Working from a knowledge gap hypothesis stating that as amounts of information in a community or society increase, segments of the population with more education and higher socioeconomic status acquire this information at a greater rate than do lower status groups, a study examined the contributions to neighborhood residents' knowledge of local…

Prompted by a concern for the appropriateness of the modes of discourse as a teaching device and in an attempt to elaborate on the registers of writing required of undergraduate students, case studies were made of six college instructors--two each from biology, English, and sociology. The six teachers were interviewed on two occasions, from 1.5 to…

Methods of optimizing instruction through the use of course knowledge portrayal methods were studied, based on a series of experiments conducted over 6 years. Sixteen university courses in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities were investigated through the application of cognitive theory to instruction. Attention was first focused on…

This three volume report presents findings from an interview study with 103 children and adults regarding their awareness and conceptions of handicapping conditions and from a followup study of preschool handicapped and nonhandicapped students. Volume I details the design and results of the interview study focusing on Ss in five age groups:…

A study was made to determine whether nurses apply scientific theories in rearing their children or whether social class values have more influence on their childrearing practices. Surveyed were 119 registered nurses whose educational levels ranged from a diploma to a doctorate in nursing; 62 percent of the nurses responded. A questionnaire was…

The practicum addressed the problem of lack of parent involvement in the development of IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) for their handicapped children, through development of a slide program and associated materials. The program attempted to educate parents regarding the IEP process, their role in it according to Public Law 94-142 (The…

Ideas concerning reflection in general, the role of reflection in cognitive apprenticeship, and reflection in action are discussed. The notion of reflection in a particular setting is presented for two cases: the professional education and training of physicians, and a teaching improvement program in which a teacher-teacher coach facilitates the…

Seventy-five subjects (Naval F-14 and E-2C crew members) were administered computer-based and paper-based tests of threat-parameter knowledge represented as a semantic network in order to determine the relative reliabilities and validities of these two assessment modes. Estimates of internal consistencies, equivalences, and discriminant validities…

Many science educators are concerned with students' ability to understand science as a process and with their conceptions of scientific knowledge. Preliminary work has shown that the use of a model organizer can result in student perceptions of improved understanding, but the reason for this effect is not known. This research was undertaken to…

This paper describes a study which explored the variables of teacher knowledge of content, teacher attitude toward the content, and span of time with regard to implementation of selected teaching practices in the elementary classroom. The 32 elementary classroom teachers who comprised the sample received 2 days of training in instructional…

The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The paper provides a seven point definition of successful mainstreaming and reviews the literature on the role of special…

Prominent professionals who had worked with seriously ill children were identified through an automated literature search. The Delphi technique was used to identify components and reach expert consensus on knowledge, attitudes and behavior appropriate for teachers of terminally ill children. Comparisons were then made between the consensus and…

In an effort to assess the communication skills of prospective teachers, a study examined the role of three pedagogical domains in speech communication instruction--skill, knowledge, and motivation. Fifty student teachers were tested using the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PCRA; McCroskey l977), the Communication Competency…

A new way to view the nursing curriculum is presented based on Heideggerian phenomenology and clinical nursing knowledge research. A restructuring of the nursing curriculum based on this approach allows researchers to generate new research questions and has implications for alternative curricular and instructional practices. In addition, this…

A questionnaire was administered to 70 children in two age groups who averaged either 5 years, 8 months, or 10 years, 7 months of age, for the purpose of documenting their understanding of legal process and courtroom procedure. Questions probed factual knowledge and social cognition and perception. Subjects were also asked about four moral…