A study examined whether a field placement in a preschool program enhanced preservice teachers' understanding of the emerging literacy process. The study was conducted in two preschool classrooms in an urban school district in central New Jersey during the spring semester of 1996. Subjects were 26 graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers who…

The typical undergraduate program in computer science includes an introduction to hardware and operating systems, file processing and database organization, data communication and networking, and programming. However, many graduates may lack the ability to integrate the concepts "learned" into a skill set and pattern of approaching problems that…

Hispanic parents have been slow to overcome their historical reluctance to turn their young children over to nonfamily members for care, but the educational boost preschool provides is particularly important for the one-quarter of Hispanic American families who are poor by Federal guidelines. This digest describes the strategies and programs…

Classroom observations and in-depth interviews were used to study nine first-grade teachers who were nominated by language arts coordinators as being either outstanding or typical in their ability to help students develop the skills of beginning literacy. Based on observational measures of year-end student reading and writing achievement and on…

In its most basic form, storytelling is a process where a person (the teller), using vocalization, narrative structure, and mental imagery, communicates with the audience who also use mental imagery and, in turn, communicate back to the teller primarily through body language and facial expression in an ongoing communication cycle. Storytelling is…

The report discusses the first- and second-language development, oral and written, of native English-speakers and native Spanish-speakers in the two-way immersion (TWI) program at Key Elementary School (Arlington, Virginia). Data were drawn from classroom observation from 1994-96, student performance measures, and student work samples. Three…

This document contains computer skills curriculum plans for the public schools of North Carolina; these lesson plans are designed specifically for grades K-4 and focus on keyboarding. The lesson plans for each grade include a list of materials needed, lesson time, teacher preparation activities, outline of activities, and instructional measure.…

This curriculum guide contains computer skills activities for the public schools of North Carolina; these lesson plans are designed specifically for grades 4-7 and focus on telecomputing. The lesson plans for each grade include a list of materials needed, lesson time, teacher preparation activities, outline of activities, and instructional…

This curriculum guide contains computer skills activities for the public schools of North Carolina; these lesson plans are designed specifically for grades 4-8 and focus on information access via databases. The lesson plans for each grade include a list of materials needed, lesson time, teacher preparation activities, outline of computer and…

Franklin Pierce College (New Hampshire) has established an information technology (IT) major which combines courses from the computer science, graphic communications, and mass communication disciplines to conform more closely to the reality of technology in the late 1990s. Information technology brings together tools from these disciplines for the…

As the College of Staten Island (New York) completes the installation phase of establishing the computer network and installing computers in most faculty offices and teaching laboratories, the priority activities have become faculty training and curriculum development. Members of the Pedagogy and Media Committee have coordinated campus-wide…

This guide provides advice on effective use of assessments in adult basic and literacy education programs. Chapter 1 considers different types of standardized tests, their purposes, their advantages and limitations, misuses of standardized tests, and other types of assessments. Chapter 2 on informal assessments defines alternative and informal…

A study examined literacy professionals' interest in gender issues in literacy education. A total of 1,519 K-12 teachers; reading specialists; teacher educators in reading, language arts, and related fields; library media specialists; and school administrators who make policy decisions related to literacy education completed a survey. Results…

This publication is a compilation of information on "literacy theater," a process that involves the act of presenting a short, worst-case scenario that is followed by the actors staying in character for a dialogue with audience members. The guide defines literacy theater as being constructed to involve the interaction of two to five people, a…

The dawn of the electronic age has altered the role of the school librarian: the position is less of a warehouse manager and more of a reference consultant, the emphasis is access to information rather than collection development, and the librarian is an information center manager, specialist, and teacher of information technology. School…