Research has shown that with thorough training, most teachers can acquire new skills and strategies to add to their instructional repertoires. However, the literature also identifies a frequent failure to transfer new knowledge to classroom practice among trainees. Building on previous research, the study reported here investigated the effects of…

Since teaching is fundamentally a decision-making process, analyzing teachers' decisions can lead to a better understanding of learning and of management in the classroom. Three major features of teacher decision making are (1) that teaching is an intensely active profession; (2) that most of the work of teaching occurs in a group setting; and (3)…

The charge of the Full Day Kindergarten Committee of the Bay Shore Union Free School District was to determine whether Bay Shore schools should initiate a full day kindergarten or continue with the present half day program. Five methods were used to analyze the potential of the full day program: (1) full day kindergarten visitations, (2) faculty…

A parent-teacher conferencing procedure is described, and the results of a survey designed to determine the attitudes of parents and teachers toward components and outcomes of conferences are presented. The procedure involves a 20-minute conference at the end of the first marking period (November), with report cards sent for the three remaining…

Selected findings are presented of a 2-year evaluation study of the impact of three different staff development summer institutes on the use of new teaching materials and interactive strategies by 96 teachers. The purpose of the study was to explore some of the individual and organizational factors that are associated with the adoption of new…

Twelve publications already in the ERIC system that deal with microcomputers were selected for annotation. Two of the publications are conference proceedings that explore the use of computers. Another two are administrator handbooks dealing with the acquisition and the use of computers. Reference works cited include a guide for instructional…

Part of a series of instructor training modules on related subjects instruction for apprentices, this booklet deals with presenting information to apprentices. The first chapter consists of an outline of the nature and scope of the instructor training modules as well as a self-assessment pretest. Covered in the module are planning to present…

Teacher questions play a crucial role in affecting the quality of reading instruction, yet, once a child responds to a teacher's question, little is known of the teacher's verbal feedback which provides the pupil with an indication of the accuracy of his or her response. Data were collected from 16 first and third grade teachers during basal…

THINKABOUT, an ITV series for grades 5 and 6 designed to teach thinking skills, has been used in Wisconsin since 1979. The purposes of this study, conducted in spring 1981, were to identify teacher and student outcomes from using the series, ways of helping teachers to better implement THINKABOUT, means of expanding the use of THINKABOUT, and…

Part of a larger investigation of teacher-child-peer interactions among two- and three-year-old children in day care, this microanalytic study of toddler-initiated bids (attempts to communicate with caregivers) and teacher responses depicts in detail toddler-caregiver interaction. Subjects for the study were 25 males and 25 females between the…

This paper discusses the historical background of the creationist movement, presents Federal Judge Overton's analysis of why and how the Creationists got the equal time evolution/creation teaching law passed in Arkansas, and examines how scientists and educators are reacting to the controversy. Creationists were set back when Overton declared…

Robert Bloom considers the difficulties faced by teachers of disturbed and disruptive adolescents. He depicts common situations in which the teacher experiences anxiety, is unaware of the personal stress and conflict, and reacts in inappropriate ways. Examples portray such reactions as anger at coworkers, envy of the young, and retreat into…

Teachers actively engaged in responding to their students' written narratives should be mindful of the many influences on their students' writing, including the abuses of the language by government bureaucracies and the media. Examples of these abuses are (1) the lack of density and direction or purpose in bureaucratic writing, (2) the disjointed,…

This curriculum bulletin provides a medical perspective on factors which influence learning. The relationship of nutrition to learning and interactions between stress, discipline and learning are probed in question and answer format. The influence of sugar on learning readiness is discussed along with the beneficial effects of protein. Positive…

This paper describes writing as an exploration through unknown terrain by which student writers find out what they are really thinking. It offers teachers the following ground rules to help the difficult process whenever their students are writing in any subject: (1) do not ask students to regurgitate what they already know; (2) give students time…