A study elaborated on the results of previous research on the effectiveness of the R-WISE (Reading and Writing in a Supportive Environment) software by examining the effects of the student factor of learner-control and the environmental factor of the teacher's preferred instructional style on student writing performance. R-WISE includes 3 specific…

Librarians providing individual information instruction need to be able to quickly and accurately assess the student's level of experience and ability and to offer the correct balance between support and challenge. Paul Hersey's Situational Leadership Model can provide librarians with a cognitive framework for assessment; it helps the instructor…

Five teams of researchers observed literacy instruction in 28 first-grade classrooms in diverse settings across five states. At each site, they observed teachers who had been identified by administrators as outstanding or typical, and they noted how each teacher taught and the literacy achievements of the students in each class. Based on student…

Facilitating Effective Learning and Teaching (FELT) is a program that involves the systematic analysis of learning by students. It identifies the processes of reflection and making implicit knowledge explicit in changing one's understanding of learning. The present investigation examines the prediction that students can enhance their…

Misunderstandings across communication situations frequently occur due to gender differences in communication styles, differences in either meanings or values attached to the linguistic symbols used to convey a message. An analysis of communication in the classroom based on Walter J. Ong's educational history, "Fighting for Life Contest,…

Explores the effects of a process variable (level of teacher interpersonal skills) in education upon student outcome (achievement test results) at the junior high school level. (RC)

Differences in teaching styles have conventionally been described in terms of ill-defined dichotomies. The aim of the present study was to provide a more adequate representation of teaching practices by creating a typology based on the self-reported strategies of primary school teachers. (Editor)

A practical approach is offered to incorporating desired instructional components into teaching styles of college faculty, in ways that increase their overall effectiveness. The first part of the book places the improvement process in a context, focusing on the impediments to improving college teaching, techniques for encouraging faculty…

Temperament type is a key to understanding the classroom behavior of social studies teachers. Current criticisms of strategies employed, dependence on the textbook, fact oriented testing, and the dearth of problem solving in lesson planning are grounded in professional decisions based on temperament preferences. Employing four types of temperament…

This study examined teachers' beliefs about how reading takes place and how reading processes develop. Subjects, 25 first-, fourth-, and sixth-grade teachers in five different Venezuelan schools, were administered protocols that consisted of a researcher/teacher conference, classroom observation, and an inventory designed to identify beliefs about…

Revolving around the theme of questioning in the classroom, the three articles in this newsletter are based on talks and workshop material drawn from the 1986 Summer Institute of the College Board's Educational EQuality Project. In the first article, "The Art of Questioning," Dennie Palmer Wolf points out that although most teachers feel…

Recent studies have used the notion of "empowerment" to describe individuals who assume a more critical and personally active approach toward the teaching profession. "Empowered" teachers are committed to providing thoughtful and challenging educational experiences for children and encouraging their pupils to develop personal…

This study examines the interaction of mother-son dyads as a function of mothers' and sons' locus of control and the demand characteristics of specific tasks. The subjects were 32 third grade boys from parochial schools in the District of Columbia area and their mothers. They were assigned to internal or external locus of control groups based on a…

This study examined the relationships among reading activities, rules for pupil participation, student engagement, and subsequent student achievement in reading lessons taught by student teachers (ST) and experienced teachers (ET). Two ST/ET dyads were observed and interviewed while they instructed third and fourth grade pupils in reading. The…

Academic freedom, at institutions of higher education, is discussed in terms of questions raised about the ability of an institution to dismiss an instructor. In the first case, "Martin v. Parrish," the instructor was dismissed for using profanity in the class. The second case, "Carley v. Arizona Board of Regents," centered on the importance of…