Drawing on an asset-based approach to adolescents and their literacy practices, this book is a powerful resource for secondary teachers across all content areas. The authors encourage a "widened lens" approach that considers varied perspectives and research findings when engaging in multiple and often competing initiatives, issues, and…

New Zealand's approach to literacy instruction is predominantly whole language. Explicit code-orientated literacy instruction is not favoured, however, most teachers are believed to include phonics in their literacy lessons. No study has been reported on phonics use in New Zealand schools. Survey responses on the use of phonics instruction from…

Presents the reflections of two of the many people who had been active in the Catskill Whole Language Council to reflect on the annual Catskill Retrospection and Contemplation Preconference, which preceded the annual Whole Language Conference. Notes the successful formula included singing engaging songs together, welcoming remarks, and inspiring…

Describes three teacher support groups, activities of which provide teachers with support in defining, implementing, and preserving programs that use whole-language methods, and are meaning centered and student focused. Also provides suggestions on starting a teacher support group. (BB)

Interviews Regie Routman, well-known advocate of whole-language instruction, about her new book, "Literacy at the Crossroads," in which she presents a clear response to critics of whole language and of education in general. Urges teachers to participate in professional development and communicate their professional knowledge about good teaching…

Describes a collaborative professional development project designed to bring whole language knowledge to more classroom teachers. Discusses one staff developer's work with a second grade teacher. Argues that staff developers must (1) know and respect teachers; (2) provide ongoing support; and (3) link theory and practice. Concludes that staff…

Outcomes of a staff development program based on the whole language philosophy that was implemented in a rural Florida elementary school are presented in this practicum report. Two surveys of 29 and 35 faculty, respectively, indicated needs for faculty cohesiveness, a unified purpose, and an update of language arts teaching skills. A staff…

A study investigated teachers' and staff developers' perceptions and assessment of the Whole Language Network (which assists teachers in using the whole language approach), the support provided to participants, changes in teaching and assessment practices, and the effects of such changes on student attitudes and achievement. A total of 164…

Findings from a study that sought to determine the degree to which teachers used an inservice program for the implementation of a primary language and literacy program are presented in this paper. To measure teachers' level of use of the whole language philosophy of learning, the Language and Literacy Questionnaire was administered to 112 primary…

This summary reports on a research project that looked at the relationship of whole language instruction to adult basic education (ABE) learning. It begins with the background of the three research projects. This section discusses the staff development program that enabled teachers to understand whole language, its principles, and its strategies…

The Fluency First in English as a second language (ESL) project at City College (New York) began as a result of the high failure rate among ESL writing students at the college, and the fact that this kept many students from entering the regular college courses. Revision on the ESL reading and writing curricula, beginning in 1987, focused on…

This study investigated the effectiveness of Project RIME, a project designed to support teachers in integrating more explicit instruction for children at-risk for reading failure into their curricula. Although the 11 teachers became more positive and knowledgeable toward using explicit instruction, their orientation toward implicit and…

Preservice teachers often have knowledge of the latest and best educational practice and need opportunities to apply theory in a "real world" setting through optimal field placements. A review of the literature on the relationship of the preservice teacher and the cooperating teacher revealed that while serving as a cooperating teacher…

This paper describes Project MILE (Moline Improvement in Literacy Education), a school/university partnership program between the University of Northern Iowa and Moline (Iowa) Public School District #40. The project called for a long-term collaborative effort in order to develop a complex and sophisticated level of university involvement with a…

This workbook, one of six professional development manuals for adult education (AE) teachers, explores instructional methodologies to promote student success, the theories behind them, and their applications in the self-paced, open-entry/open-exit AE classroom. The pretest and posttest appear first. Each of the seven units begins with a list of…