Focusing on the notion that the author supplies the words in a text while the reader supplies the meaning, this issue contains essays that combine literary theories with classroom practices. Following an introduction by R. E. Fitch, articles include "Teaching a Western: Jack Schaefer's 'Shane'" (J. R. Ruff); "Pragmatic Criticism in…

the factors which maximize response rates, both through reducing refusals and increasing the probability that respondents will be available for interview, were studied in rural California. Phone directories were used to generate a sample of 250 households who were contacted on either of two evenings or Saturday. The interview questions concerned…

The efficiency and appropriateness of the cassette tape as a data collection medium was considered in this survey. A 19-item questionnaire was mailed to 117 agricultural teacher educators who had served at foreign locations. Most of the questions solicited qualitative data about their experiences, problems, and accomplishments. Respondents were…

Enlarging upon the scope and agenda of earlier diagnostic research, a study was conducted to examine (1) teacher responses to receiving diagnostic information about some of their students, (2) effects on student achievement of teachers receiving both diagnostic information and diagnostic training, (3) diagnostic classifications that emerged from…

This paper summarizes and highlights some of the critical developments, issues, and trends which impact the work of survey research. The issue of preventing or minimizing nonresponse bias by successfully obtaining cooperation from people being surveyed continues to be of concern to survey research professionals. The most effective response rate…

This monograph is designed to give people engaged in human service activities some new and fresh ideas on how to handle stress, how to benefit from its positive aspects, and how to neutralize its detrimental effects. Part 1 provides a background statement and refers readers to an extensive bibliography provided at the end of the paper for those…

Classroom management is conceptualized as a set of teacher behaviors and activities that are directed at eliciting study involvement or engagement in classroom activities and preventing disruption. Research on classroom management and discipline is reviewed and integrated into a three phase model. The first phase occurs prior to the beginning of…

An extension of an earlier longitudinal study of thriving, average, or non-thriving kindergarten children, this study examined the intellectual, academic, social, self-directive, and temperamental characteristics of children from kindergarten to grade four. Fifty-four of the children were perceived by their junior or senior kindergarten teachers…

A study assessed the relative effectiveness of four types of follow-up techniques in increasing responses to mailed questionnaires requiring responses from multiple individuals. The respondents were college administrators. Copies of questionnaires designed to measure professional development were mailed to a random sample of 693 chief student…

What kind of meaningful learning goes on when an introverted and intuitive traditional professor imparts his knowledge to an extroverted student of the new wave generation? In a project exploring how teaching personalities influence student learning, a traditional professor of literature and a "new wave" (defined as characterized by…

Although the complexities of the concept of audience in nonacademic settings are gradually being recognized, audience analysis continues to be viewed primarily as a cognitive, problem-solving activity. Grounded in decontextualizing research--such as protocol analysis--this approach to audience assumes that, to inform appropriate writing choices,…

The needs of the teacher who seeks successful practical action are different from the needs of the scientist seeking truth. Distinctions made in action science bring out this difference. Action science emphasizes an integration of personal knowledge and social discourse along with objective data in cycles of planning, acting, and fact-finding…

Particularly in the 1960s and 1970s it was frequently argued that coeducational (Coed) high schools provided a more natural social environment to prepare adolescents for adulthood than did single sex (SS) schools. Based on the assumed accuracy of this belief, SS schools are becoming infrequent or even nonexistent in most western societies. This…

The validity of combining a correction for guessing with the Nedelsky-based cutscore was investigated. A five option multiple choice Mathematics Achievement Test was used in the study. Items were selected to meet several criteria. These included: the capability of measuring mathematics concepts related to performance in introductory statistics;…

A study compared the effectiveness of four instructional procedures designed to teach four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. The four procedures were (1) reciprocal teaching/corrective feedback, which requires that initially the teacher do a considerable amount of instruction about and modeling of the four…