High school students studying French as a second language in Toronto were administered a questionnaire and a variety of achievement tests in French. Results were analyzed to determine the effects of learner characteristics on the development of second language competence. Four factors in learning success were posited: attitude, strategy, aptitude,…

Part 1 of this report is a general introduction summarizing the 3-year Teacher Education and Media (TEAM) project (ED 003 156) which prompted this effort to (1) suggest a way of reconstituting the objectives and programs of teacher education and (2) show how media can be used to heighten the effectiveness of the program. Part 2 presents the…

The need for more precise analysis of the complex educational and psychological processes which exist in special classes for the emotionally handicapped, is emphasized. A psycho-educational model, involving teacher-pupil interaction, is developed, and a procedure (the Interaction Analysis System) is formulated for observing and recording behavior.…

The applications of biographical concepts in educational settings were examined through a case study of one researcher's use of the biographical narrative interview to examine the connection between subjective and structural conditions and coping strategies in individual lives and to inform adult education practitioners. The biographical approach…

This study examined the process of organizational learning in a small secondary school in a company town during a protracted period of turbulence, arising from the downsizing of the community's main employer. The hypothesis was that distributed leadership among school staff created a change in teaching practices from a limited repertoire of…

NonStop University is an online university community application service designed, developed, and deployed by Hewlett-Packard (HP) to serve the computer product training needs of 2,500 staff members in more than 50 countries. By identifying a set of learner characteristics that supported a set of key elements while using technology and focusing on…

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…

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 individual differences in learning. "Novice and Expert Learning: Impact on Training" (Barbara J. Daley) reports on a study in which 20 novice and expert nurses were interviewed to identify their different learning processes and the factors that facilitated or hindered their learning.…

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…

Uses two studies to examine developmental and task effects in estimation problems. Results are discussed in terms of student and task characteristics and the implications of such variables on information processing model of learning. Implications for science teaching, learning problem diagnostics, and science curricula are also discussed. (TW)

Many organizations are not satisfied that their methods of evaluating training are rigorous or extensive enough to answer questions of value to them. Complaints about Kirkpatrick's popular four-step model (1959) of training evaluation are that each level is assumed to be associated with the previous and next levels and that the model is too simple…

The question of how to theorize the subjective side of work within a life history perspective was explored. The findings of a study on engineers' subjective recognition of their lives, their education and jobs, and their life perspectives and the findings of a study of continuing education within a number of white-collar and semiprofessional work…

The determinants of self-directed learning (SDL) among professionals of high attainment were examined through open-ended, semidirected interviews with a purposeful sample of eight professional men and women who have acquired identifiable, high-level professional knowledge/skills typically taught in postsecondary learning institutions without ever…

Examines issues relating to information technology that will affect the future of school librarians. Topics discussed include teaching versus learning; the need for new sets of skills; becoming systems analysts; matching technology with users' information needs; management information systems; and shifting models regarding the role of school…