The use of collaborative case studies is an important tool for promoting teacher development, providing preservice teachers with opportunities to apply what they have learned in a real life context. This paper describes the design and evolution of a unique application of case study methodology by two early childhood/elementary education professors…

This text was written as an outgrowth of 6 years' work with children aged 3-5 in the Child Development Center at Western Oregon State College, Monmouth, Oregon. The children attending this program included typically developing children as well as children with disabilities. A primary purpose of this book is to share the experiences and learnings…

Teacher educators have come to appreciate that the teaching of difficult subjects combines knowledge of content and knowledge of generic teaching methods. A study was conducted, therefore, to explore the potential of cases to carry pedagogical content knowledge. A case was developed describing how an expert teacher goes about teaching…

Each major trend in 20th-century second language teaching is explained, and similarities and differences are highlighted. An introductory chapter offers a brief history of second language teaching. The second chapter outlines a model for examining and comparing the different approaches. This model is used in subsequent chapters to describe methods…

In 1987, parents and teachers from diverse neighborhoods of a local school district in New York (New York) founded the Bronx New School, a small public elementary school of choice that was meant to be learner-centered, with high standards for all. The school was organized into heterogeneous, multi-age classes and structured to encourage…

The cultural crisis in the United States poses a challenge for educators to educate for diversity. According to T. Cross (1988), there are six stages of cultural competence that allow effective cross-cultural functioning. Educators must encourage the movement from the first stage of seeking to destroy another culture to the final advanced cultural…

This Digest of a larger report with the same title examines the application of learning theory to the quality of learning in undergraduate college classrooms. Relevant theories are identified, including theories which address college students' attributions for success or failure, self-efficacy, social constructivism, conscientization, multiple…

This discussion of an urban professional development school (PDS) partnership between Milwaukee Public Schools (Wisconsin) and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee documents changes made and experienced by teachers, particularly changes related to moving from an ineffective basic skills approach to reading, in a school context focused on student…

This book on effective curriculum for gifted students begins with an introduction that discusses gifted education's use of the special education model and implications of current educational reform. Part 1, "General Issues in the Design and Development of Appropriate Curricula for the Gifted," then explores scope and sequence in curricula for the…

A teacher of educational theory delivers an educational foundations course on sociocultural concerns in education. In this course, teaching is presented as an orientation to the world and a moral enterprise because it intervenes in people's lives. Students typically fear theory classes because they do not want to appear foolish or because…

Implications of using authentic activity as a model for appropriate learning activity are discussed, particularly in regard to the design of computer-based simulations and project-based learning activities. Mere provision of computer-based simulations and reality-centered projects does not ensure that a student will derive the benefits of…

A knowledge base was developed regarding the nature, dynamics, and scope of the induction process for beginning secondary vocational teachers. The research involved the following components: a 2-year ethnographic follow-up of 12 beginning teachers during fall 1988; the case study analysis of the first 2 years of teaching of five beginning teachers…

A three-year study examined the significant factors that affect the job placement rates of students completing a Home Economics Related Occupations (HERO) program. Other purposes of the study were to develop and pilot test a model that could be used to determine factors related to student placement in a variety of vocational education programs and…

This second issue of a series on theory, innovation, and practice in andragogy analyzes some of the instructional variables in adult learning and discusses ways to influence the degree of learning through the application of instructional and behavioral technologies. It unites theory and practice, generating recommendations from the abstract…

An ITS (Intelligent Tutoring System) is a teaching-learning medium that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology for instruction. Roberts and Park (1983) defines AI as the attempt to get computers to perform tasks that if performed by a human-being, intelligence would be required to perform the task. The design of an ITS comprises two distinct…