In 1988 the William Penn Foundation awarded nearly $6 million to agencies in the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) area for a variety of programs aimed at preventing child abuse. The 4 programs selected targeted parents who most needed but were least likely to have access to parent education and support services. The Foundation appointed the National…

The purpose of this report is to communicate findings on current knowledge of simulation design, development, and evaluation. Research on this project was guided by questions posed by the Defense Systems Management College in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. These questions fall into three categories: the constituents of good instructional simulations, the…

In 1991, a study was conducted to determine which student characteristics contributed to success and progression through the English skills course sequence at Sacramento City College. The 371 students in the study were enrolled in selected remedial/developmental English classes or in College Composition (English 1A) at the beginning of spring…

This guide is intended to help organizational researchers involved in diagnosing organizations and helping them change. Part 1 focuses on defensive routines that limit learning at the organizational, intergroup, group, and individual levels. Part 2 focuses on the case study of a consulting firm at which a climate fostering learning and change was…

Designed to help social service agencies achieve a comprehensive system of care for chemically dependent pregnant and postpartum women and their drug-exposed children, the model described in this report was developed by a panel of 12 experts in the field of perinatal addiction and drug exposure in infants. The report begins with an overview of…

An interactive video trial involved teaching two Year-7 lessons to elementary school students in Queensland (Australia). French was taught to one class through two-way video and audio so that students and teachers could see and hear each other, and Japanese was taught simultaneously to three classes through one-way video and two-way audio.…

To examine parental sex stereotyping of young children, a study was undertaken in spring 1993 of 59 parents and caregivers and their infant and toddler children at child care centers and schools in Arkansas. Interviews and observations were conducted of the parents/caregivers, focusing on the types of toys bought for children, the toys that the…

African American urban sixth graders (28 males and 22 females), the majority of whom tested at or above grade level on the Iowa Basic Skills Test, were interviewed about 2 methods of selecting students for a summer science program. One method focused on student grades, and the other method focused on student interest in science. Subjects initially…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to create and test questions on stoichiometry with number ratios for quick mental calculations and to identify students' problem-solving strategies. The present study was a component of a more comprehensive investigation in which 7,441 German senior high school students were asked to work on 154 test items…

The assertion that there is a social component to children's construction of knowledge about natural phenomena is supported by evidence from an examination of children's classification schemes for plants. An ethnographic study was conducted with nine sixth grade children in central Texas. The children classified plants in the outdoors, in a…

Faculty members' reactions to constructing and evaluating course portfolios were examined, and how that process might be improved was explored as part of an annual evaluation of teaching. Three college departments (sociology, accounting, and dental hygiene and assisting) volunteered to use portfolio review in the 1991-92 school year. In all, 22…

This report, part of a series of documents which describe assessment of student learning in various curriculum areas, focuses on assessment of student learning in the mathematics classroom, beginning with an overview of current curriculum goals in mathematics. The rationale for reforming the content, instructional practices, and assessment methods…

A survey of 40 senior personnel directors of medium-sized and large employers in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area identified characteristics of unskilled applicants most highly valued by employers. These personnel directors estimated the probability that 16 hypothetical unskilled individuals would be hired at their firm. Each hypothetical…

This package contains a selection of exercises designed to facilitate learning of problem-solving/communication skills within the area of office supervision. It does not provide the learning material or lesson plans. Section 1 is an overview that explains the scope of the material, learning methods, use of the teaching package, teaching resources,…

This report presents seven case studies of programs across the country that have implemented innovative changes in the special education continuum. Telephone or in-person interviews with the program administrators were used to collect data. This report includes a summary of that information and a brief analysis of findings concerning common and…