One associate editor's perspective on classroom experiment articles is detailed in this article. The associate editor provides recommendations for manuscripts for the Instruction (those that describe new classroom experiments) and Research (those reporting studies into the efficacy of classroom experiments as a pedagogical tool) Sections of…

Restates his earlier criticisms of the North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument. The instrument is not content specific and is built on an epistemology valuing propositional thinking and devaluating suppositional thinking at a time when other initiatives are promoting teachers' feelings of worth and sense of autonomy. (MLH)

Relates the story of a ninth-grade student who worked to convince the school board to allow changes in policy to adapt to his best friend's strong reaction to bright lights which handicapped his friend's efforts to learn. Urges teachers to experiment with learning styles and add to the existing body of research. (SR)

This article argues that it is possible to look at children's texts in relation to the lens of literacy events and practices from the New Literacy Studies, and apply this perspective to an understanding of creativity. Teachers can then use the possibilities within a text to ask children different kinds of questions. Drawing on a 2-year…

Notes that a premium has been placed on written composition in American schools. Discusses classroom research that demonstrates the power of oral composition. Suggests that to help all children become better composers, educators must involve them in authentic oral, as well as written, composition. (SR)

Reflects on a research project conducted by two professionals in language arts instruction investigating the curriculum decisions and book selection among classroom teachers. Recounts the researchers' own attempt to make sense of new ideas in the field and the application and relevance of those ideas to classroom practice. (TB)

Studies of preschool indicate that: (1) valid and reliable measures of the environment are possible; (2) environments vary across programs; and (3) there is a relationship between the environment and development of children in those environments. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale shows promise for both research and training. (Author/LC)

Details a program designed to encourage research projects aimed at promoting "higher literacy" carried out by middle and high school teachers of one Colorado school district. Argues for the value of individual and collaborative action-research projects by teachers. Describes the experience of the program. (HB)

Describes how one teacher observed her students and tried to draw educational conclusions about their behavior. Gives particular attention to the reading habits of students and the ways one teacher tried to foster reading among students. Advocates teacher research as a way of raising awareness among teachers. (HB)

Argues for stronger research on aspects of learning and teaching as influenced by the use of the World Wide Web and describes salient Web characteristics regarding this issue. It also discusses student learning and communication and qualitative research in Web-based learning as topics that can support a number of meaningful research questions…

Describes some uses skillful teachers have developed for the unassuming post-it note in assessment, reading, and classroom-based inquiry. Discusses how these uses represent some of the most significant positive trends in literacy instruction for early adolescents, and show increased concern for personalization in an educational system that has of…

Grounded in a communication theory that assumes that the form of communication affects the content of the knowledge that a teacher conveys to his or her students, a study attempted to determine how violence is treated in the classroom. The site for the study was Darbin Elementary School, in a suburb of San Francisco. The method was observation,…

Discusses the interrelationship of the language arts, and how both oral and written language help the learning process. Describes a classroom in which students' activities center around talking, and how the teacher participated as a researcher in ethnographic studies out of which came the motivation for this instructional approach. (HTH)

Describes cooperative learning in three high school classrooms showing that the cooperative learning strategy may be a potent instrument in work-mate preference stability and change. The examples also demonstrate the value of this strategy for maximizing intergroup interaction for the promotion of learning experiences. (JD)

Describes the way one English teacher used teacher research in her classroom to study writing, literature, her students, and herself. Explains her activities and some of her findings. Advocates teacher research as a natural activity that teachers, either consciously or unconsciously, engage in every day of their professional lives. (HB)