This symposium consists of five papers and presents some recent developments in adaptive testing which have applications to several military testing problems. The overview, by James R. McBride, defines adaptive testing and discusses some of its item selection and scoring strategies. Item response theory, or item characteristic curve theory, is…

This study tested the effects of two group-oriented supportive and educational approaches on the parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Thirteen families were randomly assigned either to a group which received information on medical and technical aspects of CF or to a group which received instruction in communication skills in addition to…

Text and accompanying exercises are provided in this two-part learning module that was designed to acquaint instructors with techniques for influencing student attitudes. Part I defines five attitudinal concepts, beginning with those which are most resistant to being changed and then discussing those which are less resistant to change: (1) beliefs…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 27 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: teaching freshman college English through the use of black female autobiographies; the analysis and production of television commercials, gaming, and self-paced…

This book presents the cybernetic theory of learning and the evidence which supports it. Learning is more than the openloop forming of new stimulus-response associations--it is a process of reorganization of sensory feedback within a closed loop, or pattern, which increases the learner's level of control over his own behavior and the stimuli in…

Notes that teacher education programs have a blind spot where drama is concerned. Comments on Paideia Proposal suggestions regarding drama teaching and student participation. Discusses role of imaginative play in child development and role of drama in integration of knowledge, integration of emotions, and release of expression in all arts. (MH)

The ACT is an educational achievement test that measures the typical content and skills learned from college preparatory curricula. Consequently, the ACT can be used not only to predict college success, but also to provide direct feedback to high school teachers about the effectiveness of their teaching. ACT results also assist teachers in…

This paper contributes to an emerging body of literature on school districts as active partners in education reform. Using qualitative methods, it details the first three years of a major districtwide initiative in San Diego City Schools as reformers sought to orient central office bureaucracy around an instructional agenda. This paper both…

These three case studies highlight the implementation and impact of Mid South Middle Start by: (1) contributing toward an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a school implementing Middle Start; (2) describing a holistic portrait of the schools' participation in Mid South Middle Start; and (3) assisting the Academy for Educational…

Instructors face many choices, and their decisions and actions should be based on certain concepts. Believing that many instructors do not know enough about those concepts and the educational research and theories behind them, the authors brings together a synthesis of what is available in the realm of teaching and learning: theoretical and…

A study investigated relationships between two instructional dimensions and change in the literacy practices of adult literacy students: degree of authenticity of activities and texts in class and degree of teacher/student collaboration. Data on class activities and texts and degree of student influence on them were triangulated from teacher…

Challenging conventional characterization of teenage girlhood as a wasteland of depression, low self-esteem, and passive victimhood, this book presents accounts of young girls showing how their voices are shaped and constrained by socioeconomic class. Based on a year-long study involving conversations with white adolescent girls from the working…

The "Student Evaluation of Instruction" (SEOI) was administered to all full-time and part-time faculty. Approximately 97,984 surveys were sent out in 4,917 envelopes; 57,978 surveys were returned to the Office of Institutional Research. The return rate for the paper surveys was 59% including late submissions. Instructors' reports were…

The "Student Evaluation of Instruction: (SEOI) was administered to all full-time and part-time faculty. Approximately 96,055 surveys were sent out in 5,040 envelopes; 48,153 surveys were returned to the Office of Institutional Research. The return rate for the paper surveys was 50% including late submissions. Instructor' reports were provided…

The Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI) was administered to part-time faculty and to some full- time faculty upon request. Because of the small number of the full-time faculty surveyed, their ratings were not included in the means in this report. However individual reports for the full-time faculty members were sent to the faculty through…