to…

As an aid in preservice and inservice teacher education, this handbook is intended to produce a vocational instructor who understands the rationale of bilingual education, is sensitive to the special needs of bilingual and limited-English-proficient (LEP) vocational students, and is not afraid to try new teaching techniques. The six chapters,…

This encyclopedia of language teaching and learning is an authoritative handbook dealing with all aspects of this field of study. It has been produced specifically for language teaching professionals, but can also be used as a general reference work for academic studies at a postgraduate level. A comprehensive range of articles on contemporary…

Discusses how English-as-a-Foreign-Language instruction in China is carried out through the grammar translation method. Suggests that this method is insufficient and that language education reform is needed that focuses on teacher training, testing reform, methodology, curriculum design, and instructional materials.(Author/VWL)

This report, designed especially for use by researchers, evaluators, and teachers, explores the practical implications of the composing process for writing instruction and assessment. An understanding of the actual process of text composition is presented as insights into how the acquisition of aspects of writing might be facilitated are explored.…

Two studies of the effects of "Sesame Street" are presented. In the first case, the study tested two hypotheses: (1) "Sesame Street" can prepare poverty children for first grade; and (2) "Sesame Street" can narrow the achievement gap between the poor and the middle-class child. Twenty-four pairs of poverty children…

Contends that, although the Eurocentric focus in art and literature currently may be out of favor, the lack of a cultural background may hurt students' scores on standardized tests. Describes a teaching plan based on artist John Constable's painting, "Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden." (CFR)