The discourse on teacher quality has centered on issues of teacher knowledge and teacher skill, yet a third element that is central to all professional standards is teacher dispositions. Although there is no consensus about a definition of teacher dispositions, there are several models in use regarding how dispositions are being addressed. Most…

This document comprises four papers from a symposium on using an inquiry-based observation tool for assessing teaching and learning on various educational levels. The first paper, "Introduction, and Overview and Use of the Tool for K-12 Science, Mathematics, and Technology Program Evaluation" (M. Jean Young), presents an overview of the tool…

Intended for either the general educator or the specialist, this text offers principles and teaching strategies for teaching students with visual impairments including both blind students and those with low vision. The book is organized into three sections: "Vision,""Learning," and "Testing and Transitions." The four chapters in the "Vision"…

This set of training materials is part of a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) project to help schools and teachers throughout the world respond to pupils with special needs. Four modules comprise the materials, which are designed to be appropriate as part of preservice training, an inservice workshop, or a…

Based on results from research on children's spelling, it has been established that spelling errors produced by ESL students in this study of 6th grade students parallels the errors of native speakers of English in the same classroom. The ESL students are also impacted by cross-linguistic influence of the phonology of their native tongue. This…

Engaging learners on the World Wide Web is more than sending Web pages to the user. However, for many course delivery software programs, the smallest unit of delivery is a Web page. How content experts can create engaging Web pages has largely been ignored or taken for granted. This paper reports on an authoring model for creating pedagogically…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on transfer of learning. "The Effect of a Mastery Practice Design on Learning and Transfer in Behavior Modeling Training of Supervisory Listening Skills" (Gary L. May) reports on a case-control study that drew from research in the cognitive sciences on complex skill acquisition to create a…

Intended to encourage promising and fresh ideas in education research, the Field Initiated Studies (FIS) Program in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) supports a varied array of research projects that are proposed and justified by the applicants. Of the 29 projects described here, 12 were funded in 1990 and 17 in 1991. The…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on classroom organization for an expansive reading curriculum is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the…

Research recommendations concerning learning and development that are appropriate for research and development centers supported by the National Institute of Education (NIE) are offered to the director of NIE. Mission statements are presented on the following areas: literacy (reading, writing, and English skill development); learning and…

Many teachers struggle with motivating students to learn. This is especially prevalent in social studies classrooms in which students perceive social studies as boring (Schug, Todd, & Berry, 1984; Shaughnessy & Haladyana, 1985). This article advocates the use of technology in social studies as a means to motivate students by engaging…

This paper reviews the hallmark studies of field dependence-independence and considers the evidence for sex and ethnic differences in cognitive style. Research has traditionally linked females' early verbal superiority with field dependence and males' superior visuospatial skills with field independence. Studies challenging this picture cite…

Focusing on the relationship between learning oral language and learning about written language, this book discusses the emergent literacy (EL) of children growing up in a Western, print-oriented society, as well as findings of research conducted during the past 15 years on how children make sense of the way in which literacy works in their…

A study investigated the literacy development of bilingual children as they interacted in the social context of their preschool classrooms. Subjects were 12 native Spanish speaking preschoolers in a headstart classroom. It was hypothesized that what bilingual children bring to the classroom in terms of experience, values, language, culture, and…

This paper outlines the current state of knowledge about how intellectual competence is acquired. Implications resulting from recent changes in the psychology of learning and development are beginning to revitalize the science of learning and instruction. Four broad topics illustrate the links between instructional experiments, fundamental…