This book is a collection of ideas submitted to the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) by elementary and middle school principals of 1996-1997 Blue-Ribbon Schools selected by the United States Department of Education. Each of the ideas presented offers a way for the teachers to raise students' reading levels and give them…

Responding to the need to help children successfully make the transition from childhood to adolescence, this collection of articles examines specific obstacles children face in today's society, along with methods to address them. Following an introductory essay, the articles are: (1) "Adolescent Angst" (Browing, Castro, Difuntorum, and Helms),…

A practicum was developed to determine whether the motivation of a private school's ninth grade English class (18 students) could be increased by gearing the course toward a specified, authentic public audience and whether an increase in motivation would positively affect the quality of and attitude toward writing assignments and the use of…

This study was conducted to measure and compare the perceptions of teachers and principals regarding the likelihood that increased work effort would lead to increased receipt of outcomes, and to determine which actions by principals were perceived by teachers to be motivational. Participants consisted of teachers (n=230) and principals (n=6) in…

This study looks at the higher education learning needs of population subgroups by reviewing research concerning the classroom experiences of minority group students and women. The importance of addressing these questions is raised by the current and expected growth in ethnic minorities in the United States. Findings indicate that Black students…

A Livingston, Montana, study on lifelong learning was conducted in two parts. The first part gathered data about the following: (1) what respondents had learned in the previous 12 months; (2) their sources of information and how they rated them; (3) why they initiated learning activities; (4) economic costs and benefits; (5) what they might like…

A practicum addressed the problem of students' lack of fluency in standard English despite the traditional paradigm for formal grammar instruction and the emphasis on process writing in most English classrooms. Nineteen (English 2) high school students participated in peer editing groups in a collaborative learning environment. The solution…

This paper describes the approaches taken to improve library service at Northland Pioneer College, a decentralized community college in rural Arizona with learning resource centers at 10 locations in Navaho and Apache counties. Three methods of providing instruction for research papers--class tours of learning resource facilities, presenting guest…

A practicum was developed to improve process writing skills of seventh grade at-risk students by increasing interest through the use of the microcomputer, word processing software, and telecommunications technology. Sixteen students wrote a series of eight "basic" hand-written essays as part of the regular language arts class. Students then…

This review examines the psychological variables that influence academic performance, by exploring the psychosocial development of students and the individual differences that emerge in childhood and impact upon a student's later self-concept. Areas discussed include identity and achievement issues, gender differences in identity achievement, the…

This paper examines the effect of faculty rank, satisfaction with salary, working conditions, institutional reputation, perceived influence on institutional policies, participation in meetings, and perceived governance on organizational commitment (at both the departmental and institutional level) using a representative sample of 4,925 faculty.…

Teachers' responsiveness to and empathic understanding of students' perceptions when they are not motivated are critical in promoting students' ownership of the literacy learning agenda; in helping students with their motivational difficulties; and in establishing classrooms that focus on the enhancement of caring. An interpretive study, conducted…

A practicum was designed to enhance students' knowledge of well known children's literature that is represented by the Newbery and Newbery Honor Award winning books. One fourth-grade and one fifth-grade class comprised of students reading at or near grade level at a metropolitan school with a nearly 97% Hispanic student population worked within a…

The 10 Technical Assistance Manuals compiled in this document were produced under cooperative agreements between the Utah State Office of Education and several school districts. Each module, an entity unto itself, is designed to assist classroom teachers with developing behavioral and educational strategies, concentrating on the objectives,…

Accompanying a collection of 85 books for teenagers donated to local service organizations in Indiana, or donated in the name of such an organization to local libraries, this pamphlet offers suggestions to help the organizations engage adolescents with books and lists the paperback books given to the organizations. Suggestions in the pamphlet…