Originally conceived as a "substitute" form of education, instruction by correspondence or distance education was formally recognized in the United States in 1883 and has since developed into an alternative form of instruction preferred by millions of people. In the past 100 years, home study enrollments in the United States have grown from…

Employees with mental retardation can lose their jobs because their productivity is low due to an inability to perform their jobs quickly and with a minimum of extraneous movements. This guide presents procedures, borrowed from the business world, that can be used to assist people with mental retardation to improve their work quality and…

This study was conducted to investigate differences in the pedagogical content knowledge of beginning and experienced teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL), with respect to student and curriculum knowledge, lesson planning, interactive teaching, and postlesson reflections. Participants in the study, two beginning and two experienced…

A survey of first-year high school students of English as a Second Language (ESL) (n=44) investigated their feelings about dialogue journal writing, including what they had learned, what they enjoyed reading and writing, reactions to teacher-generated questions, journal effect on oral English skills, desire to continue the journals, and other…

A teacher of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) reading courses at Doshisha University (Japan) describes classroom techniques and activities involving use of the computer and assesses the benefits, difficulties, and instructional results. Data are drawn from two ESL classes using computer-based instruction (CBI) offered in 1 year. The primary…

Representing a refereed selection of papers from the 1994 JALT Kansai Conference, this collection of 25 papers contains formal presentations, teaching experiences, research projects, and ideas for effective teaching. The papers and their authors are, as follows: (1) "Culturally Influenced Communication Patterns: Overview, Implications and…

Two studies are reported in this paper. The first investigated whether computer-assisted instruction with cloze exercises would be more effective in teaching English to nonnative speakers than traditional paper-and-pencil methods. Subjects were 38 community college students of varying language backgrounds enrolled in several levels of…

This paper presents a study that examined the effect of an attribution induction on students' performance on a subsequent achievement test. The study was conducted to determine whether an instructor might inculcate desirable attributions as part of a regular classroom interaction and thus improve academic performance in at-risk students. College…

An inservice program to teach instructional strategies that promote metacognitive development to classroom teachers in their roles as instructional designers, based on the notion that instruction in metacognitive strategies must be incorporated into content instruction, is described. Teachers were informed about the following specific…

The evaluation of a high school teacher by his principal in Alberta, Canada, was examined by analyzing the conversations that occurred between the researcher, the principal, and the teacher he was evaluating. The analysis reveals much about why the principal undertook teacher evaluations, and what counts as evidence for good or poor practice.…

The lack of leisure reading of learning disabled seventh graders was addressed by the implementation of a 3-part reading program. First, a sustained silent reading program was established school-wide on a daily basis. Second, a target group of 15 seventh grade learning disabled students participated in sustained silent reading with writing twice a…

This document reports on a national research needs assessment study which resulted in the identification of research priorities for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) through the year 2000. The report addresses: the scope, purpose, and mission of NRC/GT; a rationale for such research, noting six problem areas in…

This study sought to determine how retained first grade students function in a whole language classroom after meeting with failure in a traditional first grade setting. Data collection for the five retained students, plus six "at-risk" students, involved naturalistic observation. Reading began from language experience stories that the students…

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine if PowerPoint presentation is the most effective medium to explain two reference books: "The Storyteller's Sourcebook" and "A Guide to Folktales in the English Language." A secondary purpose was to see if the students who saw the PowerPoint presentation received higher…

This discussion of bilingual education in the United States begins with a review of the historical and political context in which it has evolved since the late 1800s. Policy issues and some research are examined here. It then outlines the theoretical and conceptual debate, focusing on four major theoretical frameworks used to justify bilingual…