Critiques the notion of school district efficiency and applies 1 definition to the performance of all 178 Kentucky districts. Finds that achievement test performance of inefficient districts exceeded that of efficient districts by .20 standard deviation, and that efficiency was related to smallness but not ruralness. Contains 26 references.…

Analyzes the comments of 12 Scottish secondary school teachers and their students on the positive aspects of the teaching that occurred in a series of lessons. Finds that students could specifically identify successful teaching strategies. (SV)

Discusses the implementation of a software system that allows teachers to take advantage of large banks of questions in subject areas. Explains that this plan is the result of a 1981 court mandate to standardize learning outcomes. Follows the development of the system and choosing of the software. (MVL)

Experiments with 12 sixth-grade students doing mathematics assignments and 9 students doing reading assignments under differing conditions of radio and television distraction indicate no sizable distractor effects on time studying, accuracy of computation or reading comprehension, and reading rate. Results are consistent with the conceptualization…

A survey of 61 pharmacy students in 2 undergraduate patient counseling courses investigated attitudes concerning use of learning contracts. Results indicated most students were highly inclined toward self-directed learning, contracts were clear on grading expectations, and contract grading facilitated learning and reduced classroom anxiety and…

Maintains that from kindergarten throught grade 12 students are bombarded by contests. Asserts that art teachers are asked to juggle learning objectives to meet criteria of the most recent contests. Provides recommendations for art teachers faced with decisions about participation in contests and other competitive programs. (CFR)

Research on what is known about the use of collaborative performance appraisal to enhance the professional growth of teachers was reviewed, and a survey was conducted of the views of 152 administrators and teacher supervisors about collaborative performance assessment. Alternatives for policy and practice suggested by the findings are discussed.…

Examines the role of student employees in academic libraries using data from Southern Statistics and Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Compares students' contributions to the full-time equivalents (FTEs), the cost-effectiveness of student employment, and Canadian libraries versus American libraries. Discusses the staffing mix, student…

Contends that appropriately designed questions are essential tools in disciplining students' thoughts and reasoning ability. Discusses classroom techniques for using questioning strategies in an interdisciplinary humanities seminar. Includes questioning scenarios for seeking information, interpretation, and speculation/hypothesizing. (CFR)

Summarizes five research projects concerned with the education of artistically talented students. Projects include interviews, surveys, case studies, comparative studies, and a drawing ability test. Concludes with a look at future directions for research. (MJP)

Parental attitudes about standardized tests and performance assessments were studied through interviews with 60 parents or parent dyads in schools involved in a project to develop new assessments and through questionnaires completed by parents from control schools. Parent approval of standardized tests did not imply disapproval of performance…

Investigated the maintenance and generalization of Individual Education Program (IEP) objectives. Comparison groups and 25 children with mental retardation from early intervention programs completed previously achieved and closely related tasks pertaining to color, shape, number, and size. Found variability in maintenance and generalization for…

Compares methods of providing digital video in computer-based training. A tabulation of performance, quality, and cost is provided, and techniques of compression and decompression are described together with hardware and/or software needs. Networking digital video, and the impact of emerging standards on the development of future products are also…

Describes a small-group, problem-based tutorial that was developed at Harvard Medical School. Topics discussed include recruiting and training faculty members for problem-based tutoring; students' ratings of tutors; students' written narratives; a survey of tutors' perspectives; and tutor effectiveness. (LRW)

Demonstrates how tutors within a problem-based curriculum can be evaluated and provided with adequate feedback about their performance to improve their behavior. Focuses on plans for action that could be undertaken with regard to aspects of a faculty development program. (LZ)