This paper reports on an investigation into learning through discussions by undergraduate social work students. Second-year students studying psychology for social work experienced discussions began with face-to-face tutorials, and then continued for some time after online. This study used closed-ended questionnaires to investigate what students…

This study describes the use of VaxNotes, an electronic conferencing software, in a 16-week graduate distance learning course at a large Midwestern university. The seminar was taught at two campuses, by two instructors, connected by video and audio distance learning technologies. Discussions held outside class were conducted initially by…

This paper reviews the background of and compares three particular approaches to reflective professional development, specifically as used by Far West Laboratory: case methods, the Peer Assisted Leadership process, in which peer partners observe each other, conduct reflective interviews, construct leadership models, and explore alternate ways to…

Blending the fields of group process and cooperative learning; prevention and resiliency; learning theory; and school change into a comprehensive guide, this book describes the on-going development of the Tribes group process, whereby small learning groups are used to promote human growth and learning. A tribe consists of three to six students who…

A study of individual variability in second-language learners' performance in specific classroom tasks is presented as evidence that instruction in language for special purposes (LSP) has an important role to play. Subjects were 17 Singapore university students in a remedial English course; all had studied English since elementary school. The…

This paper describes the consumer program, "Helpful People in Touch," a self-help treatment program for people with the multiple disorders of mental illness, drug addiction, and/or alcoholism. First, the terms, "Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers and Addicted" (MICAA) and "Chemical Abusing Mentally Ill" (CAMI) are defined…

Little is known about how students become involved in the various dimensions of student change and development as they make the transition from work or high school to college. This paper describes the results of a series of focus-group interviews with 132 diverse, new students entering either a community college; a liberal arts college; an urban,…

Teachers describe their professional development experiences regarding science, science teaching, and science learning as they occurred over a 2.5 year period in the Literacy in Science and Social Studies Project in a professional development school setting. They contrast their experiences in this collaborative setting with more traditional models…

This paper discusses the use of new technologies for distance learning-- including interactive video, computers, and the Internet-- at Mercy College (New York) and DePaul University (Illinois). The description of a course on discrete mathematics that is taught using the Mercy College Long-distance Instructional Network (MerLIN) focuses on the use…

This parent guide and accompanying discussion guide were developed to help parents of children with mental handicaps learn how to teach their sons and daughters about relationships and sexuality. The book is written from the point of view that sexuality education involves three things: developing self-esteem, teaching social skills, and giving…

This study was conducted to examine a restructured inner-city school and a second-grade teacher's personal and collaborative efforts to teach all of her students to become literate. To do so, she needed to adopt a feminist view recasting the teacher's role in school reform as that of an individual with knowledge who can act upon the world, rather…

A study incorporated into classroom activities knowledge gained by Hungarian primary students' television viewing at home, as well as assessing the effects of this practice. A secondary purpose was to improve the level of the children's television viewing. Subjects, first and second graders in 15 classes in the capital city, a country town and…

In July 1989, the members of Project Cooperation, 10 community colleges that had been invited to serve as demonstration sites for research on institutional effectiveness, were brought together for the second national colloquium on institutional effectiveness through outcomes measures. This report contains the presentations made at the colloquium…

The assessment of professional programs at the undergraduate level is discussed (i.e., engineering, business, education, nursing, and other career-oriented fields). Presently, assessment in professional education relies almost exclusively on written or oral testing of a predetermined set of cognitive and analytical skills. This is followed by…

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION HAS THE UNDERLYING GOAL OF STRENGTHENING INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES, AND THE IMMEDIATE TASK OF HELPING THE UNDER-EDUCATED ATTAIN SKILL IN SPEAKING, LISTENING, READING, WRITING, AND ARITHMETIC SO HE CAN BE TRAINED OR RETRAINED FOR A JOB. THE CURRICULUM GUIDE WAS PREPARED FOR THE USE OF ADULT BASIC EDUCATION…