Suggests ways that transactional learning can be reflected in staff development practices. Addresses issues raised during attempts to implement a whole-language staff development program. Contends that what unites whole-language teachers is a unique but common orientation toward instruction and curriculum and that this orientation can be reflected…

Shares three teachers' experiences writing their own computer-assisted instructional materials to improve the vocabulary development portion of a course designed to help at-risk first-year college students develop vocabulary and contextual analysis skills. Discusses theoretical foundation, program design, development and implementation of the…

Describes a staff development program in "action research" in which teachers and administrators investigated how to use reading/writing strategies to improve the learning of at-risk students in the regular classroom setting. Describes a qualitative study of the participants. Describes and compares four action researchers. (RS)

Outlines a descriptive (not prescriptive) approach for the creation of a literature-based reading curriculum. Describes the 4 steps (behaving with basals, redefining reading, revving up for reading, and letting literature loose) that took the author 14 years of teaching to complete. Argues that literature-based reading programs are fun, enjoyable,…

Describes a model for reading--ERICA (Effective Reading in Content Areas)--that consists of four stages: preparing, thinking through, extracting and organizing, and translating. (HOD)

Discusses bringing local writers into the classroom--how to locate such writers and how to prepare for and organize the visit. (SR)

Describes the step-by-step development of manipulative learning materials--materials with explicit instructions and some type of built-in reinforcement so that students can know if their answers are correct--for use in the content areas. (HTH)

Describes the Efficiency-Based Change Model, which takes into account the complexity of the change process for individual teachers. Notes that the model is being tested and refined within a variety of settings, including a staff development project designed to support a group of teachers as they explore ways to provide whole-language services to…

Describes how the Comprehension and Cognitive Development Program (CCD) has evolved in the middle and high schools of the Kansas City, Missouri, school district. Provides a rationale for including specific components of the program. Demonstrates (with selections from teacher portfolios) the effect that the program has had on teachers' thinking and…

Recounts the history of Pennsylvania's attempts to invoke large-scale changes in language-related instructional curricula. Discerns patterns among school districts in terms of literacy instruction as well as in factors that seem to be associated with successful change processes. (RS)

Describes VOCAB-LIT, a technique for helping students understand literary elements through vocabulary study. Finds that the VOCAB-LIT technique is an effective strategy for integrating vocabulary study and literature study. (RS)

Describes International Reading Association members' activities, on behalf of reading professionals, involving national accreditation, state program approval, state licensure, and national certification. (RS)

Discusses the procedures and rationale for teaching students to connect new words with gestures or psychomotor meaning as well as semantic meaning. (HTH)

Describes an approach to skills counseling that goes beyond what is often done in universities. Includes examples of forms that are used to record work done with students. (AEA)

Describes a pilot program to determine the desirability of starting a sustained silent reading program. Reports on a survey that assessed student and faculty attitudes. (JT)