A new evaluation instrument was developed to measure the performance of caseworkers at a private foster care agency. It was designed to correlate directly with the caseworker's job description and to provide better data than the previous evaluation tool. Scoring forms were developed to compare the previously used evaluation instrument and the new…

A way to support the educational ethnographer in developing a perspective on the art of qualitative research during an introductory course on qualitative research methods is explored through a study of how novice researchers begin to learn the elements and processes of qualitative research. A second purpose of the study is to investigate the use…

This guide, which is intended for project directors, coordinators, and other professional staff involved in developing and delivering workplace education programs, explains the workplace education evaluation process, the main approaches to evaluation, and considerations in selecting appropriate evaluation instruments. Discussed first are the…

This handbook presents two core units for a distance education course that provides an introduction to the genre of texts targeted for adolescent/young adult readers. The first core unit in the handbook discusses the teaching of literary aspects of using adolescent/young adult literature. The second core unit addresses alternative approaches to…

This instructor's manual is designed to improve the instructional support program for Writing 139, an interdisciplinary advanced composition class at the University of California, Irvine taught primarily by graduate student teaching assistants. After a brief history and overview of the course, the manual presents sections that address the…

A study evaluated the validity of the Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) grade-3 reading assessment from 2 perspectives: its relationship to 21 other measures of reading via factor analyses, and the sensitivity of the IGAP to instruction in 3 schools via multiple regression. Data were collected in a longitudinal study involving 350 students.…

This annotated bibliography and resource guide lists 21 books on autism, published from 1987 through 1995. Books are listed alphabetically by author and include bibliographic information and brief descriptive abstracts. Also included are lists of 23 videos (with sources), four periodicals, four organizational resources, and electronic resources…

The literature on methods for educating students with special needs, including disabilities, from culturally diverse backgrounds is reviewed. The paper addresses what cultural diversity is, changing demographics in the United States, special education issues, assessment recommendations, parental involvement, and teacher commitment and training.…

This study explored the teaching processes in mathematics education for adults and how they are shaped by certain social and institutional forces. The study addressed three broad questions: (1) What happens in adult mathematics classrooms? (2) What do these phenomena mean for those involved as teachers or learners? and (3) In what ways do "frame…

This book, aimed at recent college graduates and job-changers, provides a process for making career decisions. Based on the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, it is intended to help readers understand who they are and what motivates them. The book provides information, guidance, exercises, and tools for identifying and…

This paper describes the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ), including information on how the MRQ can be used and how to administer and score it. The MRQ assesses 11 possible dimensions of reading motivations. It can be used with children in late elementary school and middle school. Scores on the MRQ have been shown to relate to…

Teachers are being encouraged to use observational strategies for a variety of professional purposes in assessment and evaluation. Observation differs from just "looking" in that the personal experience of looking is transformed into a public event by the systematic recording of what is seen and by subsequent analysis and interpretation.…

This paper describes the development and outcomes of New York State's "Invitation to Invention," the Regents Exam Options Project. Initiated as a temporary strategy to encourage and support local changes in teaching and assessment toward the learner-centered reforms taking place in the state, the project provided high school teachers and…

This paper suggests ways in which video can be used in teaching college literature and cinema courses in order to promote audiovisual literacy. The method proposed presupposes an approach to narrative through narratology, the discipline that examines texts of narrative fiction as narratives, irrespective of their mode of manifestation (verbal,…

This paper argues that case-based and problem-based approaches to teaching educational administration are inherently anchored in positivist notions of science. Both approaches are embedded in prepartitioned landscapes, or "metanarratives." The metanarrative world view rejects the premise that there is one way to view the discipline and…