Describes creative stress management techniques for early childhood practitioners. Presents a model whereby the caregiver identifies the problem; conducts a personal scan to identify symptoms and reactions that form behavior patterns; chooses from options to alleviate stress reactions related to the body, emotions, actions/behavior, or the mind;…

The precision of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) with a limited item pool was measured using test results from 4,494 nursing students. Regardless of the item pool size, CAT provides greater precision in measurement with a smaller number of items administered even when the choice of items is limited, but CAT fails to achieve equiprecision along…

Describes the powerful connections an English teacher and his students made with Sandra Cisneros'"The House on Mango Street." Discusses how the book invites the reader to experience racism, shares the mainstream of the American experience, and deals with growing up. Notes that the book had a powerful impact on students' writing and their desire to…

Evaluates the effectiveness of one-year participation in a program of volunteer-facilitated peer support groups conducted in a southwest Texas high school. Results of program evaluation by participants (N=118) indicate that the program was highly accepted even though two-thirds of the students had initially felt uncomfortable in the group.…

Examined whether links between marital relations and six- to nine-year olds' adjustment were mediated by children's emotional security. Latent variable path analysis results supported theoretical pathway whereby marital dysfunction was linked with adjustment problems as mediated by emotional insecurity regarding parental conflicts. Emotional…

Compared performance of infants with autism, developmental delays, or normal development on a prospective screening instrument for autism. Found that 20-month-olds with autism lacked social gaze in empathy and joint attention tasks. Infants with autism or developmental delays demonstrated functional play. Few produced spontaneous pretend play.…

Three experiments compared infants' reactions to videos of normally responsive women varying in eye contact. Found that, relative to frontal faces, three-month olds smiled less at images averting head and eye (H&I), head alone (H), and closing eyes (ECL) but not at averting eyes (E). Five-month-olds smiled less at H&I, E, and ECL but not…

Used questionnaire and observations from 94 nonclinical mother-adolescent dyads to examine whether the inverse relationship between maternal emotional distress and responsiveness was mediated by mothers' parenting efficacy and parental perspective taking. Found that maternal emotional distress was associated with lower levels of mother- and…

Examines effect of use of e-mail by college developmental reading students to respond to literature. Provides a detailed view of the nature of the students' engagement. Shows that using quality literature, e-mail, and authentic audiences engaged many students in academic discourse. (RS)

Describes the development of a strategy for assessing undergraduate research projects by students and faculty at an Irish university. Its key elements include: (1) submission by students of three interim progress reports and provision of written and oral feedback by faculty; (2) a project logbook; and (3) a self-evaluation exercise to encourage…

How did educators become enslaved to networked computers and mesmerized by iridescent screens? The computer encourages endless acquisitions, some motivated by intellectual avarice, others by petty jealousies incited by colleagues raving about the latest "innovation." How much computer literacy is sufficient? What other literacies must…

Discusses the use of children's picture books to assist preschool children's understanding of the "realness," permanence, and inclusiveness of death as part of the life cycle. Provides a list of "Do's and don'ts for helping children grieve" and a bibliography of books to share with preschoolers when a pet dies. (JPB)

A brochure was designed to communicate information to tourists about the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and its need for protection. A survey of 673 visitors evaluated the effectiveness of distribution methods, effectiveness of the brochure in communicating its intended messages, map effectiveness, visitor opinions of various brochure…

Examined the nature and accuracy of 4th-6th grade teachers' judgments about students' mathematics motivation. Teachers and students rated student motivation four times during the school year. Teachers' assessments of students' beliefs corresponded only modestly to students' self-assessments. Teachers' ratings were more stable across time and…

Summarizes a study following 16 teachers who had completed a graduate-level course in clinical supervision through their experiences as cooperating teachers paired with full-time student teachers. Although all cooperating teachers implemented some aspects of clinical supervision, they did not conduct clinical cycles often, due to time constraints.…