Identifies resources for information about small-group learning and learning communities within large classes at the college level. These include institutional and grass roots initiatives, print and Web sites on theory and rationale for small-group learning, general resources on cooperative and small- group learning, general resources on large…

Discusses trends in higher education and related public policy that have implications for scholars, faculty, and researchers in the field of rural sociology. Discusses characteristics of the rural South and the role of rural sociology in addressing the needs of an undereducated, disadvantaged region. Outlines challenges that the field must meet to…

Discusses how service learning can promote the development of a "caring self" in college students by drawing on the ideas of John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, and contemporary critical theorists. Links this caring self to democratic citizenship and uses students' narratives to illustrate how it develops through service learning contexts.…

Describes the nature of environmental education research in the 1990s, and comments critically on the focus and quality of inquiry in this field with a view toward improvements in the new millennium. Organizes the literature around the themes of quantitative reports, qualitative research, descriptive reports, focused inquiries, metamethodological…

Secondary preservice teachers in the final student teaching semester described their development as teachers, referring to one or more theoretical frameworks. These comprised two aspects of situated learning (the community of practice and competence acquisition) which students had previously read about. Students' reports indicated they understood…

Comparison of the perceptions of 55 student nurses whose curriculum emphasized academics over clinical practice with those of 39 in a revised curriculum emphasizing theory-practice links found only modest evidence that the newer curriculum improved student perceptions of their preparation for clinical placement. (SK)

The Colorado State University Professional Development School Partnership involves more than preparing preservice teachers to enter classrooms. The partnership aims to engage all teachers in inquiry into educational practices, professional- development activities, and exemplary instructional practices. Preservice, novice, and veteran teachers…

Describes construction of citation network systems and some subsystems (time sequence network, cocitation network, couple network). Establishes structural modeling of these systems by means of system engineering. Explains and analyzes citation network systems. Includes graphs and charts. (JAK)

Examines the problem posed for French second-language learners by the irregular dropping of French final consonants, examining the rules presented in textbooks and comparing them with findings of various linguistic surveys conducted in France and Canada. Differences observed between theory and reality lead to practical advice for French teachers.…

Discusses why the proven-effective reading instruction method (phonics instruction alongside an ample emphasis on meaning and connected reading) is not adopted by classroom teachers and compares today's situation with that of 30 years ago as recounted by Jeanne Chall in "Learning to Read: The Great Debate" (1967). (CR)

Describes the Humanities Education, Research, and Language Development project and the theories employed in its design. Innovative materials from the humanities were introduced in the classrooms to accelerate and improve the oral and written skills of high school students in San Francisco, who are predominantly non-Anglo. (MMU)

Discusses the need for professionals in the field of behavioral disorders to take a leadership role in addressing larger issues and problems of great concern to our society, including ensuring school safety, identifying children vulnerable to gang membership, dropout prevention, and youth violence. (CR)

Discerns high school teachers' perceptions of and commitment to the contemporary goals of science education. Suggests that a minority of teachers hold past goal orientations and that secondary science teachers are moving to embrace current goals. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Argues that the world of technical education suffers from contradictions caused by the necessity to divide teaching efforts between groups of subjects consisting of classical theories, numerical methods, and practical skills and knowledge. Considers different aspects of these contradictions and proposes some recommendations to minimize the…

In the evaluation scenario presented, that of a mentoring program matching high school juniors and seventh graders, the external evaluator is asked for impact information before enough time has elapsed to provide really meaningful data. The commentators, T. A. Schwandt and D. G. Bonnet, take different approaches to what the evaluator should do.…