Discusses T. Eagleton's view of rhetoric as a study of the political power of discursive practices, comparing it to views of other theorists. Argues that composition faculty should welcome Eagleton's socialist-inflected revival of rhetoric because he embeds it in a deconstruction of the polarities that marginalize writing teachers and empower the…

Notes the problem in reading instruction of teaching children both one-to-one representational meaning of words and world-meaning of words, a distinction that can alter their perception of truth as found in written works. (JC)

Presents a hypothetical situation of an elementary school principal's concern at students writing during reading time, and offers a possible teacher's response with information about the direct tie between writing and reading improvement. (JC)

Answers James Stiff's criticism of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion. Corrects certain misperceptions of the ELM and criticizes Stiff's meta-analysis that compares ELM predictions with those derived from Kahneman's elastic capacity model. Argues that Stiff's presentation of the ELM and the conclusions he draws based on the data…

Presents observations of how a particular teacher education program, the Open Education Alternative Program at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, incorporates the acquisition of teaching skills into the "reflective" practice of these skills. (BB)

Children's joint production and maintenance of a peer culture in preschool settings is crucial to their development of a social identity. Theoreticians and researchers should consider what it is actually like to be a child to understand better how children's activities model and prepare them for the adult world. (Author/JL)

A panel discusses possible futures for second-language study, instruction, learning, and research, touching upon the need for an interdisciplinary perspective, the teacher-researcher relationship, bilingualism, research dissemination, teacher training, and the need for more information regarding linguistic minorities. (CB)

Hypotheses about the potential educational benefits of interactive video systems (IVS) are described. IVS, if properly designed and applied, has the potential to increase learning, encourage student-initiated learning, and provide a context for what has been learned. A call for research is made. (JL)

The author proposes a domain and definition for the human performance technology field. The proposed domain consists of three components: management functions, performance systems development functions, and components of human performance systems. He also discusses systems theory and professional practice and outlines implications for research,…

Responds to Biggs' article on the case presentation approach in clinical supervision by discussing implications for instruction of two relevant research programs: conceptual level (Harvey, Hunt, and Schroder, 1961) and Hunt's related matching model for education, and Strohmer and associates' cognitive models for clinical judgment. (NB)

Describes a high school composition teacher's research comparing researchers' observations on students' composing attitudes and habits against those of her own students. Emphasizes the importance of classroom teachers' involvement in research. (ARH)

In response to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," this counterpoint addresses the role of basic versus applied research, limitations of the procedure proposed by Swanson for establishing external validity and proving the metatheory, and limitations of metatheoretical research with regard to developing…

In rebuttal to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," this article emphasizes that a bias toward applied research in learning disabilities is appropriate, that explanatory theories may not provide control over the phenomena explained, and that the field's orientation toward social consensus rather than…

This response to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," argues that the field's development from social consensus has positive consequences and that the field is a "prenormal' science. A megatheory is suggested, incorporating metatheoretical aspects of the learning-disabled's information processing…

Reports on a study designed to identify the hierarchical relationships among Piagetian cognitive modes and integrated science process skills for different Piagetian cognitive reasoning levels, and to determine whether positive vertical transfers could be validated. (TW)