Apart from studying students' interaction in Web-based environments in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), it is essential to recognize the importance of the contextual setting in which learning takes place. This study examines the role of face-to-face encounters as contextual support in an international teacher education course…

Teachers everywhere are being held accountable for their professional actions through the test-driven curricula sweeping the nation. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002) makes it clear that promotion of reflective practice is an important component of teacher education programs. This multiple case study…

Ten years ago the first author and colleagues decided to publish a list of the topics in literacy that were (or had been) receiving attention in the reading field in general education publications such as the widely read journal "Educational Leadership," and in the popular media (Cassidy & Wenrich, 1997). Despite the popularity of the list, many…

This study focused on teachers' academic preparation for teaching science and mathematics, as measured by the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) which collected data for a nationally representative sample of 26,435 8th-grade students clustered within 1,052 schools. The relationship between teachers' academic preparation, their…

A study examined the frequency with which males and females are represented in picture books available in preschool classrooms. Three areas were examined: pronoun usage and gender of characters; the frequency of gender-neutral pronouns and characters; and written text compared to teachers' wording when reading aloud. The study involved 11 head and…

This report summarizes the mathematical and pedagogical content of the 230 programs in the SQUARE ONE TV library after five seasons of production, relating that content to the three goals of the series: (1) to promote positive attitudes toward, and enthusiasm for, mathematics; (2) to encourage the use and application of problem-solving processes;…

Criteria were developed and used to determine which of three existing computer-based instruction (CBI) lessons could be repurposed into a multimedia format. Researchers were commissioned to evaluate these three traditional linear CBI lessons by an insurance company. The lessons were updates on company policy and procedures. The repurposed CBI…

Three political scientists, three historians, three social studies professors (higher education), and seven secondary school teachers of social studies or history were interviewed. Focus was on assessing key concepts in the subjects' disciplines and what concepts should be taught and tested for at the high school level, with a view toward…

This report summarizes data from three exploratory studies of Fordham University Library (New York) support for graduate education scholarship at Fordham. The first study assessed the spring 1990 course syllabi for inclusion and noninclusion of items on the bibliographies in the Fordham library system. Collection support for future course…

An examination of five muckraking magazines--"Collier's,""Cosmopolitan,""McClure's,""Everybody's," and the "Arena"--reveals that while addressing many other social ills, muckraking journalists failed to take a strong stand against one of the most glaring evils of their day--the lynching of blacks.…

Using a technology adoption model, the Learning/Adoption Trajectory model, and this study aimed to identify the technology adoption level of a faculty member, Mary. In addition, I examined how Mary arrived at her technology adoption level. Finally, using Mary's path to technology leadership as a guide, I offered several recommendations about how…

A study was conducted to examine the instructional approaches to decoding and comprehension in the first grade basal reading programs published by Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich (1983); Houghton Mifflin (1979); Ginn (1976); and SRA Reading Mastery (1983). In addition, analyses were completed on the comprehensibility of matched stories from each of…

An interesting approach to the topic of women and literature is to see if the real working roles of women have been reflected in fiction. As delineated in novels, women are seen engaged in: (l) farm labor; (2) jobs that are extensions of their nurturing roles; (3) factory work--especially in the early textile and clothing mills; and (4) housework…

A study tested the relative effectiveness of four methods of teaching remedial reading students (grades 6 through 11) how to identify the main idea of expository paragraphs. Forty-seven students were divided according to treatment and were given the same pool of 125 paragraphs about geology and weather to read, and were given pretests and…

Research has suggested that students have difficulty completing content area writing assignments if the teacher's written instructions are not clear. Students' written work is more likely to be of higher quality if teachers specify the assignment's audience and purpose and offer prewriting instruction. Controversy exists over how explicit the…