This study applied self-efficacy theory to assess empowerment to advocate on behalf of tobacco control policies. The Youth Tobacco Survey with added policy advocacy self-efficacy, attitudes, and outcome expectations scales was given to 9,177 high school students in Texas. Asians showed the lowest prevalence of experimentation and current smoking,…

Understanding abstract concepts and ideas in mathematics, if instruction takes place in the first language of the student, is difficult. Yet worldwide students often have to master mathematics via a second or third language. The majority of students in South Africa--a country with eleven official languages--has to face this difficulty. In a…

This paper presents the preliminary results of a study conducted to investigate the differences in brain hemisphericity and learning styles on students' confidence in using the graphics calculator (GC) to learn mathematics. Data were collected from a sample of 44 undergraduate mathematics students in Malaysia using Brain-Dominance Questionnaire,…

Web-based learning has been proposed as a convenient way to provide professional development experiences. Despite quantitative evidence that online instruction is equivalent to traditional methods (Russell, 2001), the efficiency of this approach has not been extensively studied among teachers. This case report describes learning in an online…

Human service educators constantly struggle with how to best teach students the communication skills required of entry-level human service professionals. While teaching such skills is easier in a traditional face-to-face environment, teaching communication skills via distance learning presents its own challenges. Developing interactive web-based…

In this study, a learning unit on microorganisms for ninth-grade students was developed based on the Science-Technology-Environment-Society (STES) approach. The learning unit contained 15 learning tasks, which were performed in individual and cooperative learning settings, using a variety of teaching/learning methods with an emphasis on the…

The present study was aimed to assess the teachers' encouragement in the classroom for the promotion of students' creativity. A survey method was used for the present research with a sample of 373 subjects from ninth class. For collection of data four instruments were used, namely Student Information Sheet (SIS), two tests of "Creative…

This report summarizes findings from a study of the psychometric properties of the resilience and youth development module, a key component of the Healthy Kids Survey. The study aims to improve resilience assessment and research so that educators can shape the school environment to promote academic resilience. The Healthy Kids Survey (HKS) is a…

Using collaborative critical reflection as an index, this study examines the asynchronous and face-to-face discourse of 28 suburban Chicago elementary teachers developing problem based learning (PBL) curriculum. Statistical analysis of the corpus produced by the 2 mediums shows that the asynchronous online network emerges as the medium of choice…

"Literacy Express" is a comprehensive preschool curriculum designed for three- to five-year-old children. It is structured around units on oral language, emergent literacy, basic math, science, general knowledge, and socio-emotional development. It can be used in half- or full-day programs with typically developing children and children…

This study examined what factors contribute to the implementation of technology in the classroom. Specific research questions were: (1) What is the relationship between gender and amount of technology use in the classroom? (2) What is the relationship between years of teaching experience and amount of technology use in the classroom? (3) What is…

This brief report summarizes the results of a survey of professors of educational administration in the southern region of the United States, which sought to determine whether preparation programs were democratically administered. The survey included some demographic questions, 12 questions that asked respondents to rank preparation programs…

This report describes a program to improve inappropriate behavior of targeted fifth and sixth grade classes in an elementary school in northern Illinois. Seventeen percent of the school population is identified as low-income, although the community is experiencing a rapid increase in residential and commercial growth. Time-off task, incomplete…

The Maryland Higher Education Commission examined the degree of access which residents of various regions of Maryland have to higher education facilities to determine whether any of these areas are under-served. Southern Maryland, Mid Maryland, and Frederick County are projected to be the fastest growing areas of the state during the next 20 years…

This evaluation report describes the first year of an innovative attempt by three Chicago-area high schools, IBM, and Ameritech to introduce computing and telecommunications resources into the educational environment. Information presented in this project report was gathered by the evaluation team in over 32 day-long site visits to the schools,…