An interview with Christopher Schenk, Britain's Inspector of Schools, reveals his impressions of the differences and similarities of early childhood education in Britain and the United States. Topics included teaching methods, at-risk children, standardized tests, early intervention, family involvement in the schools, funding, and health care.…

Instruction types and amounts were observed for 30 educably mentally retarded, 30 learning-disabled, 32 emotionally/behaviorally disabled, and 30 nonhandicapped students in grades 2-4. The groups were compared on time allocation, grouping arrangements, student responding, qualitative nature of classroom instruction, and the home learning…

Study examined differences between self-contained and team teaching approaches when two groups of elementary teachers implemented a physical education curriculum during an inservice. Researchers collected lesson completion forms, specialists' reports, class observations, and teacher surveys. Results indicated those using self-contained approaches…

The effects of teaching with analogies on students' conceptual understanding and explanations of educational computing were examined with three groups of preservice teachers in a computer literacy course. Students who were taught using complete analogies were found to have a better grasp of computing concepts than those taught using undeveloped…

Describes humorous presentations to heighten adults' awareness of their dependence on printed materials in contrast to children's high level of comfort with electronic media, and the changes in information delivery that are already in place. (KRN)

The most fundamental technical quality issue raised by proposals for a national examination system is that of validity. Types of evidence needed to judge the validity of test use and the interpretation of results are discussed, and examination content, fairness, impact, generalizability, and comparability are explored. (SLD)

Discusses a study that compared the effects of selected aspects of a discipline-based approach to ceramic instruction with a child-centered approach. Makes comparisons in relation to fifth grade students' self-concepts, attitudes toward art, knowledge of art, and the aesthetic quality of modeled human figures and ceramic vessels. (KM)

Examines how reading ability relates to course performance in an introductory developmental psychology course. Compares personalized system of instruction (PSI) to contingency managed lecture (CML) sections. Shows previous academic performance best predicted final examination scores for CML students while reading comprehension best predicted PSI…

Focus group findings were compared with survey findings for three studies in which both methods were used. Studies conducted on voluntary sterilization in Guatemala, Honduras, and Zaire with over 2,000 subjects confirm that focus groups yield information similar to that obtained from surveys and are useful in program planning. (SLD)

This article on sampling early semantic productions reports a study of 6 children (ages 31-35 months) with specific language impairments. Subjects produced a greater frequency and diversity of multiword utterances in a free-play sampling situation than in a joint action routine sampling situation. (JDD)

Faculty at a research university, a comprehensive college, and a liberal arts college were interviewed regarding their courses that were associated with improvement in student learning. Results indicate discrepancies between teachers' goals and perceptions of their teaching and their actual methods. (MSE)

A national survey of assistant and associate pharmacy professors (n=491) found differences between disciplines in time allocation, number of publications, and research funding. Time, lack of funding, and need for research assistants were commonly identified as impediments to research productivity. A quantitative method for evaluating productivity…

Compares past methods of teaching languages with the current emphasis on teaching oral/aural skills. The use of technology is then discussed, in particular the language laboratory, the videotape recorder, the videodisk, and the computer. Suggestions are offered on how to adapt each for educational purposes. (23 references) (CFM)

This paper argues that evaluation of advanced skills in teaching should be based on pedagogical content knowledge that good teachers should have but nonteachers in the discipline might not. Several schemes used in Victoria (Australia) for appraisal of advanced teaching skills are examined, and an alternative to competency-based approaches is…

Describes a study conducted at Punjab University (Pakistan) that measured the rate of availability of documents needed by users based on Paul Kantor's model of availability analysis. Results are compared with four studies conducted in the United States using the same methodology, and factors related to document unavailability are discussed.…