The Computer Academy at Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) is a series of intensive, one-credit-hour workshops to assist professionals in increasing their level of computer competence. At the time they were initiated, in 1985, the workshops targeted elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators, were offered on Apple IIe…

This overview of the issues involved in introducing educational computing into a school system at either the district, building, or classroom level begins by defining the terms "educational computing" and "computer literacy." A discussion of the curriculum development process focuses on the role of educational technologies in…

A survey of 42 Massachusetts workplace literacy programs was conducted in fall 1989 to determine whether the programs generally fit a standard definition of workplace literacy derived from "A Guide to Developing Instruction for Workforce Literacy Programs" by Jorie W. Philippi. The study's seven-item questionnaire included the definition…

The reading program of the future will have a form and function which is distinctive. It will have the shape and operations peculiar to the total context in which each teacher has to work. Generating meaning will be the primary focus of all language activities. Print will be introduced naturally and continuously used throughout all developmental…

The purpose of a project was to develop and test curriculum-based procedures and measures to monitor and assess the reading and writing progress of adults in a basic education program. The most efficient, reliable, and feasible measure of reading performance from beginning reading level through eighth-grade level was the repeated oral reading…

A pilot study assessed the effects of training in self-awareness and self-regulation on the reading comprehension of students in a postsecondary occupational training program. Subjects, 11 students enrolled in a community college technical training program in welding, were given training sessions that provided practice in metacognitive methods…

Drawing on previously unpublished archival materials as well as historical accounts of American education and the self-help tradition of education in the United States, this book examines the origins, theoretical bases, and implications of writing groups. Following an introduction that points out the varied circumstances under which writing groups…

This study investigated the relative ability of literate (n=24), semi-literate (n=45), and non-literate (n=21) adults to erase the initial consonant or vowel from non-words and pronounce the remaining phonemes. It was hypothesized that difficulty in removing the initial consonant from the vowel with which it coarticulates is due not only to…

Focused on early childhood development, this "UNICEF Intercom" asserts that developmental programs should aim to give children a fair chance at growth beyond survival. First presented are moral, scientific, social equity, economic, population, and programatic arguments for looking beyond the fundamental objective of saving young lives.…

This study described teaching methods in use in computer studies classes, explored the reasons for their use, and explored perceptions of effectiveness. Four main research methods were used: semistructured interviews; observation of teaching; perusal of course documents; and informal collection of information by talking to students and tutors. One…

Schools typically place a high value on the dominant middle-class approach to becoming literate: they expect all children to arrive at school familiar with books and able to discuss stories. However, community use of printed materials varies, resulting in a large number of nonmainstream children deemed at risk for school failure at an early age.…

The use of science fiction can be a valuable tool for constructing a highly mental schema in a learner on which to build new learning, to stimulate creative problem solving, and to generate the flexibility needed for adjusting to a rapidly changing, progressively technological society. By using science fiction in a science class, a science teacher…

Project Re-Start, of the Dade County Public Schools in Florida, was funded under the Adult Education Act and the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. Classes in literacy skills, General Educational Development (GED) preparation, English for speakers of other languages, employability skills, and life coping skills were conducted at most of…

A practicum addressed the problem of lack of fluency of learning-disabled and low-achieving students (N=24) retained in the first grade by using predictable books written in a natural manner emphasizing the children's natural language. Two evaluation procedures from the Reading Miscue Inventory were used to determine the degree to which students…

This document--intended to help technology education teachers plan their classroom curriculum for secondary school and college students--contains units on getting to know technology; problem solving; systems and subsystems; how technology affects people and the environment; controlling technological systems; how resources are processed by…