Recounts the story of how the writing faculty at Washington State University successfully reclaimed their university's writing assessment program. Argues that writing teachers should be leery of assessment programs made by others, and should create their own assessment tools. (HB)

A Western Kentucky University Javits project focuses on ways to extend educational opportunities for gifted middle school students, through the involvement of teachers, teacher educators, and parents. Teachers' views of talents were broadened via staff development and involvement with gifted students in summer experiences, and curriculum…

A Javits Grant Project of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools uncovers the strengths and gifts of traditionally underserved primary-level gifted children. The program design celebrates the multiple intelligences of children with economic disadvantage, limited English ability, or learning disabilities. (JDD)

Established innovative interest-free loan program in midwestern metropolitan area as response to deteriorating economic circumstances of low-wage-earning single parents and their dependent children during 1980s. Interviews with participants revealed personal characteristics and economic circumstances of target population and purposes for which…

Identifies key elements necessary for effective administrator preparation; highlights clinical aspects of preparation, exploring the importance, purposes, and design of effective internship experiences; reports findings from a study of the long-term impact of one preparation program that was designed around the key elements; and discusses…

Indepth interviews with informants revealed four interrelated policy tensions during development of the UK's General National Vocational Qualifications: the tendency to favor academic over vocational education, potential conflict between long-term strategic imperatives and short-term political objectives, employment and education departments'…

Outlines concepts essential for library material preservation. Describes the following components of a formal preservation program: (1) environmental control; (2) repair; (3) binding; (4) deacidification; (5) reformatting; (6) disaster preparedness; (7) education; and (8) administration. Suggests that libraries can improve their preservation…

This article describes the research methods used in the recruitment and analysis of a sample of 72 Puerto Rican mothers of a child with mental retardation. Emphasis is on the importance of involving the community in order to: (1) ensure that the community benefits, (2) strengthen the scientific integrity of the study, and (3) facilitate sample…

Fourth-graders in Oklahoma City used the Internet to find an expert to identify a 75-pound Pleistocene-Era mammoth femur they found in a nearby river. A superintendent explains how his technologically backward district wired its schools for Internet learning and facilitated genuine instructional improvement. (MLH)

Presents an experiential postgraduate training program for student learning and supervision involving laboratory and pilot plant supervisions in the chemical engineering field. The program addresses some of the current concerns about non-technical training and the further development of the broad science and engineering knowledge of postgraduate…

Describes how staff members at one school instituted a gay/straight alliance (gsa). Cites books that can help educate people on the issues. Discusses initial preparations; advertisement of the meetings; establishment of ground rules; speakers; implementation of a staff in-service; the importance of straight allies; and ways teachers and librarians…

This case study describes the Central Asylum for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb in Canajoharie, NY, a public school that existed from 1823 to 1835. The study illustrates how a small group of communities with limited funds met a need for the education of persons who were deaf. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article reviews three salient issues faced by the staff of the Peabody College as one of the first early intervention inclusive programs: child recruitment, appropriate service delivery, and relative lack of barriers to inclusion. Program successes are juxtaposed with issues faced by contemporary early intervention approaches to inclusion.…

An adventure education program combines environmental education, character education, and service learning with ropes courses, orienteering, and rock climbing to offer Romanian youth opportunities for trust building and reconciliation in the wake of the economic, environmental, and moral devastation left by the Communist dictator. An ecotourism…

Describes how the California Professional Development Reform Initiative (CPDRI) developed a framework for professional learning. The final CPDRI document, Designs for Learning, is organized around 10 design elements which comprise a system for ongoing professional learning for teachers. Sidebars present: the California Standards for the Teaching…