The chart essay is discussed as an effective technique that links specific research to real policy decisions and arranges answers for each question in a chart highlighting actual research data. A study of 515 high school seniors' extracurricular activities illustrates use of this report form. (SLD)

Summarizes several intervention efforts and programs dealing with the underrepresentation and lower achievement levels of minorities and women in mathematics. Suggests five directions for new approaches and an expanded research base. (YP)

Describes the Concepts About Print test (CAP), a test designed to examine young children's knowledge of written language. Discusses variations of the CAP for other languages, including Spanish, Walpiri (an Australian aboriginal language), and Braille. (MM)

The article discusses the need for communication of research findings involving exceptional individuals, the need for resolution of the research-practice dichotomy, and the types of papers which will appear in the new column. (JDD)

Recent research documents students' misconceptions about key math and science ideas, parochial views of history, and tendency to reduce complex literary works to stereotypes. To improve understanding, learners should focus on activities asking them to generalize, find new examples, and apply principles thoughtfully. Teachers should pursue…

Commentary on Gardner's "Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice" suggests that Gardner has made major contributions to discussions of the mind and educational goals. The article identifies issues arising from Project Zero's efforts to conceptualize and assess varieties of human intelligence and to follow implications of its work…

Explores formal research on educational practice and practical inquiry into questions of practice. Formal research contributes to an established and general knowledge base, whereas practical inquiry is undertaken by a practitioner to improve practice. Practical inquiry is more likely to lead to immediate classroom change. (SLD)

A survey of 25 Kansas school districts and cooperatives serving deaf students, concerning the 1986 standards developed by the Conference of Educational Administrators Serving the Deaf (CEASD), identified the standards receiving the most support and the least support, as well as those standards showing the greatest disparity between support level…

This paper explores the reasonableness of expecting conventional experimental methodologies and research reports on behavioral interventions for persons with developmental disabilities to both support the validity of promising practices and guide the efforts of practitioners to implement those practices. New directions for research and practice…

A Discovery Unit was designed to develop problem-finding behavior in 67 gifted children (grades 3-6). Students identified a problem and its solution using topics of their choice. The results of this two-year pilot project support the need to instruct and practice problem-finding skills at the elementary level. (DB)

Acknowledges the late Professor Emeritus William G. Walker's contribution to educational administration. Describes major advances in epistemological perspectives and metatheoretical frameworks underlying recent educational administration research in Australia. A progressive research agenda should focus on preserving systems, empowering schools,…

This paper contrasts research knowledge and practice knowledge in special education; describes factors that moderate the influence of research on practice, including teacher knowledge and learning, teacher attitudes and beliefs, and context; and considers issues in reconceptualizing the relationship between research and practice in special…

Issues concerning cooperative efforts between teachers and researchers are considered, based on the experiences of an educator who served as a cooperating teacher in three classroom research projects and a collaborative researcher in another project. Commentary is provided on what collaboration really means, the slowness of change, planning,…

This introductory article to a special issue on families of children and adolescents with special needs across the life span notes the articles' focus on theory, research, and practice as a way to provide information about current work in the fields of early intervention, special education, and family support from an ecological perspective. (DB)

Examines the need to match teaching processes to cognitive aspects of learning and motivational dynamics of learners within the context of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Discusses how theories and empirical findings of research on motivation can be integrated in a formal model in order to describe and predict motivation within the framework…