Initial findings and case studies of a 30-year follow-up of gifted students and adults suggest that characteristics such as love of one's work, persistence, purpose in life, love of challenge, high energy level, and a sense of mission may be more important in the long run than creative ability, intelligence, and high school achievement. (DB)

In the University of California (Davis) Program in College Teaching, graduate teaching assistants develop and fulfill contractual agreements for faculty-guided investigations into their disciplines, with supporting individualized activities about practices and issues of college teaching. Aspects of the program's development and effectiveness are…

State and local mandates are important considerations for preservice and inservice teacher education, offering teacher educators a way to provide teachers with global perspectives. The article describes characteristics of mandates in global education and notes that performance-based assessment is effective in preparing teachers to implement global…

Evaluation procedures used in teacher performance assessment systems in 12 states of the Southern Regional Education Board area are described. Twenty-two trained evaluators from 10 states viewed videotaped lessons and applied their own evaluation standards to enable comparison of outcomes of evaluation. Similarities and differences are discussed.…

Thirty-seven secondary students with learning disabilities were taught health facts and concepts, which they then applied to problem-solving exercises presented through computer simulation games. Students who were taught an explicit strategy for solving problems performed better on two transfer measures than students given supportive feedback and…

This study, with 161 children with and without language learning problems, tested the hypothesis that as children's language development matures, factor-analytic structural changes occur that are associated with measurements of fine-grained auditory discrimination, receptive vocabulary, receptive language, speech production, and 3 performance…

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) makes it unlawful to discriminate in all employee practices such as recruitment, hiring, promotion, training, benefits, pay, firing, job assignment, leave, lay-off, and all other employment-related activities. (PAM)

Contends that performance assessment, or authentic assessment, is changing the way teachers evaluate and grade students. Describes the differences between traditional assessment and performance assessment. Argues that performance assessment is particularly suited for the social studies curriculum. (CFR)

Studies effectiveness of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) in predicting subsequent grades for 9,064 Arizona applicants to teacher education programs in 1985 to 1989 and 100 students with subsequent performance data. The PPST has blocked minority students from teacher preparation programs, although correlations between score and performance…

Asked adults and children ages 7 to 15 to detect changes in an unaccompanied drumbeat. Found significant differences in performance as a function of age when drumbeats fluctuated. Found musical training more influential than age when drumbeat was constant. Discusses a multiprocess model for the perception of tempo. (NL)

An Australian oral/aural program for students with hearing impairments fosters independence and independent learning by teaching cognitive and metacognitive skills. Factors attributing to the program's success include careful planning for integration, a clear understanding of support teachers' roles, special programs to meet individual needs, and…

Data from 95 educationally disadvantaged Hong Kong students placed in mastery-learning classes were compared with 64 control students in expository-learning classes. Results indicate that under mastery learning, deep- and surface-biased learners increasingly diverge in performance and attitude, with surface learners doing better unit to unit, and…

Asserts that the presumption that student evaluation of teacher performance will eliminate poor or below-average teachers is dubious. Maintains that student evaluation is less harmful than peer evaluation. Argues that student evaluation is one of several factors that contribute to the decline of U.S. universities. (CFR)

Argues that the application of competency-based education strategies have served to reduce the educator's role and marginalize teachers' commitment. Criticizes the British approach and describes alternative concepts. Recommends models of professionalism based on "expertise." (CFR)

Presents tips to help teachers develop and manage valid, truly authentic assessments that are linked to daily class instruction, discussing how to refine assessments, get parents involved, encourage self-assessment, and make criteria clear. A model developmental reading scale for bringing more uniformity to reading assessment is presented. (SM)