"Dimension" is the annual volume containing the selected, refereed, edited proceedings of each year's conference. By selecting "Models for Excellence in Second Language Education" as the 2003 conference theme, the Board of Directors of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) demonstrated an eagerness to invite presentations…

This multi-year program was based on the premise a digital divide exists between the technology skill levels of public school faculties compared to those of undergraduate teacher education candidates. The Technology Mentor Fellowship Program (TMFP) matched technologically-proficient pre-service teachers with K-12 teachers to model technology as an…

This paper describes the theories and social factors that contributed to the development of competency-based training (CBT). These include behaviorism (Edward L. Thorndike), scientific management (Frederick Taylor), progressive education (John Dewey), and derivative theories including operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner), objectives-based…

One suggestion for educational improvement is the implementation of specialized schools that offer specific training with a focus. New York and a number of other cities have turned to this choice to offer specialized schools of mathematics and technology. The movement is coordinated on a national level by the National Consortium of Specialized…

Teacher efficacy has been identified as a variable that can influence teacher effectiveness. The results of methods designed to change teacher efficacy, however, have been mixed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible impact on teacher efficacy of the FOCUS (1992) instructional method, which is designed to create an environment in…

A total of 343 first-year, African-American students at the University of Maryland College Park completed a questionnaire on a variety of topics including career and advising issues to determine the career needs and interests of these students. The reasons African-American students most often reported for going to college were to get a better job…

Teams at several universities collaborated in studies of the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency program in three cities. This bulletin presents the findings from the Rochester (New York) Youth Development Study (RYDS) concerning the contributions of youth gang membership to delinquency. The RYDS started with a sample of 1,000 boys and girls in…

This final report describes a 3-year project which examined effects of different service delivery structures on the development of toddlers with disabilities who were receiving early intervention within natural group environments. Participants (n=70) were matched across four groups who were receiving either full-time specialized instruction or…

The 1991 book "The Effective Board of Trustees" presents a model of governing board effectiveness, based on an empirical study of 22 private liberal arts and comprehensive colleges. Since the book was published, various nonprofit organizations, including seminaries and theological schools, have used this model in presentations, educational…

This paper maintains that the most influential management models for higher education derive from the corporate sector and that this crossover effect promises increasing board of trustee activism in the academic world. Corporate boards have come under increasing public pressure to be more responsive and responsible for active management. In turn,…

This paper first reviews the development of gifted education in Taiwan over the last two decades and discusses the problems facing gifted education, including conservative definition-identification, the negative impact of entrance examinations, and curricula that are not challenging. The development of a pilot program for highly capable primary…

The evaluation of instruction via distance learning at the high school and college level offers special challenges, particularly the evaluation of one-way video--two-way audio instructional programs. The role of the teacher is radically changed and teaching strategies and course design are particularly important in a distance leaning environment.…

Beginning in 1988, faculty at Towson State University (Maryland) conducted a two-year project intended to integrate the new scholarship on women into selected courses in five community colleges in the Baltimore-Washington area. The project was designed to foster curriculum integration work in community colleges, and created a model described in…

This report describes the Expressive Arts Project, which was designed to develop and demonstrate a developmentally appropriate, activity-based expressive arts curriculum model, that will enable children with disabilities to have access to activities in the arts that are an accepted part of regular early childhood programs in typical settings. The…

This 42-month project at the University of Denver (Colorado) developed materials and faculty development activities concerning application of Kitchener and King's reflective judgment theory. Testing and implementation were at the University of Denver and Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and the University of Missouri (Columbia). The model…