Examines the nature and influence of interpretive authority (which suggests that participants in literacy events have authority to determine whether responses shared by others are acceptable) on the meaning construction process for six fourth-grade readers. Finds interpretive authority is flexible and shifts among participants depending on how…

Details the planning and the specific assignments involved in teaching "Great Expectations" over a period of nine months. Explains how the novel was coordinated with other reading using the themes of Judgment, Influences, and Control. (NH)

Describes "Focus," a software tool for collecting reader comments more efficiently. Discusses the design and rationale of the software. Notes that results obtained using Focus were compared to the reader feedback collected under the plus-minus method. Concludes that Focus participants appeared to comment more from a reviewer's and less…

Explores how participant characteristics affect the feedback collected during a reader-focused evaluation of brochures. Notes highly educated participants focused more strongly on the structuring of information. Suggests that it may be more fruitful to investigate the influence of more specific participant characteristics that are more univocally…

Notes that children's literature in which characters engage with music opens the door for readers to identify parallels of musical experience with the art of creative reading. Considers parallels between responding to literature and music. Concludes that texts that invite readers into the world of music are plentiful and well-written. (SG)

Verleger, Jaskowski, Aydemir, van der Lubbe, and Groen (see record 2004-21166-002) and Lleras and Enns (see record 2004-21166-001) have argued that negative compatibility effects (NCEs) obtained with masked primes do not reflect self-inhibition processes in motor control. Instead, NCEs are assumed to reflect activation of the response opposite to…

"In his commentary to our paper on the use of knowledge, skill, and ability statements in developing credentialing examinations (Wang, Schnipke, & Witt, 2005 )," Dr. LaDuca set forth his concerns while commending our paper for providing helpful insights into the importance of careful delineation of KSAs. We believe that there is little substantive…

This article is a retrospective account of the legacy of Paul Goodman's major educational works: "Growing Up Absurd"; "Compulsory Mis-education, and The Community of Scholars"; and "The New Reformation." It is argued here that what remains of interest in Goodman's work is to be found in the tropes and the anarchic Zeitgeist of his work. The legacy…

Having reaped the benefits of the Thayer Conference in my school psychology career, it is a pleasure to provide a comment about Dr. Fagan's article. I began my career as a master's-level school psychologist in the state of Wisconsin just prior to the passage of 94-142, now called IDEA. I am now a trainer of school psychologists at the doctoral…

Reviews the use of Web sites for classroom-based literature seminars. Discusses the use of seminar management pages, literature information pages, links to online full texts, web tutorials, literature forums, and online examinations. Concludes that dedicated Web sites can contribute to enhancing literature seminars if designed and used in a…

Presents an analysis of Mary Wilkins Freeman's "The Revolt of 'Mother,'" focusing on the gendered nature of language. Asserts that the author's empowering discourse and speaking voice, within the male dominated literary arena, is an act of language appropriation, and that students who participate in the analysis of discourse can also be empowered.…

Asserts that Martin Amis' contemporary novel, Night Train, is a remarkably effective tool for introducing postmodernist notions in general literature classrooms. Presents a definition for postmodernism and brings the reader through a detailed analysis of the language and structure of the novel. Concludes with students' reaction to the analytical…

Suggests that class discussions of George Eliot's Middlemarch should focus on students' responses to the social, moral, and psychological problems presented in the novel. Asserts that the novel teaches students important lessons about the limitations of human nature and the impact of internal and external constraints on ideals. (Contains 14…

The idea that post-school education has been influenced by a "therapeutic turn" in recent years has been subjected to critical scrutiny by a number of commentators. Learning initiatives which are dominated by objectives linked to personal and social skills, emotional intelligence and boosting self-esteem and confidence have been labelled as…

"High stakes testing" is to be understood as testing with serious consequences for students, their teachers and their educational institutions. It plays a central role in holding teachers and educational institutions to account. In a recent article Randall Curren seeks to refute a number of philosophical arguments developed in my "The Limits of…