Discusses four areas in school library media programs that media specialists are expected to develop. Topics include promoting information literacy among students; knowing how to evaluate and use various information technologies; consulting with teachers to strengthen student learning and outcomes; and serving on school-based management…

This study examined two kindergarten literacy frameworks (environment and events) and their effect on kindergartners' literacy development. Observations, interviews, and pre- and postmeasures of literacy achievement indicated that students in the emergent literacy kindergarten made significantly more literacy gains than those in the reading…

This special book review section contains reviews of 18 books in adult and continuing education and development. Subjects include rural development, feminist discourse, group facilitation, Paulo Freire, professional development, social change, participatory action research, and the ecology of written language. (SK)

Claims that readers can conduct dialogue with many inner audiences through reading, and readers who manage to do so are likely to develop more sophisticated strategies for learning. Describes different kinds of dialogues, specifically, dialoging with reader's experience, with the author/illustrator, with genre, with problems, and with culture.…

A six-year case study was conducted on the impact of, and teachers' role in, the use of computers and the Mathcad program in mathematics instruction at a technical college. Results for 2 teachers and 51 of their students showed definite stages in the teachers' use of the computer technology. (SLD)

Presents definitions of literacy followed by an overview of selected views of literacy development, and suggests how these constructs inform the teaching of reading. A recent model of reading development is described, along with suggestions for using the model, particularly for learners at risk. The article concludes with a discussion of…

Describes an ethnographic study that traced the narrative thinking strategies successfully used by adolescents in two self-contained special education classrooms as they made sense of their textbooks and composed original stories based on subject matter studied. Notes role-playing and composing original texts inspired by structured play also…

Explores recent policy initiatives in England and Wales that affect the character of day care and early education and their implications for practice. Focuses on parental involvement in early reading in the new policy context. Presents results from the pilot phase of the National Literacy Project, including impact on the context of home reading,…

Groups of teachers and schools can bridge the theory-practice gap by using the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project library. The WISE learning environment promotes lifelong learning along with language and technology literacy by making science accessible, thinking visible, and learning a cooperative experience. (Contains 16…

Offers a narrative history of the life of one young reader, observing him at school and at home in grades K-2. Notes how the social practices and relationships he experienced at his blue-collar home bore upon the task of becoming a reader in school. Discusses increasing difficulties of negotiating between these two different cultural settings and…

Toronto Catholic District School Board implemented an early literacy program designed to ensure that all students can read and write to their full potential by the end of Grade 3. Instruction and assessment are integrated in four daily 30-minute blocks: word study, writing, guided reading, and self-selected reading. Students improved on seven of…

The project-based software, "The Writing Trek," was created to give teachers the tools they need to promote literacy at all grade levels. Lessons include skill-building exercises, an onscreen reference library (writer's handbook, almanac, thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, and lexicon), and advice by leading writers. The design and development process…

Reports that the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was administered to 20 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1998. IALS identified a very large proportion of adults with very low levels of literacy, most of whom did not see literacy as being crucial to their well being. (Contains 12…

Examines underlying epistemological and theoretical assumptions of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Concludes that IALS is primarily geared toward enhancing labor-market competencies but should instead make learners co-responsible actors of their own learning process and participants in a democratic debate defining the kind of…

Investigates the role of talk, writing, and talk and writing on the learning and retention of simple and integrated knowledge, and describes the mechanisms by which talk and writing mediate these processes. Suggests that talk is important for sharing, clarifying, and distributing knowledge among peers, and writing is an important tool for…