Examined the change process experienced by 14 third-grade teachers participating in the University of Colorado Assessment Project, which helped teachers design and implement classroom-based performance assessments compatible with their mathematics and literacy instructional goals. Teachers made several significant changes in their ideas about…

A University of Queensland study investigated the validity of evaluating university teaching and subjects with a single instrument, the importance of student learning approaches in faculty evaluation, and the potential influence of several background variables on student attitudes. As a result of the study, the existing instrument has been…

Describes the two broad categories of Internet-based training: text-only and multimedia. Discusses the following text-based only tools: e-mail, bulletin boards, and software downloading. Identifies four types of World Wide Web-based training, which include: Web computer-based training, Web-based employee performance support systems, and…

A qualitative evaluation of the system for appraisal of headteachers in the United Kingdom identifies strengths and weaknesses of the approach taken and directions for future policy development. Data came from interviews with 15 headteachers. Inadequate resources, appraisal criteria, and performance standards hamper the evaluation system. (SLD)

Outlines the limitations of letter grades and the problems with giving percentage points. Discusses authentic evaluation and the author's daily process of evaluation with her low-reading students as they engage daily in reflecting, rethinking, selecting, and deciding. (SR)

Examined whether children's causality beliefs about school performance show similar developmental profiles across six distinct sociocultural settings. Found markedly similar developmental patterns in their beliefs about the importance of effort, ability, luck, teachers, and unknown factors as influences on school performance. Found that factors…

Describes development of the Instructor Effectiveness Questionnaire (IEQ). Survey of 234 students participating in canoeing and kayaking at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (North Carolina) found that all 17 teachers received high scores, that the IEQ was able to discriminate between more- and less-effective instructors, and that female instructors…

A study compared language development and social competence among 96 preschool children with disabilities in inclusive and segregated classes. Pretest ability was the strongest predictor of progress. Subjects in inclusive classes had higher posttest scores in language development and social skills, but more behavior problems, than peers in…

Describes a technique called compliment sandwich that enables students to evaluate their teachers. Explains that students write a letter to the teacher offering praise in the first and last paragraphs and include ideas for improvement in the middle paragraphs. Discusses lessons learned from this experience. (CMK)

Describes the use of a unit on immigration implemented at two high schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to help students from different backgrounds relate to one another. Explains the authentic assessment task in which students charted data about the immigration of their families and analyzed the data for trends. (CMK)

Points out the following problems with standardized testing and reforms at the middle school level: (1) misalignment of test-based reforms and standards-based reforms; (2) geographic disadvantages; and (3) disadvantages for learning disabled. Presents example of two students' standardized test scores as illustrations of the non-alignment problem.…

This study examined cultural differences and similarities in socialization during free play and a waiting task among Japanese mothers and their preschoolers temporarily residing in the United States and U.S. mothers and their preschoolers. Findings suggest an emphasis on autonomy among U.S. dyads and an emphasis on relatedness among Japanese…

Describes schema representation, an authentic summative assessment tool for assessing preservice teachers' mental models for teaching. Schema representations require students to integrate and synthesize what they have learned in class and create a representation of how they plan to use their new knowledge in the classroom. They elaborate on the…

Interviewed adolescents in grades 9 through 12 to examine family closeness as either mediator or moderator of relationships between intense work and academic engagement. Found that for boys, the family closeness mediational model provided best fit for data; for girls, the moderator model fit best. Found girls were especially vulnerable to negative…

States that the traditional instruments used to measure teacher performance at the end of the semester promotes a student-as-consumer analogy. Presents an alternative end-of-semester questionnaire that enables students to assess their own efforts and responses to learning processes. Includes a copy of the student opinion survey and lists…