Loneliness is a significant problem than can predispose young children to immediate and long-term negative consequences. This Digest presents an overview of loneliness, with suggestions for practitioners on how they can apply the research in early childhood settings. Children who feel lonely often experience poor peer relationships and feelings of…

This study investigated over a 3-year period the learning strategies high school students reported using for learning a second language. The learning strategies used across languages and modalities are described. The report is organized by instrument--questionnaires, small group interviews, individual think-aloud interviews--and presents the data…

This manual provides Colorado educators with guidelines for serving students with brain injuries. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 provides basic information on the brain including definitions of brain injury and its severity, incidence of brain injury, and characteristics of students with brain injury. Chapter 3 considers…

The Creative Curriculum for preschool education is a teaching framework that addresses children's emotional, cognitive, and physical development. This checklist is designed for use in assessing how well the curriculum is being implemented as intended and includes a classroom profile form and a progress and planning form. The implementation…

This study examined principal internship portfolios required by two universities for principal interns, focusing on principal interns' activity participation. At each institution, principal interns undertook at least one semester-long internship experience which required collaborative work with various education stakeholders. The internship was…

This paper investigated the methodological challenges related to the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to investigate the impact of gender identity on student perceptions of university life. This longitudinal research project at the University of Cambridge (England) sought to determine the reasons for the disparity in numbers of…

This program was developed and implemented to increase adult ESOL students' chances to participate in conversations with each other, thereby increasing both their fluency and their confidence. Additionally, a target group with both low language levels and low confidence was separated from the higher achievers in order to decrease their…

Are you curious about the Reggio Emilia approach but not quite sure where to begin? "Working in the Reggio Way" helps early childhood teachers bring the reflective, high-quality practices of Reggio Emilia to American programs. Based on an American teacher's experience observing and working in the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, this…

Investigated effects of limited oral/physical teacher intervention on object manipulation by preschool/early elementary children (N=70). Experimental students had magnets placed in their hands and were orally invited to explore. Results indicated differences between experimental/control groups in time spent with objects, number of activities…

This study examined the reliability and stability of teacher behavior scores as measured by the Spaulding Teacher Activity Recording Schedule (STARS). Data were gathered on a student teacher at work in a campus laboratory setting and in a primary ungraded classroom. The student teacher demonstrated a stable teaching style in four of the five…

A play practicum involving kindergarten children was provided to 24 student teachers who completed a communication skills course. Comparisons were made among participants, students having only the course, and a control group. The play practicum proved more effective in assisting students to learn and to apply communication skills. (Author/BH)

Assesses the use of clinical experience to improve the classroom performance of teachers and discusses in detail a research project at the University of Alberta that sought to identify effective teaching skills and to measure behavior changes of student teachers during their practicum experiences. (Author/WD)

The literature on alternatives to student ratings as means of evaluating college teaching is reviewed. Conclusions focus on the validity and reliability of such alternatives as peer evaluation, administrative ratings, self-evaluation, direct measurement of student achievement, and systematic observation of teacher behavior. (Author/MLW)

Observers coded student-teacher classroom discussions and laboratory conversations which could be described as advisement, interpretation, confirmation, or reflection. All four verbal response modes imply presumption of knowledge of the person addressed. As hypothesized, teachers were more presumptuous than students, suggesting a link to social…

Assessment of social skills is not viewed as an encapsulated diagnostic process but as one with ongoing impact on intervention programs. Assessment procedures which have developed from behavioral and social learning approaches to treatment appear to be reliable and useful. (Author/CP)