Focuses on the writing of problem and purpose statements of a report and what the authors of various textbooks say about the writing of these statements. Concludes that no single definition of problem and purpose statements exist to which the writers of communication textbooks agree. (KEH)

This study, involving 904 adolescents, examined the influence from parents and friends on adolescents' self-reported level of leisure-time physical activity. Survey responses revealed that, although no one type of parental/friend influence was greater than another, parental and peer physical activity and support did influence adolescent physical…

Examines the reasons why a child's writing gets bogged down and discusses ways in which the child can be gently encouraged to take writing risks. Also included are descriptions of writing exercises designed to stretch student creativity. (GLR)

Extends a previous article which describes an assignment (integrating many concepts taught in a technical writing course) in which students write an employee handbook. Describes the employment-at-will doctrine and discusses some recent legal cases surrounding employee handbooks. Offers exercises on defining audience, classifying and partitioning,…

Examines measures of children's perspectives on physical activity, focusing on the Children's Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale and other measurement approaches. The article identifies current measurement issues and makes five recommendations for assisting in the development of useful research instruments. (SM)

Discusses why agentic and idiographic approaches (in combination with more typical nomothetic, nonagentic studies) may enhance the predictive accuracy of psychological experiments. Presents study on exercise behavior of 42 college student subjects and analyzes it from 3 perspectives: nonagentic-nomothetic, nonagentic-idiographic, and…

Offers four activities ("Friendship Concentration," the "Rubberband Journal," a "Cube of Friendship," and the "Electronic Journal"), which give students opportunity to communicate visually and in written form. (MG)

Compares the preferred prewriting invention strategies of advanced, average, and basic ability eleventh grade writers. Finds that freewriting was used most frequently by the total group of students as well as when advanced students' and average students' responses were considered separately. Includes comparisons of preferences by level of student…

Sargent and other human service professionals have pursued visions of a rational, regulated life, a vision entertained by many professions. The paper critiques the human capital model (which unites these professions and delivery systems), presents a human development perspective, identifies its assumptions, and sketches its life-enabling…

Discusses five writing exercises to improve teachers' and students' writing. Suggests using the exercises once a day. (RS)

Discusses the efforts of a fifth-grade teacher and a visiting poet to rekindle students' sense of poetic passion and pleasure. Describes how the authors introduced students to poems for two voices (using P. Fleischman's "Joyful Noise"). The poetry unit culminated in a project in which students read and performed Fleischman's poems, then wrote and…

Reviews studies that indicate lifestyle education and exercise programs improve quality of life, health, and wellness. States that mixed results seem to indicate that something other than physical fitness is significantly contributing to improved psychosocial functioning. Postulates that cognitive factors such as improved self-confidence and…

Aims for students to explore spontaneous ways of finding material for their poems by suppressing control over their subject matter and letting their unconscious minds do the work. Uses a poem of William Carlos Williams, "Red Wheelbarrow," both with K-2 students and adults in a poetry workshop. Illustrates class procedures and activities…

A study found the stereotypic behaviors of four children with developmental disabilities reduced by 51.6 percent in a single frequency treatment consisting of one daily ten minute walk/jog session, however, the behaviors reduced 58.9 percent following a multiple frequency conditions that involved three ten minute walk/jog session per day.…

Presents five short teaching tips written by five different authors on the following topics: newspapers, writing exercises for aspiring elementary school teachers, telephone directory as research tool, structured essay assignments, and teaching description with Raymond Carver's "Cathedral." (TB)