Noting children's natural proclivity to interpret language freely and use that potential to expand and develop as learners, this book offers a new approach to understanding how young children communicate their knowledge of the world and how that understanding can transform the educative process. The book also describes the process of conducting…

The effect of gender and grade point average (GPA) on emotional intelligence (EQ) was studied using the Emotional Intelligence Inventory. The inventory was completed by 138 college students, and data were analyzed using a multivariate factorial model with three factors of EQ as dependent variables (compassion, self-awareness, and attunement) and…

This fastback serves as a brief guide to several strategies for teaching literature in the high school English classroom, including sample assignments for advanced classes and for students with special interests. Techniques are presented for teaching literature using individual response, small-group work, and whole-class instruction. Teaching…

Teachers should look to mentors for leadership as they move into the 21st century. Mentors serve a valuable purpose in a discipline which is constantly on the move--not only do they provide leadership and guidance to new teachers, but the newer teachers also provide a new perspective from which the seasoned veterans can benefit. A large pool of…

A study determined what comprehension strategies either contributed to literary engagement or inhibited engagement among adolescents. Subjects, 25 eleventh-grade students chosen at random from two heterogeneous English classes in a suburban school, read two short stories and reported their thinking and understanding as they were reading.…

Attempts to suppress and even censor various texts used by English teachers often are led by members of fundamentalist Christian groups. These activists charge educators with depreciating Christian moral values and instigating a religion of "secular humanism" in the schools. Various examples of recent legal cases show how prominent the…

A study examined the effects of aesthetic, efferent, and aesthetic/efferent teaching approaches on 38 English secondary preservice teachers' responses to literature. Three classes received intensive instruction on L. M. Rosenblatt's concept of aesthetic and efferent stances through one semester. However, one class was introduced and responded to…

Writing shapes identity, since it explores the core of values and experience that defines the self. The literary canon, once considered sacrosanct, is now being disassembled in response to the many voices that are now recognized to comprise the American experience. Sensitivity to such a multicultural perspective resulted in the design of a…

Describing a teacher's struggle to help her seventh-grade students reach their full potential, this book is about girls--their learning, their social dilemmas, and their dreams, hopes, and fears. The book reveals the obstacles the teacher faced and how her students collaborated with her to become curriculum builders as they explored issues such as…

An ethnographic study explored how small groups of student readers interacted in a classroom over time to interpret short stories assigned by a teacher. For five weeks, eight sixth-grade volunteers met on consecutive Fridays in two separate face-to-face discussion groups to read, discuss, rewrite, and perform a short story as a play. Primary data…

The public's reaction to the television film "The Day After" demonstrates that when television responsibly and sensitively presents a controversial yet thought-provoking issue, an educational and enlightening experience can result. The film was developed and produced by ABC Motion Pictures to inspire debate and discussion about the…

While mail surveys offer an efficient and cost effective means of gathering large amounts of student-related data in a relatively short time, surveys characterized by low response rates may have a biasing effect on information. To examine this bias, a study was undertaken of the characteristics associated with samples from three graduate follow-up…

Factor analysis and Rasch measurement are compared, showing how they address the same data with different interpretations of numerical status. Both methods use the same estimation method, with different measurement models, and they solve the same problem, with different utility. Factor analysis is faulted for mistaking stochastic observations of…

This study was conducted to evaluate whether a brief self-description checklist may provide a viable method of quickly obtaining initial personality type information. The Personal Preferences Self-Description Questionnaire (PPSDQ) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) were administered to 420 college students, and PPSDQ item-response and MBTI…

Student journal writing can connect reading, writing, and discussing through activities that accommodate diverse learning styles and that further students' linguistic development. The various uses of journal writing can be incorporated into one compact student notebook. A notebook for an English class might consist of a dialogue journal as a…