Examines how researchers can study children's interaction with literature, discussing various perspectives that can be taken on children's literary responses and suggesting lines of inquiry and concepts that might be useful for the continued examination of children's responses. Focuses on the author, the literary text itself, the reader, and the…

Investigated the relationships among three types of vocabulary knowledge (passive, controlled active, and free active) within the same individuals, taking four variables into consideration: passive vocabulary size, language learning context, second (L2) for foreign (FL), length of residence in L2 context, and, among the Canadians, knowledge of…

Adult native speakers of English and German were asked to give subjective reactions to common conversational routines presented in context (such as "Oh, I'm very sorry"), using new adaptation of Osgood's Differential Scale called the Pragmatic Differential. Analysis of ratings showed similarities and differences in how the two groups react to…

Investigates the effect of music training on 34 preschoolers' (n=175) Performance IQs based on commonalties among spatial and musical developmental progressions. Finds significantly less gain in IQ for older children in the control group; the relationship of Performance IQ to age was not significant for the treatment group. (CMK)

Examines childrens gender behaviors through the use of videotaped observation of four children aged 3 to 5 years old at a university laboratory preschool. Reveals that gender behaviors in early childhood are integrated with student and peer behaviors and constructed by individuals interacting with the social world. Addresses the implications from…

Uses a major reform, the Target Oriented Curriculum, to explore interaction of cultures and curriculum reforms in Hong Kong schools. The reform was adopted and enacted in contexts exhibiting very different cultures. The analysis stresses the fragmented, pluralistic, and changing nature of culture within Hong Kong society. (Contains 30 references.)…

The influence of multiple learning contexts and problem solving guidance on the acquisition of applicable knowledge and subjective learning outcomes in complex learning was studied with 60 economics students from a vocational school. No single learning condition was superior with regard to all learning outcomes. The problem of self-evaluation of…

Describes an experimental hypothesis-testing model of structural analysis designed to identify critical contextual variables associated with successful social interaction. Suggestions for general education settings are provided, with an emphasis on matching inclusive social environments to individual student antecedent variables. Strengths and…

Describes the Praxis III assessment, an observation-based system for assessing the skills of beginning teachers that emphasizes teacher decision-making and the importance of student, school, and curricular context. The principles and processes of the assessment's design and construction are described, and issues in teacher performance-assessment…

The Applications in Biology/Chemistry (ABC) curriculum is a real-world approach designed for the middle 50% of secondary students who may not learn in a predominantly abstract way. Stressing contextual and cooperative learning, ABC features 10 laboratory exercises and other hands-on, problem-solving activities involving visits to job sites and…

Examines the relative importance of teaching and scholarship in academia. The article scrutinizes the reasons for requiring academics to combine research and teaching and argues that scholarship and teaching are inextricable parts of the larger process of learning. The article concludes that good teaching must accompany the constant quest for the…

Reviews 1980-95 empirical literature on the relationship between the principal's role and school effectiveness. Examines conceptual underpinnings of several theoretical models to study the role, the relationship between models and investigation methods, and the nature of principals' influence. Principal leadership and school goals indirectly…

A pilot study of laboratory data logging in three secondary schools found that when computers were used students spent less time measuring, recording, and reporting data and more time observing and discussing. Qualitative changes, however, were much more context dependent. Contextual factors were computer skill, physical nature of the topic under…

Observed the effects of dramatic play center variations on children's social and cognitive play behaviors. Found that solitary-designed centers facilitated more solitary play than group-designed centers; dramatic play increased in the intervention and follow-up housekeeping centers compared to the baseline housekeeping center; and thematic centers…

Examines the influence of situational prototypes on 3 dimensions of the intercultural communication competence of 1,002 American college students facing aspects of Japanese culture in 2 experiments and 44 scenarios. Overall, there were significant differences for each of the three measures of intercultural communication competence across the four…