Provides a model of the domains of preliteracy development that contains four components: an orthographic, phonological, meaning, and context processor. The relationship of subskills to prereading activities and later reading is discussed. Developmental progressions for various preliteracy skills are identified, and methods of assessing…

Provides an overview of play in occupational therapy. Examines how occupational therapists' view of play has evolved and offers a model of play as occupation to illustrate how children's ability to play is influenced by developmental disabilities. Also outlines occupational-therapy assessment and treatment practices that use play and identifies…

Applies empirical data from case studies of assessment to illustrate the student-stakeholder viewpoint of assessment within a fitness-for-purpose approach. Finds students identify purposes for assessment in terms that are educationally sound, such as its effects on learning and motivation, extent of openness and clarity, and feedback and guidance…

Explores and problematizes the author's colleague's teaching performance, using the colleague's own performance theory and an Initiation-Reply-Evaluation (IRE) framework of pedagogical principles. Reconsiders the author's own assumptions about IRE and teaching. Finds the colleague's teaching to be a model of what political struggle should enable:…

This introductory article describes following articles that present a variety of models of medication monitoring that can be carried out to ensure that when medication is used to treat attention disorders in children, it is used effectively and safely. Implications for persons working with children with attention deficits are discussed. (CR)

Outlines a model for understanding the second-language reading process. Uses errors in comprehension to illustrate how the reading comprehension process works. Discusses pedagogical implications and suggestions for teaching students to develop and practice better comprehension strategies using think-alouds. (RS)

Highlights the tensions of defining democracy internationally and the implications for education. Presents an eight-point model to compare systems and schools in transition and analyzes performance indicators for the use of democracy in education. Offers examples of how democracy can be interpreted at different levels in an educational system.…

Based on his interactive visualization Web site, the author explores the Web as a tool to build better metaphors for students and emphasizes the pedagogical power of the medium, which, he asserts, remains largely untapped. Discussion includes the use of temporal, special, and parametric process models to increase the pedagogical value of teaching…

Examines changes which have occurred in the development and evaluation of intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), speculates on future directions, and proposes a conceptual model for the development of ITSs. Topics discussed include the effectiveness of ITSs; the need for multidisciplinary efforts; and internal and external evaluation. (Contains 78…

Discussion of relevance provides an overview to this special issue on relevance research. Topics addressed include user-centered criteria that affect relevance judgments; information-seeking behavior; the need for appropriate research methodologies; models for system design and evaluation; and approaches to facilitate further research, including…

Discusses topical relevance and situational relevance, which takes into account the impact of the retrieval system on the user, in the context of medicine. Topics addressed include scientific validity; limitations of current evaluation methodology, including recall and precision; and a framework for future retrieval research based on an…

Describes the theoretical premises of project-based instruction and its features. Presents a model of collaboration between teachers and university faculty designed to support teachers in attempts to enact project-based instruction. Describes the teachers in the initial collaboration, the science projects they enacted, and the methods used to…

Statistical identification of employees with unusual sick leave patterns can result in false-positive identifications. A computer simulation model was used to evaluate alternate methods of unusual sick leave detection for the New York State Department of Health. Results were used to refine identification parameters and modify supervisory…

The superintendency in Connecticut was examined as part of the development of preliminary standards for future school superintendents. Future superintendents will need high-level skills in conceptualization to give perspective and vision across a range of functions. Six crucial roles of the superintendent are outlined. (SLD)

An evaluation of case management services to families on public assistance suggests that a "logic model" and an "open systems" evaluation approach might be useful in program evaluation. A second study describes how the logic model and open systems evaluation were used to develop an evaluation plan for services to homeless…