The voices in this anthology, i.e., Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, Anthony Trollope, E.M. Forster, Franz Kafka, Frederick Douglass, Emily Post, Virginia Woolf, Bernard Malamud, and many others, describe the excitement of first learning to read and remind everyone of the unique companionship offered throughout life by books. The anthology…

This study examined: first, the impetuses college faculty respond to as they propose new degree programs; and, second, whether these impetuses can be correlated with the components of either resource dependence or institutional theory. It also examined implications of "vertical extension" (whereby institutions extend their academic…

This study is an analysis of student learning style (field dependence/independence), student attitudes toward the technology medium, and student perception of interaction. Research indicates that field independent (FI) individuals are more successful in distance education settings than field dependent (FD) individuals, which is a result of their…

This book is designed as a resource for educators who want their students to read, write, share, build, communicate, and contribute using telecommunications. The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1--"How To Use the Internet...Real Fast" gives an overview of top educator, parent, and kid sites on the World Wide Web. Chapter 2--"What's…

Asynchronous computer mediated learning (CML) provides a mechanism for student interaction that is unique among educational delivery systems. Collaborative interactive learning can lead to deeper learning than is possible without interaction among learners and may enable groups of learners to become more knowledgeable than the teacher in narrow…

Three years of helping faculty members at a state university learn computing technology yielded the following lessons: (1) for faculty members, the ownership of a computer is an emotional event during which computers are viewed successively as glorified typewriters, status symbols, and tools; (2) even to highly knowledgeable individuals, learning…

Two studies (which followed up a 4-year longitudinal study) examined the impact of hypertext on students' learning in science and English classes. The first study compared the impact of HyperCard stacks and regular textbook presentations of ideas in biology on ninth-grade students assigned to study these materials. Students in the second study, 10…

This study focused on the nature and formation of a professional identity for the community college professoriate. In late 2000, a random national sample of more than 1,500 community college faculty were surveyed on their professional practices and attitudes. This survey, which contained over 200 items, revealed that the community college…

Every child deserves excellent reading teachers because teachers make a difference in children's reading achievement and motivation to read. This position statement provides a research-based description of the distinguishing qualities of excellent classroom reading teachers. Excellent reading teachers share several critical qualities of knowledge…

A study examined the effect of adventure programs on participants' self-efficacy immediately following an adventure program experience and whether increased self-efficacy transferred to the participants' daily lives after the adventure experience. Sixty-eight participants aged 18-29 in a series of 21-day Outward Bound courses were given a pretest…

This qualitative study investigated the following questions: (1) How quickly can first graders master basic e-mailing skills? (2) Does communicating through the Internet and e-mail provide motivation or incentive for children to read or write? (3) Will children write with specific conventions due to having an identifiable audience to whom they are…

This paper describes cooperative learning strategies to increase high school and middle school students' motivation for doing well in school. The targeted population consisted of middle school students in a physical education and science classes, and high school students in science, technology, and special education classes. Both schools are…

This review examines and summarizes 16 research studies examining the writing self-efficacy beliefs of 6th to 10th grade students. In the majority of the studies, self-efficacy was found to play a primary role in predicting student writing performance. Students with learning disabilities were found to over-estimate their ability to complete…

This paper describes the development of a survey instrument to measure motivational aspects of reading and the use of reading strategies. The 28-item reading survey measured three factors: value, self-concept, and reading strategies. Factor analyses were run to confirm the existence of the three factors. The reading survey was administered to all…

This study sought to determine if family child care providers and center caregivers: (1) seek training for different reasons; (2) hold varying opinions regarding the best source of training according to content area; (3) demonstrate differences in training content obtained; and (4) use different training sources for a variety of training topics.…