This paper describes a practicum that incorporated semantic mapping, "rich" context clue instruction, and teacher modeling into a 12-week instructional program for 18 Chapter 1 fourth-grade students in rural Georgia who had shown deficiency in vocabulary knowledge with standardized test scores below the 50th percentile in the second and…

This paper describes a course taken by elementary student teachers at Central Missouri State University, with particular emphasis on the action research projects that are a part of the course requirements. The intent of the course and the action research is to foster in the student teachers reflective decision making in their own classrooms.…

This paper discusses two related areas in which recent advancements in cognitive science and educational technology may affect instructional design theory. These are: (1) the analysis of information-to-be-learned; and (2) the linkage of learning theory to instructional prescriptions. The first area proposes extensions to current methods of…

Implementation processes and outcomes at a junior high school of the Mastery in Learning Project, an NEA-sponsored national school transformation effort, are described in this paper. Based on the principle that a school's decisions should be made by its faculty, the project seeks to develop teachers' ability to creatively and cooperatively use…

The University of Southern Maine offers a Master's degree in Instructional Leadership designed to prepare educators for the demands of working with others to promote educational excellence. Two themes of the program focus on: problem finding--the disposition to scrutinize aims as well as means; and a valuing of and practical experience with action…

This manual is concerned with helping already-established support groups maintain themselves over an extended period of time. It helps facilitators apply principles for addressing such problems as dissension within the group, poor attendance, losing sight of the group's purpose, and overdependence on a leader. The manual contains questionnaires to…

This paper discusses whether critical thinking can be taught in the college classroom. It argues that education in general provides the tools for thinking, and therefore, improves the capability for better thinking. The Alverno College faculty, as an example, has improved student critical-thinking ability because the faculty stresses explicitness,…

Findings from a study investigating and comparing differences in problem-solving approaches between novice and expert elementary school principals are reported in this paper, which focuses on the interview phase of the data collection process. Interview questions were designed to explore and compare the ways in which principals perceived…

A study conducted as part of a year-long Hebrew-English translation workshop in Israel focused on the development of students' ability to deal with cases in which the unmarked equivalent of a source-language string was a single lexical item. Subjects were 8 native English-speaking students, 8 native Hebrew-speaking students, and 12 professional…

Three questions were addressed in a Navy experiment in which subjects followed instructions to complete tasks involving several pieces of electronic equipment. First, two instructional formats were compared; a hierarchical menu format containing natural chunks of instruction was not superior overall to a simple step-by-step instructional format.…

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the ability to comprehend in reading has no effect on mathematical problem solving ability of seventh grade students. Two seventh grade classes were administered a standardized test of reading comprehension and knowledge of mathematical concepts and application at the beginning of a school year.…

Corporate strategies that can be used in continuing nursing education programs are discussed, based on the Regional Action for Continuing Education in Nursing Education project. Attention is focused on strategies employed at Southern State University (SSU). A practical planning method was used to guide the process of corporate strategy formulation…

This study examined achievement differences between algebra students taught with the non-traditional textbook developed by Saxon and those taught with a "traditional" textbook by Dolciani. Student absences, rate of turning in homework, and ability level were considered, as well as teachers' comments. One Algebra I section in each of…

A study investigated developments in reasoning and memory as reflected by the discovery strategies of children taking part in a manipulative categorization and recall task. A total of 40 children (8 each of 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 months of age) participated. Stimulus materials consisting of blocks, toy plates, discs, and plastic trees were…

Research on gender differences in group performance suggests that males excel at brainstorming while females excel at human relations and integration. To investigate the relations among gender, interaction style, and task performance, 264 college students (130 female, 134 male) worked in three person same sex groups on a production task which…