Faced with concerns that students in the American educational system are failing to learn critical thinking, problem solving, and reasoning skills, and do not have the ability to apply these skills to real-world situations, educators and psychologists are researching methods of improving student learning and assessing student performance. In order…

This book describes a "whole learning" approach to education called the Watershed Program, which stresses integrated curriculum and experiential learning. Each chapter begins with an episode from the history of eastern Pennsylvania along the Brandywine River, used as an analogy to problems faced by the teachers in the Watershed program.…

This study examined the technology preparation component of two University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) preservice teacher education programs: the traditional teacher education program and the Teacher Education Advancing Academic Achievement Model (TEAM) Collaborate teacher education program. Some characteristics of TEAM were: a year-long site…

Four issues of this journal on gifted education published in 1995 focus on the following four topics respectively: (1) gifted students in the regular classroom; (2) brain research; (3) professional development; and (4) curriculum compacting. Major articles included are: "What Does the Research Say? Testing Your Knowledge About Gifted…

The purpose of this research study was to build and pilot a psychometric instrument, the Primary Childhood School Success Scale (PCSSS), to identify behaviors needed for children to be successful in first grade. Fifty-two teacher responses were collected. The instrument had a reliability coefficient (Alpha) of 0.95, a mean of 13.26, and a variance…

While the publication of school report cards and profiles is common in a number of states, their contents and formats vary as they represent the concerns and initiatives of policymakers. Over the past several years, detailed analyses have been conducted of the report cards of southern and southeastern states. This report compared report cards and…

This module is the fifth of five integrated professional development modules for adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) personnel. The 12-hour module is designed to build on and develop participants' understandings about language. The stated purposes of this module are as follows: to develop participants' understandings of language as social…

Based on the experiences of teachers, principals, and parents involved in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), this book is a collection of accounts and reflections by teachers or administrators who have engaged in developing and implementing nongraded primary education programs. The articles in this book are: (1) "Reforming the…

The Interface Alaska Multifunctional Resource Center developed a model for training Native American language teachers to effectively teach Native languages. The model provides Native American paraprofessional language teachers with basic knowledge of classroom techniques and effective teaching strategies. The training introduces the Total Physical…

A practicum at a licensed, non-profit family day care agency in Canada serving over 4,000 children and their families was designed to assist in clarifying the meaning of family support and family-centered child care. The practicum was developed to assist the agency in moving towards operationalizing its commitment to provide optimal family support…

This digest summarizes a larger document of the same title which takes the position that because American democracy is founded on the premise that citizens need to engage in free and open discussion of opposing points of view, it is important that intellectual conflict become part of college instruction. It suggests several ways in which…

The thesis of this book is that intellectual conflict is an important and powerful instructional tool which should become part of day-to-day student life in colleges and universities. Properly structured academic controversy results in increased achievement, better problem-solving and decision-making skills, more positive interpersonal skills, and…

In light of concerns that previous staff development projects did not truly capture life in the classroom, and that there may be a gap between one's previous elementary and current university teaching experiences, a teacher educator used a semester sabbatical to shadow six first-grade teachers in order to inform thinking and practice in teaching…

When an individual or family seeks counseling, assessment information ensures that the counseling professional understands the struggles, difficulties, and strengths of the client(s). An array of assessment issues for various populations and various mental disorders are examined in this series of articles. The hope is that the articles will…

Summarizing what is known about reading teaching and learning, this booklet gives those people who must make decisions about reading instruction the most recent and reliable information available from research and practice. Sections of the booklet address such topics as what reading is and why it is important; the status of the "Great…