A study assessed the efficacy of a written script/cue card program to teach conversational speech skills to three verbal, literate boys (ages 8-10) with autism. Initially boys demonstrated low frequencies of conversational speech. Following intervention, all three quickly met the training criteria and maintained correct responding without cue…

This article details the qualitative results of focus groups with adults who are visually impaired and received assistive technology (AT) training (n=55) and with AT trainers (n=48). Participants described the state of AT training at the beginning of the 21st century from their perspectives as students and teachers. (Contains 4 references.)…

The second of two articles on play reviews the construct of play and its development in typically developing infants, toddlers, and young children. It considers developmental levels of play from early sensorimotor-exploratory to symbolic play involving the functional components of agent, instrument, and scheme. A developmentally based,…

Describes the introduction of an innovative approach to learning and assessing critical science understanding by preservice elementary science teachers. Student teachers submit a cumulative, multivoiced (patchwork) text which integrates smaller pieces written across the module that demand critical and personal engagement and have been given peer…

Reports preliminary results of a study to develop and automate new metrics for assessment of information quality in text documents, particularly in news. Through focus group studies, quality judgment experiments, and textual feature extraction and analysis, nine quality aspects were generated and applied in human assessments. Experiments were…

Explores the rapid growth of academic examinations in physical education (PE) and sports studies. Considers if such growth represents a new orthodoxy rather than merely a consensus of thought and practice among PE teachers. Concludes that the increase results from the academicization and professionalism of PE and qualifies as an orthodoxy. (PAL)

Discusses subcultures and countercultures. Demonstrates a method of teaching the concept of subculture to undergraduate sociology students. Offers working definitions of terms, including common culture, subculture, idioculture, and social world. Concludes with the development of a classroom exercise to help students grasp the differences among the…

Describes sociological exercises to identify ways to help students and teachers interact in the intellectual process. Notes four sociological themes for the exercise and four practical benefits. Focuses on gender issues, public and private issues, race and ethnicity issues, social class issues, and age related issues. (KDR)

Examined ethical conflicts arising in an Australian evaluation of care options for indigenous children and young people deemed to be at risk of neglect or abuse. Discusses ways the conflicts were addressed and identifies implications for evaluation practice. (SLD)

Discusses instructional design, focusing on the use of instructional tactics and their effects on cognitive processes. Describes a study of undergraduates using computer programs that investigated whether the effectiveness of an instructional adjunct, in this case maps, may sometimes be undermined when used concurrently with another instructional…

Discussion of online education focuses on a study that investigated the efforts of faculty who teach courses online to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of nontraditional students. Examines online teaching strategies, faculty engagement, learning support, and overall online services and navigation. (Author/LRW)

Shows how all primitive Pythagorean triples can be generated from harmonic sequences. Use inductive and deductive reasoning to explore how Pythagorean triples are connected with another area of mathematics. (KHR)

Comments on Gregory Trandel's article that explores two teaching strategies using geometry and algebra to demonstrate the equivalence between two methods of measuring excess burden. States that for students with limited mathematics skills, measuring excess burden can be expressed algebraically using a simple formula (excess burden…

Outlines the importance of having a forum for extended conversations about ideas and methods that work and do not work in teaching economics. States that a discussion listserv was established in 1993 afford opportunities for collaboration on projects, papers, and discussion. Describes the list's archival function for previous discussions. (JEH)

Uses the Specific Factors model to illustrate the meaning of economic efficiency, how complex economies simultaneously determine prices and quantities, and how changes in demand conditions or technology can affect income distribution among owners of factors of production. Employs spreadsheets to help students see how the model works. (JEH)