This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in early childhood regular and special education services has increased dramatically in the past decade. A survey was conducted with 141 early childhood administrators and teachers to examine their beliefs and practices concerning the special education referral, evaluation, and placement process for…

This article evaluates the role of the Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS), created at universities in the Canary Islands, Spain, in staff development. The evaluation indicates that the system helped staff in learning to teach curriculum and teaching capacities. The tasks, online resources and opportunities for discussions…

Staff Development for Pedagogues in Bilingual Math and Science provided two thematically-based workshops to 40 New York City science teachers who taught students of limited English proficiency (LEP) citywide. Workshops emphasized successful teaching strategies as well as psychological aspects involved in teaching LEP students. The project also…

One of the main obstacles to effective faculty evaluation is the inability to reach consensus on the evaluation's intended purpose. On one hand, faculty evaluation has a formative purpose, supporting faculty development, growth, and self-improvement, while it also has a summative purpose in that it provides data to make personnel decisions on…

A study was conducted to investigate staff development needs at Chabot College and Las Positas College as perceived by members of the faculty, administration, and classified staff; to develop strategies to address the perceived needs; and to recommend short- and long-term implementation plans. A Staff Development Needs Assessment Questionnaire, an…

This paper offers reflections on the role of the agricultural university in developing nations by analyzing in turn the factors that contribute to stagnation of these universities. It first takes up the policy conditions that govern the broad outlines of the agricultural university mandate such as the university's relationship with the ministry of…

Designed for use by local academic senates at community colleges in California, this paper describes faculty involvement in governance at the colleges, cites areas of faculty responsibilities, and provides suggestions for increasing faculty participation. Following introductory materials, a brief history is provided of community college faculty…

A study was conducted by students in two sections of a writing course at the Midlothian Campus of Virginia's John Tyler Community College to determine the characteristics of the college's adjunct faculty and their satisfaction with contract conditions, working conditions, and opportunities for professional development. Students developed a…

This report is the second of three annual reports to the Montana Certification Standards and Practices Advisory Council (CSPAC) on the effectiveness of mentoring new teachers. Specific research topics for the study were: (1) whether mentoring conducted under an exclusive one-on-one relationship has an effect on the new teacher's development as…

This report is the third of four reports on the Beginning Teacher Support Program (BTSP) on the effectiveness of mentoring new teachers. The paper focuses on technical aspects of the study. Study data are summarized in tables, including a comparison of teacher retention rates over the three years of BTSP, a summary of administrators' evaluations…

This publication provides a snapshot of school health education in Wisconsin. The data were collected with two questionnaires, one for school principals on health education from an administrative perspective, and one for lead health teachers on health education from an instructional perspective. These two questionnaires were mailed in the spring…

The state of Maryland views learning to teach as a developmental process in which there is continuous engagement with research, best practice, and expert opinion. This publication identifies 10 performance-based standards for the career-long development of teachers and teacher candidates. Learning to teach is viewed as a continuous learning cycle…

This annual journal issue contains 22 papers on issues of faculty development, diversity, adult learners, and instructional improvement in higher education. Many of the papers were developed for the annual conference of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD). The papers are: (1) "What Theories…

This paper explores perspectives on self-study in teaching and in research through a longitudinal school-based professional development program for science teachers. The exploration focused on two broad perspectives: (1) self-study can be both personal and collaborative; and (2) self-study can be of teaching and of research. The professional…