This study compared the use of dialog and response journal formats in a graduate class for literacy educators. Data from student journals, interviews, and questionnaires indicated that students comparably completed each type of entry and believed the two formats served similar functions (promoting collegial consultation, improving task engagement,…

Examines nonverbal communication research, highlighting areas relevant to teacher education and classroom diversity and emphasizing research on cultures, races, genders, and personalities. The article discusses functions of nonverbal communication in the classroom, synthesizes functions into a nonverbal teaching framework, applies the framework to…

At-risk students present problems not addressed by methods and materials. Changes in teacher education to help poor readers are distracted by debates over methodologies. The article suggests socio-emotional problems of at-risk students underlie their academic failures. Teachers must focus on teacher/learner interactions to bring about personal…

Investigates characteristics of 10 African-American women persisting in literacy programs. Subjects, aged 21 to 70 years, had been in reading programs from 1 to 8 years. Women cite their own determination and attitudes of program staff as among the most important variables in fostering persistence. (SLD)

Six articles analyze 1989 data from the Computers in Education Study of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), a cross-national elementary and secondary education assessment. A seventh paper describes the rationale and procedures for construction of tests used in the study's second stage in 1992. (SLD)

Examines the influence of two factors of the process of graphing on rural students' (n=93) ability to comprehend kinematics graphs on constant velocity events. Students exhibited difficulty in constructing and comprehending graphs of derived variables and were unaware of their own graphing skills deficiencies. (34 references) (MDH)

Science teachers and teacher educators need to reexamine the geoscience content in their courses. Public ignorance about science, in general, and about key concepts of the geological sciences, in particular, inhibits effective action on problems relating to environmental change, land utilization, hazard mitigation, construction safety, cost…

Although the Chelsea project, in which Boston University has taken control of the Chelsea School System (Massachusetts), has been hampered by political and financial problems, the university is pressing ahead with educational experiments to improve teaching, expand educational opportunities, reduce dropout rates, and increase community…

Describes the use of mapping and portfolio assessment by school library media specialists to document changes in student reading, writing, and information use patterns. Topics discussed include new curriculum designs in language arts and social studies; information literacy; comparing earlier and later work; and student reflection. (Contains 37…

Outlines a program to develop general process skills in which students consider the level of public understanding of science, analyze the role of national daily newspapers in communicating news and information about science, and gain insight into the problems of popular scientific communication by writing pieces on scientific topics. (MDH)

A graduate-level distance-education course for elementary school teachers used a "class page" on the World Wide Web to increase teacher-student and peer interaction and provide access to Web resources. Periodic student surveys during the course showed the dramatic impacts of the class page on student interaction behaviors, technology use…

Indigenous literacy affirms indigenous identity; connects native speakers to the culture and each other; and stimulates other, more diffuse forces for language maintenance. Collaborative, grassroots Native language programs in the United States, New Zealand, Hawaii, Canada, and Puerto Rico are described. Immersion and literacy programs include…

A formative evaluation of computer conferences for 100 preservice teachers over five semesters examined why and how students participated, focusing on grading system, grouping, collaboration, relevance, learner control, and technological preparation. Student conference messages and postcourse surveys from the first and last semesters were examined…

Studied reading comprehension, vocabulary, general knowledge, and print exposure of 11th graders who completed reading battery 10 years earlier. Found that first-grade reading ability predicted all 11th-grade outcomes--even when cognitive ability was partialed out--and was linked to print exposure, even after 11th-grade reading comprehension…

Describes the Teaching and Learning Collaborative (TLC) in Technology, which prepared preservice teachers to incorporate technology into lesson plans and supported inservice teachers' professional development with technology, offering a professional-development course, seminar sessions, and e-mail communication. Evaluation indicated that…