Reviews the current literature to determine the extent to which affect influences the achievement levels of students. Highlights research findings in mathematics, reading, writing, and instructional strategies. Suggests that although affect may be a significant factor in determining the academic success of developmental freshmen, more research is…

Examines the effect of test method on the reading performance of two levels of early-stage second-language (L2) readers of French. The study compares two global response modes, the summary and the recall protocol. Results indicate a significant qualitative difference in the performance on the two tasks. The summaries contained significantly more…

Describes the destruction caused by the Oklahoma City bombing and recounts the reaction of a second-grade class in Oklahoma. Describes class discussions of the bombing and how children found various ways to ask questions and express their feelings about the incident. Provides tips for teachers to help children who are going through trauma. (MOK)

Reports on a survey of 78 newspaper editors. Includes information about the types of readership research that newspapers conduct, the extent to which such research has influenced editorial decisions, and the characteristics of newspaper organizations that conduct research. Suggests that while most newspapers conduct research, the type and quality…

Argues that practices of civic journalism are a fit focus for perfecting the needed methods to build a tradition of media performance assessment. Maintains that academicians and practitioners should join together in this effort. (TB)

Discusses a British primary headteacher's attempts to introduce collaborative decision making by establishing regular formal meetings, both as a whole staff and within age-related teams. Describes and interprets the varied, complex patterns of staff response. Teachers are more responsive to collegial leadership styles when they perceive that the…

Presents a review of the empirical literature examining the initial effects of witnessing domestic violence on children's functioning. Although results are somewhat inconclusive regarding children's social, cognitive, and physical development, findings of recently conducted investigations, when combined and compared with the previously reviewed…

Since teachers know that students and parents will not rate them as kindly as fellow educators, most attempts to add these voices have been resisted. Although some districts have managed to overcome teacher skepticism and hostility, only 1 percent of U.S. school districts use 360-degree evaluation regularly. (MLH)

Examines 31 book club discussion guides prepared by major book publishers for book club readers to explore which particular ways of reading and discussing books they might sanction. Finds that they steer readers toward a rather narrow collection of academic reading practices (analytic and text-based) and away from other types of responses. (SR)

Examines teachers' efforts to reconstruct their practice in the context of national, state, and local instructional reforms. Argues that a teacher's zone of enactment (the space where teachers encounter reform initiatives) plays a crucial role in the implementation of instructional reform. Proposes a model to account for teachers' responses to…

Findings from a study conducted with 203 suburban secondary and elementary teachers in Ohio reveal concerns about proficiency testing's effects on professional job environment, curriculum, student learning behavior and needs, and community relations. Economic and policy forces are de-professionalizing certain aspects of teachers' work. (Contains…

Considers some of the difficult moments that occurred while teaching an interdisciplinary course entitled "Race and Racism" at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario (Canada), specifically focusing on the emotional issues evoked by discussion of race in the classroom. States that emotional issues are hard to resolve because they mirror…

Describes (1) a statistical study of secondary teachers' conceptions of and beliefs about mathematics and its teaching and (2) the relationships between them. Reports that five factors were identified representing a conception of mathematics as an area of human activity, while five conceptions of mathematics teaching were also identified.…

Looks at two case examples of reader experiences, one of an 8th grader and another of a 2-year-old. Considers how to best promote reading by reading aloud in class. Presents a list of 37 highly recommended books for 8th-grade classes and a list of 11 books recommended for read-alouds. (SC)

Linking language assessments is a matter of greater concern with the advent of educational frameworks used to orient curricula and profile attainment. Outlines practical ways the principles of techniques recognized for linking separate assessments--equating, calibrating, statistical moderation, predicting (or benchmarking), and social moderation…