A series of eight videoconferences was designed to help educational professionals improve schools by applying knowledge gained from research. During the videoconference programs, which are transmitted by satellite to facilities with receiving capacity, viewers can interact by telephone with the program presenters. Each program covers a specific…

This loose-leaf compendium includes three types of brief research summaries: "topical synthesis,""close-ups," and "snapshots." The single topical synthesis, by Kathleen Cotton, is entitled "Teaching Composition: Research on Effective Practices." Closeups consist of brief definitions, essential research…

The Partnership in Education Project works to raise the educational level of children living in a number of priority areas in Scotland. In order to achieve this aim, the project seeks to develop parents' skills as child educators, and foster partnerships between educational professionals and parents. The project's work is based on six principles:…

This paper attempts to provide: (1) a clear mental image of the concept of a professional development school (PDS); (2) a clear understanding of a number of standards to be considered as guides during the decision-making process which goes on as a PDS is designed and implemented; and (3) insights gained from dialogues with faculty members of a…

The paper examines ways in which ideas from conceptual change research have been applied to teacher education, focusing on the teacher education program at Monash University (Australia). Three developments have contributed to a sounder basis for linking interest in conceptual change research to practice at Monash University: (1) the research…

If teacher education is to train second language teachers to be principled practitioners, it is essential to resist the attraction of panaceas and recipe-type solutions to instructional problems, and to promote teachers' better understanding of what constitutes successful language learning. Second language acquisition (SLA) research, both applied…

An exploratory case study examined the distribution patterns and subsequent use of "Research within Reach: A Research Guided Response to Concerns of Reading Educators" in three states during the period October 1978 to February 1980. Copies of the book were distributed at regional conferences, state workshops, inservice workshops, and via…

Reorganized and revised, the second edition of this book provides the latest theoretical and practical materials that instructors across the disciplines will need to help students build strong writing skills. It offers suggestions about how to develop effective writing assignments; and it evaluates various methods of assessing student writing,…

This paper describes one effort to establish a collaborative around the issues of at-risk youth. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's New Futures Initiative was an attempt to build formal structures of collaboration among public and private organizations to address at-risk youth. Data were gathered over 5 years from the six cities in which the program…

Merging the related but typically distant fields of reading education and special education, this book is for teachers, teacher educators, and administrators at all grade levels and in all subject areas who want to know what the fields of reading and special education say about teaching and reaching high-risk learners. Chapters in the book discuss…

A chronic problem in public relations education is the fragmentation of coursework, particularly as this fragmentation impacts on the application of communication theory. Public relations textbooks presentation of theory is often fragmented and segregated in to "theoretical" chapters and "applied" chapters with little integration between the two.…

This article examines the phenomenon of fossilization in second language (SL) learning and instruction, discussing this process as a form of simplification. Fossilization occurs when particular linguistic forms become permanently established in the interlanguage of SL learners in a form that is deviant from the target language norm and that…

While the development of children's self-esteem is a worthwhile goal in early education, many practices designed to reach this goal may instead be encouraging narcissism. Such practices include those that direct children's attention to their own inner gratifications, or encourage children to believe their specialness is dependent on trivial…

A descriptive study used survey methodology to determine first-grade teachers' theoretical orientations toward reading and students' attitudes toward reading, as well as structured classroom observations to describe teachers' reading instructional practices. Subjects, 259 of the 428 first-grade teachers (61%) in 94 elementary schools of a large…

This paper describes the implementation of a reform program in a middle school located in a relatively large school district in southeastern Michigan. First, an integrative theory is presented as a promising framework for reforming middle-grade schools. The theory was developed within a social-cognitive framework that emphasizes the importance of…