The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1997 Arts Education Assessment represents the first comprehensive approach on a national level to the development of methods for assessing student performance in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. The Assessment reflects the conviction that the arts are essential for every child's…

This practicum was devised to promote academic achievement by reducing problem behavior in third graders. Students developed behaviorally correct options to promote prosocial behavior and avoidance of hostile situations in their social context by identifying social deficits and using discovery and transfer-learning techniques. Student pre- and…

This study was conducted to explore the relationship between elementary school teachers' professed teaching practice and their beliefs about and understanding of elementary mathematics. The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989) was used as the criterion for…

Pedagogical content knowledge has been shown to be important to the work of teachers. This paper assumes it should be incorporated into the curriculum of teacher preparation and explores when and how that might be done. Results from the literature are reported in order to raise issues needing to be resolved before this question can be answered…

Illinois State University's teacher education program's professional sequence is organized around separate teaching skills, each of which relates to student outcomes in classrooms. Initially, a group of University High (U-High) Laboratory School supervisors was formed to develop clinical experiences which would enable prospective teachers to…

This study sought to examine differences in the confidence level of Leadership Idaho Agriculture (LIA) graduates within six program areas in terms of their perceptions before and after participation in LIA. Of the 348 individuals included in the population frame, 246 individuals completed a then-post survey instrument for a total response rate of…

Each of the three parts of this report provides a somewhat different perspective on U.S. students' knowledge and understanding of U.S. history. Part 1 summarizes the assessment performance of approximatley 16,0000 fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress U.S. history proficiency scale.…

This study was conducted to examine the basic conceptual knowledge and understanding of physics possessed by students enrolled in introductory physics, mechanics and waves and optics courses at John Abbott College (JAC). The study used a 36-item multiple-choice test of physics preconcepts developed by Halloun and Hestenes. The Halloun and Hestenes…

Thirty hearing-impaired children at a residential school for the deaf, a day school for the deaf, and a day program for the deaf in a regular public elementary school were shown picture books, asked to tell the story, and asked to respond to specific questions. Results showed that the ability to process questions was related to the structure of…

Early reading should be studied from three perspectives: the function of print, the form of print, and the conventions of print. In so doing, it may be possible to avoid some of the hazards that have plagued the field, such as unsubstantiated assumptions about beginning reading and how it should be taught, erroneous beliefs that maturation plays…

A paradigm for learning economic concepts based on cognitive development and learning theory is offered as a guideline for teaching and research. Discussion is divided into two sections. The first section establishes the model's theoretical framework, which is based on two propositions. The first of these is that economic knowledge is not a fixed…

This research study was designed to assess preservice elementary education teachers' knowledge of U.S. history. The "High School Subject Tests: American History," developed by Scott, Foresman and Company for use with high school students, was administered to 139 elementary education majors enrolled in required undergraduate social studies methods…

Characteristics of outstanding faculty are considered, based on descriptions provided by 46 University of North Dakota students who were nominated for the university's 1982 Outstanding Teacher Awards. Based on descriptions in the students' own words, 124 separate characteristics were identified, and categorized as follows: teacher-student…

The purpose of this cross-national descriptive study is to measure the extent of children's sexual knowledge and sexual understanding at various ages and to identify what processes of thought children use in trying to explain biological functions and the phenomena of their own bodies as they grow and change. Sexual thinking is defined as thinking…

University of North Dakota (UND) faculty perceptions of services and programs offered by the Division of Student Affairs were surveyed. Of the 512 faculty and administrative officers of the University Council who were mailed questionnaires in 1981, 202 responses were obtained. Findings include the following: the majority of the respondents held…