Surveys 776 K-12 students from a rural Indiana school district, using various personal-attribute and personal-history inventories, to see whether students' self-concept scores correlated with their teachers' ratings of students' at-risk behaviors on the Potential Dropout Checklist. Although the personal-attribute inventories across all grade…

Summarizes survey responses of 92 mentor teachers. Among respondents' 210 comments, 103 (49%) focus on the mentoring role and 107 (50.9%) relate to perceived obstacles to effective mentoring. Respondents often doubted their mentoring qualifications and voiced concerns about time, pairing methods, beginning teachers' receptiveness, and limited…

Describes a project in which researchers work with teachers to increase their knowledge of a specific genre of writing and to use the knowledge in response to student work. Finds that few teachers used the feedback response form or scoring rubric provided to them but that teachers used many of the assessment techniques in instructional design and…

A Carnegie Mellon University study examined Pittsburgh Public Schools' use of computer networks. Classroom activities included sending work to another party, collaborating on group projects, and exploiting the Internet's remote data sources and processing capabilities. Teachers' computer usage is discussed, along with implementation advice and…

A survey of 360 teachers showed that many teachers are voluntarily using their own money to support their classroom work. On average, the teachers surveyed spent $444 annually; teachers nationwide may be spending more than $1 billion annually. Respondents' comments ranged from outrage and frustration with lack of available funds to acceptance of…

This study examined effectiveness of posted numerical feedback on disruptive hallway behavior occurring among middle school students. Posting alone was found to have little effect on student behavior, but paired with verbal praise and feedback, posting was associated with more positive effects on student behavior and noise levels. (Author/PB)

As one survey shows, although collegiality within academic departments determined secondary teachers' innovation norms, conceptions of students, sense of subject area, and enthusiasm, teacher commitment and pride are primarily products of district-level influences. Teacher autonomy without strong district professional community, with its…

Explores student and teacher views about an advisor-advisee program being conducted in a rural midwestern middle school. Although teachers overwhelmingly supported the advisory concept, they (as well as students) made several suggestions for improving the school's program: eliminating a controversial Positive Action program; removing disruptive…

In one Texas school district, a few elementary and secondary teachers traded classes for one day to compare differences in working conditions. Teachers benefited by developing greater appreciation of their colleagues' efforts, making connections between secondary and elementary schools, gleaning new teaching ideas and methods, and gaining…

Considers ways to reduce the anxiety and potential resistance among teachers when school districts try to institute a greater awareness and use of computer technology in the classroom. Provides suggestions on how to reduce anxiety over computers among staff. (HB)

Discusses the importance of professional morality in teachers' everyday work. Explores moral dilemmas identified by teachers and their resolution strategies through quantitative and qualitative data-gathering methods. Investigates teachers' reasoning in solving moral dilemmas using field-invariant and field-dependent arguments. Shows that solution…

Aims to redefine what happens in the margins through a practice called "sideshadowing," adapted from Bakhtinian theorist Gary Saul Morson's examination of narrative technique. States that sideshadowing redirects the attention to the present moment, its multiple conflicts, and its multiple possibilities. Argues for sideshadowing's…

Describes a California elementary school's plan to help teachers develop portfolios for year-end assessments. Teachers toss notes from parents, student work samples, photographs of class activities, lesson materials, and other "artifacts" into cardboard boxes. They help each other sort by four subject categories and develop final…

Students sometimes choose violence because it pervades their lives, they can't perceive other options, or don't trust adults to protect them. Teachers should drop get-tough responses and develop a gentle stance toward students and tough situations. Gentle discipline implies a code of conduct based on respect, intentionality, optimism, and trust.…

Examines how visible students were as writers to instructors who were not acquainted with composition theory. Asks what identities faculty were crafting for themselves and their students (both consciously and unconsciously) and how those identities were revealed in their responses to student texts. Indicates that the content-area faculty…