This research tested the hypothesis that students' erroneous mental models about groundwater will change towards more valid concepts if they are taught on the basis of a mental model-building strategy that focuses on the clarification of students' misconceptions. To examine the hypothesis a quasi-experimental research design was chosen. The…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing the engagement of public school teachers in informal learning activities. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a survey research design. Findings: Analysis of the data found that teachers rely to a greater degree on interactive than on independent informal learning…

The guide is based on project reports by the San Francisco Department of Public Health to improve and monitor perinatal health and children's health. These reports demonstrated the potential of information to help community advocacy groups, service providers, and program planners identify priorities for policy decisions and resource allocation.…

This text on the assessment of students with disabilities focuses on accuracy in assessment and testing and the need for functional and meaningful assessment practices. The 14 chapters are grouped into 4 major parts. The first part, "An Introduction to Assessment," describes a comprehensive evaluation and discusses the mandatory…

This study tested the amount of value added to critical and communication skills by the university experience using a strategy that compared the skills of entering and graduating students at York University (Ontario). The study involved, first, identifying skills that might be improved over the course of a university education; second, developing…

An evaluation of a school reform project in one kindergarten through grade 5 school in Atlanta (Georgia) is presented to demonstrate how triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evaluation approaches can enhance understanding of a reform effort. During the 1991-92 school year, the final year of the project, Fowler Drive Elementary School…

This report, fourth in the New York-New Jersey Port Authority's series of analyses of 1990 census data, explores correlations between educational attainment and economic opportunity in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region. Reviewing census data for the region's adults (persons aged 25 and over makes clear the singular importance of…

This study examines some of the literature on college faculty supply and demand and asks whether it is possible to adopt assumptions from the previous research to construct a complex model of faculty workforce using the available data. The study involved a comprehensive review of the literature; numerous interviews conducted by telephone, e-mail,…

Projecting demand for vocational education teachers for a 5-year period has many methodological problems. For example, how does one define the "need for additional personnel" or determine the difference in demand for and supply of teachers? The demand figure changes drastically depending on how it is measured, while the supply changes…

The effects of innovation on leadership abilities have not been widely investigated. Although diffusion of innovation theory has existed for some time, there is a need for more research detailing the relationship between innovation and transformational leadership. In a survey of organizational members (N = 294), innovation was significantly…

This report is the first of four that stem from a study of The Impact of Approved Induction Programs on Student Learning (IAIPSL), conducted by Educational Testing Service (ETS) and funded by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). The IAIPSL study began in July 2002 and continued through April 2004. The purpose of the study is…

This study examined scores from 133,906 operationally scored Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®) essays to determine whether the choice of composition medium has any impact on score quality for subgroups of test-takers. Results of analyses demonstrate that (a) scores assigned to word-processed essays are slightly more reliable than…

This volume of the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students (NLTS) offers statistical data relating to 475 students (ages 13-21) with health impairments, defined to include youth having limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems that adversely affect education performance (includes…

This instructional guide, one of a series developed by the Technical Education Advancement Modules (TEAM) project, is a 6-hour introductory module on statistical process control (SPC), designed to develop competencies in the following skill areas: (1) identification of the three classes of SPC use; (2) understanding a process and how it works; (3)…

This instructional guide, one of a series developed by the Technical Education Advancement Modules (TEAM) project, is a 20-hour advanced statistical process control (SPC) and quality improvement course designed to develop the following competencies: (1) understanding quality systems; (2) knowing the process; (3) solving quality problems; and (4)…