Describes a survey of foreign language teaching assistants (TAs) perceptions of which training elements they consider beneficial to their development as language instructors. Results, which distinguished between group and individual training methods showed informal discussions, end-of-course student evaluations, and small-group in-class interviews…

Discusses the integration of insider-managed baseline evaluation into project and program design in educational change processes. Drawing on examples taken from recent experiences of English language teaching projects in Central Europe and China, the benefits of using insider-managed baseline studies are outlined.(Author/VWL)

Evaluation of required service learning activities by first and second year students (n=272) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy indicated 64 percent of first- year students and 86 percent of second-year students felt the experience was educational. Results support use of experiential learning pedagogy to meet educational objectives…

Evaluates the use of actual patients in a required clinical applications course at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Patients discuss their illness and how it affects their lives with the first-year students. On 12 of 13 items, students scored significantly higher on an attitude survey following the first patient presentation than…

Discusses the need to teach cultural awareness and reduce cultural hostility with culturally homogeneous college classes. Recounts use, in a class of graduate business students, of the case of Salman Rushdie being placed under an Iranian death threat for his writings. Explains the six-step process used to structure reading and discussion of the…

This framework for learning development in higher education stresses three types of skills--threshold, key, and transferable--and a variety of forms for assessing prior (experiential) learning [AP(E)L]. The function of assessment is both to credit prior learning and diagnose individual learning needs. (SK)

Study suggests that the Computer-Assisted Parenting Program may positively affect parent-child functioning. Computer group parents maintained their levels of involvement with their children, and increased limit setting during the 8-week course. Results may be related to animated computer-user interactions' emphases on child behavioral monitoring,…

This article critically analyzes available definitions of learning disability. The general problem of definition is discussed first, followed by a discussion of individual definitions from the earliest to the latest. It is concluded that the definitions fail to provide substantive insight into the nature of the condition. (Contains extensive…

The reliability and validity of a revised version of the Reading History Questionnaire was examined using 84 adults from an ongoing study of familial dyslexia and the parents of 107 children from a longitudinal study of reading development. The results indicated that the questionnaire (appended to the article) is both reliable and valid. (Contains…

This paper translates research findings on systematic preference assessment with individuals with nonsymbolic or limited symbolic communication skills into guidelines for planning such assessments to reduce the risk of missing or misinterpreting the person's preferences. It offers four questions for guiding the planning of preference assessments,…

This article reviews eight experimental studies on the effectiveness of cooperative learning as an instructional model for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD). The studies' methodological strengths and weaknesses are noted. The paper concludes that the effectiveness of cooperative learning for improving the academic achievement…

Draws attention to the validity of the Oakland School Board's resolution on Ebonics and to the value of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL)-based approaches to teaching standard American English to speakers of other dialects. Demonstrates validity of comparisons made between monodialectal speakers of African-American language/Ebonics and ESL…

College faculty who have successfully implemented small-group instruction address common concerns such as: reduced content coverage, reduced amount of learning, need for prerequisite learning, importance of solitary learning, colleagues' concerns, student resistance, logistics, evaluation, use of teaching assistants, and time requirements. (DB)

Adapted the scoring matrix, a method used to facilitate community participation in planning and monitoring development projects, to a university course in participatory resource management. Suggests the matrix is an example of how discipline-specific tools can be adapted to serve the dual purposes of promoting experiential learning of…

One of a series of articles on principles of good practice in legal education, this article focuses on the importance of encouraging student-faculty contact. Identifies benefits of such contact to students and barriers to student-faculty contact. Suggests some ways to remove barriers related to institutional support, time, gender or race, lack of…