A research project assessed the effect of Open College Network (OCN) accreditation on learner motivation and progression. It reviewed the effectiveness of OCNs in reaching the learners they seek to target--those who have benefited least from existing initial and continuing education. A postal survey was conducted of all learners registered with…

In many countries today teaching has been identified as one of the most stressful occupations. The total annual cost of stress to the British Education Service has been estimated as high as 360 million U.S. dollars. The objective of this research study with teachers in the Department of Education at the University of Manchester was to identify…

This book is the result of a set of case studies that were performed in four American public libraries between 1989 and 1992. The goal of the research was to describe the effect that planning has had in a representative set of libraries, focusing planning as a social phenomenon. The city, county, federated, and suburban library are examined.…

Using content to motivate students in grades 4-8 to acquire reading and writing skills, this book presents 13 mini-lessons on using literature to teach skills and strategies in reading, writing, and grammar. Each lesson covers at least 2, if not all 3 of these areas, and each lesson can easily take several days to cover. Each lesson presents the…

This workbook brings together activities to aid in motivating children to concentrate, listen, respond, think, and learn. The activities rely upon play-like tasks involving drama, music, and other forms of creative expression. The activities are organized by the season in which they are appropriate and include songs, dramatic sequences, stories,…

This report describes a program for improving the completion of homework assignments in a seventh-grade mathematics classroom in a large middle school in Rockford (Illinois). The problem of missing homework was noted by the mathematics teacher and confirmed by the other teachers on the seventh-grade team. Analysis of the probable-cause data…

This discussion paper provides background material to four issues identified as important to study for the adult literacy effort in Washington State: goals and outcomes, priorities for service, effective practices, and roles of providers. The paper provides a starting point for decision making. First, it sets a backdrop for the attention focused…

This book demonstrates how kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers can use storytelling and the expressive arts not only as motivational tools to develop students' skills, but also as ways to improve their own teaching styles. The book argues that when the arts are integrated across the curriculum, content becomes meaningful to students and they…

This book offers a systematic examination of how teachers react--and how teaching and learning change--when computers come into the classroom. It describes a longitudinal study which took place in 13 elementary schools (8 public, 3 parochial, and 2 private) in Kentucky. Through a variety of data collection methods, the study explored and…

The approach of parody writing dates back to ancient Greece. Unlike traditional parody that usually develops satire of an author's work, a form of primary parody writing can be used in the classroom to help children develop connections with text as they express their own ideas. Parody writing is useful with children in grade 3 and has potential…

This Digest reviews the literature on the subject of teaching English and language arts to gifted and talented students. It discusses how to identify gifted students, outlines some key principles for developing effective programs in English and language arts for the gifted, and suggests possible methods of evaluating gifted students and programs.…

Serious confrontation of the problems facing education requires a reform of the organizing principles of learning: a shift from an instrumental purpose to the moral and political purpose of cultural renewal, from learning for economic purposes to learning for citizenship. This book focuses on the work of secondary schools in the contexts of…

In a world of continuous change directly related to information technology, it is incumbent on faculty in higher education to share tools and ideas that foster effective teaching and learning experiences for students. This paper discusses four areas which should be addressed when teaching computer literacy: (1) establish computer literacy…

This cross-sectional study examined Japanese children's action-related beliefs about school performance and compared them with comparable data available from studies of German, Russian, and American cultures. A total of 817 Japanese children aged 8 to 13 years completed the Control, Agency, and Means-Ends Interview (CAMI), which assesses general…

This study, conducted at a major western Canadian university, examined the relation between the academic growth and development of dental students and perceived control, a personalogical variable; and academic and social institutional integration variables. Two questionnaires with an academic focus were administered to 67 students. The theoretical…