The goal of this study was to take a first step in evaluating the potential of virtual reality (VR) as a learning environment. The context of the study was The Technology Academy, a technology-oriented summer day camp for students ages 5-18, where student activities center around hands-on exploration of new technology (e.g., robotics, MIDI digital…

This facilitator's guide, and the videotape it accompanies, is designed to demonstrate ways in which the new visions of science education for the 21st century might be translated into classroom practice. The National Research Council's (NRC) National Science Education Standards, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Benchmarks…

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS) scores when considering the scores of the first four individual domains (Instructional Strategies, Management and Organization, Presentation of Subject Matter, and Learning Environment), the sum of the scores of Domains I through IV, and the overall…

The study reported here was conducted to improve student teachers' skills in asking questions capable of eliciting learner responses on a higher cognitive level. Participants, senior student teachers, were chosen randomly for video evaluations of their question asking strategies. Following video recording of lessons, the student teachers performed…

This study was conducted by the teacher education program, University of Saskatchewan, to determine the effectiveness of practicum supervisory practices by cooperating teachers. Student teachers (N=126) were surveyed with respect to 31 present and ideal clinical supervision behaviors before and after a 4-month internship. Training and experience…

This annual journal presents the latest thinking and research on important issues of faculty, instructional, and organizational development in postsecondary education. Essays in this issue and their authors are as follows: "Faculty Development and the New American Scholar" (William B. Bondeson); "Improving Higher Education: Issues…

Many students are not actively engaged in learning in mathematics classrooms. The purpose of this study was to develop understandings about student engagement with the mathematics curriculum and its influence on student engagement. The research was conducted in two seventh-grade classes taught by the same teacher, who used direct instruction. The…

A qualitative study of an intensive week-long adult-training course taught with integrated hypermedia was conducted to document course implementation and to formulate questions and hypotheses about aspects of learning with hypermedia to guide future researchers. The hypermedia training was that of the Cities in Schools (CIS) Program Operations…

A set of self-evaluation procedures using videotape was developed to provide teachers with a means for observing their teaching and then reflecting on what occurred. The self-evaluation model consists of two components: (1) a transition observation instrument (TOI) which was designed based on classroom management variables known to influence…

This study investigated autonomous local home schooling parent support groups in Kansas. The home schooling movement in Kansas is an alternative educational entity whose membership has recently been increasing. Accompanying support groups have also increased in number. The purpose of this study was to conduct a naturalistic inquiry into the…

The validation of a classroom observation instrument to be used in evaluating teacher interns under the Kentucky Teacher Intern Program is described. The validation project began in 1988. Fourteen educators from state universities comprised a jury that judged the initial version of the instrument and compared it with the instrument previously…

This portrait of a middle school literature classroom is one of a series of several such portraits which depict diverse classroom settings of high school literature, and which result from the second year of a teacher-research project in the greater Albany, New York area. This article portrays teacher Will Blake and his honors class at an urban…

A number of studies indicate that student teachers can change their behavior quickly, sometimes dramatically, when under a supervisory program which focuses upon behavioral change during the experience. Such change is contingent upon the extent to which student teachers have specific objectives to achieve and regular, precise feedback about their…

Designed to lend support to South Carolina's mandated language arts goals and objectives and to provide a tool flexible enough to meet the needs of a changing society, this curriculum guide describes an integrated sequence of instruction in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and observing from kindergarten through grade 12. After a brief…

This observer training manual was developed as a central component of a research effort, Changing Teacher Practice (CTP), which was designed to increase the frequency of effective teaching behaviors and staff development strategies in an ongoing school system. The observations focused on two major aspects of classroom teaching--instruction and…