Information is presented on a study to explore similarities and differences among adults in their perceptions of attributes associated with exemplary instruction. Three purposes were to: determine how returning adults describe the instructors they find exemplary and compare these findings with the findings of previous research about younger…

A study was conducted at a rural community college to explore the process by which adult women who had returned to college decided whether to persist or drop out. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 women who had been identified as exceptional in that they either persisted and graduated even though they had been initially identified as…

The Music Curriculum Steering Committee of the Greater Albany (Oregon) Public School District 8J developed its own tests and evaluation procedures to accumulate data on music achievement and performance levels from students in third, fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades. Tests for third and fifth grade students focused on musical notation, listening…

This handbook provides a short, simple, non-academic, and practical guide on instruction in an on-the-job setting. It teaches job instructors the skills, knowledge, and techniques necessary to carry out job training in vocational and technical areas. Part 1 focuses on elements present in the job instruction setting that must be weighed to maximize…

Examined were relationships between metamemory and strategic behavior in 130 impulsive and reflective children in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Of these, 77 had been tested 3 years earlier on multiple metamemory and memory tasks. At pretraining, children were assessed on metamemory, cognitive tempo, summarization skills, and teacher ratings of…

Conclusions of major reviews of the literature on student ratings of college teachers are summarized for the period 1971 to September 1988. Several factor analytic studies have concluded that student ratings are multidimensional and that no single item will be useful for all purposes. Consistency, stability, and generalizability are aspects of…

The legitimate uses of new instruments for the selection and appraisal of principals, factors influencing use of these instruments, and safeguards to minimize misuse are discussed. Performance appraisal systems in education have been used legitimately to ensure that principals meet minimum performance standards, and for promotion. Another valuable…

A longitudinal study was conducted to: (1) describe characteristics of verbal interaction of children from 3 to 6 years of age with their mothers and preschool teachers; (2) analyze similarities and differences in conversational styles of mother-child and teacher-child dyads at the child's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth year; and (3) explore the…

To examine faculty development activities to improve teaching effectiveness, a midwestern college awarded grants to 17 faculty members for the purpose of revising existing courses and/or developing new courses. The faculty members had from 3 to 23 years of experience and represented all academic divisions. Student evaluations of a total of 27…

This working paper presents guidelines for negotiating learning contracts between tutors and postsecondary students enrolled in a vocational program. The first two sections discuss the general rationale for negotiating curricula and the specific benefits of conducting such negotiations with students over the age of 16. Addressed next is the…

Drawing on communications, psychological, and educational studies, this paper examines television's influence on reading performance and school achievement. The first section of the paper reviews and synthesizes major studies dealing with the introduction of television in a community and with correlations between television use and school…

The use of standardized tests and test data to detect and address differences in cognitive styles is advocated here. To this end, the paper describes the componential theory of intelligence addressed by Sternberg et. al. This theory defines the components of intelligence by function and level of generality, including: (1) metacomponents: higher…

A handbook for foreign teaching assistants (TAs) is presented by foreign graduate students with teaching experience and other educators who have worked closely with them. Language skills, teaching strategies, cultural issues, resources, and the environment at the University of California, Berkeley, are addressed in 16 articles. Article titles and…

This System and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) flyer/kit is based on two research efforts: a 1986 SPEC survey on the collection and use of management statistics related to reference services, and a 1987 supplemental survey on qualitative measures of reference services. A brief introduction describes the survey and discusses the evaluation of…

This collection of essays discusses ways in which community colleges and proprietary schools have been able to cope with changes in employer and student markets. The collection includes: (1) "Marching to the Market: A New Tune for Training Organizations," by Wellford W. Wilms; (2) "California's Employment Training Panel: Creating Incentives for…