In a reviewed series of spontaneous and learning-set studies of adults and children, adults solved problems even if they attended to four dimensions; young children failed when attending so broadly, but solved when attending to a single dimension. (Author/HS)

Describes an environmental education workshop for 36 inservice secondary teachers and an evaluation of related student learning. Data indicate student learning was influenced by the treatment. (SL)

Describes special factors and procedures which are utilized in an introductory physical science course for nonscience majors. It is designed to enable students who are at a concrete or transitional stage to attain the formal operational level of development. (Author/SL)

A follow-up to the NACOME report which would clarify principles of mathematical learning and teaching is discussed. (DT)

Investigated the relationship between hand writing posture and cerebral dominance of 48 left handed writers and 25 right handed writers. Determined that cerebral dominance is related to handedness and to whether or not the writing hand posture is normal or inverted. (SL)

This issue focuses attention on research-based tools and professional development, illustrating how they come together in ways that support better teaching and improved learning. In the feature article, "Bringing the Picture of Classroom Instruction into Focus," author Jessica Johnson introduces a new classroom survey tool developed in…

This paper presents Pennsylvania's Standards for Kindergarten. The goal of the Kindergarten Standards is to promote the development of a child who has the attributes of: inventiveness, curiosity, persistence, engagement, reasoning, problem solving, responsibility, imagination, and creativity. The Pennsylvania Kindergarten Standards are designed as…

This chapter builds on the idea that classrooms that promote understanding can and do exist. Elaborating upon this idea the question is raised, "In what ways can many more classrooms be developed so that all students have the opportunity to learn with understanding?" The construction of classrooms that promote understanding is dependent upon…

This collection contains 75 papers or summaries presented at a 1999 conference on self-study and institutional improvement for institutions of higher education. Papers are grouped into these chapters (with sample topics in parentheses): (1) "Case Studies in Collaboration: Culture of Collaboration" (cooperation; partnerships in education); (2)…

This study used structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling approaches for purposes of simultaneous study of individual and group change patterns on three waves of two longitudinally assessed domains. This study illustrates a few of the dual approaches to the analysis of covariance structures as they relate to the same individual growth…

Drawing on experience teaching a college course, this book explains the process that evolves as teachers and students grapple with learning about racism and becoming antiracist. Racism is defined as an institutionalized system of economic, political, social, and procedural relations that ensures that one racial group has and maintains power and…

Learning in the wholetheme approach is defined as reorganizing one's own intuitive knowledge base, as opposed to storing facts. This presentation discusses several thematic organizers to illustrate their role as a teaching tool in helping learners reorganize their own intuitive knowledge base. Intimately tied to the brain's ground-figure processes…

In a best-evidence synthesis of studies that examine change in teacher candidates' conceptions and practices during their teacher education course work, too few researchers provide evidence for the linkage between candidates' beliefs and their learning. To address this problem, a mixed-design study explored on the micro-level (i.e., a lesson) the…

This book is intended to provide teachers with research information and practical ideas for modifying assessments to make them more equitable and beneficial for all students. It encourages teachers to recognize the diverse sociocultural factors that contribute to students' identities in order to accurately and equitably assess their learning. The…

This theme issue reviews the advantages and disadvantages of testing. Both activists and researchers seem to agree that tests measure a limited range of skills and that test preparation alone does not improve teaching or learning. There is also substantial agreement among researchers and activists opposed to widespread test use that no single…