"Thick descriptions" are descriptions that are layered enough to draw conclusions and uncover the intentions of a given act, event, or process. In a video environment, thick descriptions are images, gestures, or sequences that convey meaning. Neither the quantity nor the resolution of the images makes the descriptions thick. Thickness is…

Prepared in response to Section 3602 of New York State Education Law, this report analyzes the relationship between approved operating expense (AOE) and instructional expense (IE) for 1990-91. Originally defined as a net aidable expense for dispensing operating aid to school districts, AOE's definition and use have been considerably modified over…

The use of the term "physical education" in higher education began in the 1920's, with previous terminology including "gymnastics,""hygiene," and "physical culture." There is now a large constituent of educators who feel the name physical education no longer accurately describes the field. Various names have been considered, primarily…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that conducted site visits to 49 elementary schools and 37 secondary schools to investigated teachers' perceptions of the day-by-day operations of their talented and gifted programs. During the site visits, interviews were conducted with teachers, administrators, and students participating in gifted…

The multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) design of D. T. Campbell and D. W. Fiske (1959) is the most widely used paradigm for testing construct validity, but it continues to be plagued by problems associated with definition of terms, operationalizations of their guidelines, and analytic procedures used to test them. Using five diverse MTMM data sets,…

This fact sheet on epilepsy is offered in both English and Spanish. It provides a definition, information on incidence, typical characteristics, and educational implications. It notes that epilepsy is classified as "other health impaired" under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and that students with epilepsy are eligible for special…

This study, which examined children's understanding of machines, focused on how children decide which objects are machines and which are not, and how they group machines as similar or different. Brainstorming sessions involving two groups of four kindergarten children and one class each from the second, fourth, and fifth grade, were conducted.…

This revised digest presents basic information on mental retardation for educators and others. First, definitions from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) are presented. The fact sheet then analyzes how the new AAMR definition differs from earlier ones noting the new…

The book is a typological study of grammatical roles, such as agent, patient, beneficiary, and of grammatical relations, such as subject (direct) and indirect object. In addition it is concerned with the devices, such as the passive, that alter the identities in such roles and relations. Its objective is to suggest a consistent and reasonably…

This discussion of the contested/problematic concept (i.e., words that are open to debate and discussion as to their meaning) focuses on the notion of theory as one example in educational technology. Arguing that the notions of contested and problematic suggest debate, re-interpretation, and the need for dialogue with others to establish meaning,…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: This exercise replaces the standard, often boring introductory lecture on using the dictionary with a group assignment that encourages the students to observe and analyze the entry for at least one word very carefully. In doing so, the students discover for themselves both the kinds of information…

If they are to develop more effective social intervention strategies, social scientists must pay attention to social causality in their research. This will lead to more credibility for the social sciences and more support for research funds. Social causality is defined as a social process that produces a change in some dependent variable. It…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: LEVEL: College. AUTHOR'S COMMENT: When I first began as a college composition instructor, I gave a standard explanation that definition was necessary if students wished to argue logically or to explain an unfamiliar subject. I showed examples of definitions, discussed ones in the text, and then sent…

The diagnostic testing component of the Critical Thinking Project of the Pittsburgh schools is described and a rationale for the project's particular choice of testing procedures is provided. The purpose of the project was to help students develop skills for thinking critically and communicating critical thought through reading, discussion, and…

United States history is the subject of this bilingual glossary, one in a series designed to help high school students who are literate in Lao, but not in English, to meet graduation requirements. The first part of the handbook, in Lao, contains major concepts in American history and definitions of important and commonly used terms. The second…