Based on the perception that teacher educators deliver preparation programs which have little influence on the way graduates actually teach and that they are completely out of touch with the actual teaching conditions in contemporary schools, a survey was conducted to see what activities teachers felt were most relevant for reading methods classes…

Changes in instructional methods and ideologies depend on simultaneous changes in the physical environment for the practice of those methods. School architecture results from the type of activity dictated by educational theories. One of the principal ideologies of education is socialization, which perceives education as a process of preparing…

The Collaboration to Improve Reading in the Content Areas (CIRCA) project, a collaborative effort between the Center for the Study of Reading and the Chicago Public Schools, is described in this paper. Noting that the project was designed to translate research about content area reading into practice, the first section briefly discusses the…

Intended to bridge the gap between current research and theory about literacy learning and teaching and teacher knowledge of that theory and research, this book raises questions about what teachers should know about language, literacy, and learning to help children become confident, reflective, independent learners both in and out of school.…

The role of special reading teachers is currently in flux, as local education agencies expect them to work increasingly with other teachers and parents and consequently provide less direct instruction for students. Historically, reading specialists taught disabled readers since it was hypothesized that their special training in reading diagnosis…

A concept-based introduction to rural public transportation is provided in this instructional module for undergraduate and graduate transportation-related courses for disciplines such as engineering, business, sociology, and technology. Rural public transportation involves systems in rural and small urban areas with populations under 50,000…

Proceedings of a regional conference on teaching to potential are presented. The 48 papers address three areas of concern: training or educating--future requirements, cultural diversity in higher education, and relating disciplinary research to university teaching. Papers and authors include: "Training or Education: Future Requirements for the…

Teachers who want to act professionally need to participate in the decision making process. Sound knowledge of current theories is essential as is sound knowledge of students' needs as related to the goals of education. Of particular importance is the willingness to try out alternative approaches and to evaluate the effects of different strategies…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores issues related to teaching English to the gifted student. The digest begins by examining the criteria used for identifying gifted/talented students, noting that some successful programs for the gifted in English and language arts do not restrict admission…

Written by teachers, linguists, psychologists, and reading specialists, this book elucidates the relationship between reading and language, and explains why reading should be regarded as a language-based process. The book is divided into eight sections, each of which includes an introduction and sources for further reading. The essays for each…

This presentation uses the premise that educational practice currently derives little benefit from the mass of ongoing research as a starting point for a reassessment of the values and goals of research. Particular emphasis is placed on the relation between research and educational practices involving 4-year-olds. The first part of the discussion…

This paper reviews staff development research related to rural schools. Only a limited number of studies have described, or evaluated the effects of, particular staff development programs in rural schools, or have assessed the perceived needs of rural faculty and administrators for inservice training. However, rural educators can draw implications…

The report presents results of a 1-year project whose purposes were to explore issues surrounding service provision to families with developmentally disabled members, to assess the status of family support programs nationwide, and to apply this information to the task of developing a family support program in Virginia. Part 1 reflects findings of…

A descriptive study investigated the ability of student teachers to translate and apply textbook knowledge in the daily reading instruction of public elementary school students. Subjects, 24 teachers, were surveyed regarding their student teachers' use of 36 reading and management strategies covered in college courses. The participating teachers…

Language Arts is an area which covers many subjects, each important, each one interdependent upon the other. Prospective teachers, first and foremost, should have the various language theories reviewed in their methods courses. Practical classroom activities--such as keeping spelling lists, practicing creative writing, and sharing…