Discusses the benefits of laptop computers in higher education, including students' increased motivation, performance, cooperative learning and critical thinking. Describes a Microsoft/Toshiba pilot laptop learning program, technology implementation models for schools, changes in teaching and learning, and teacher training. (AEF)

Quanah Crossland Stamps, assistant administrator of the Small Business Administration, describes a pilot program establishing 17 reservation-based Tribal Business Information Centers (TBICs) in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and the Navajo Nation. Managed by tribal colleges, TBICs offer business workshops, access to computer…

Investigates using functional assessment with nondisabled, at-risk children in general education settings. Explores the combined and interactive effects of teacher and peer attention on problem behavior. Results extend functional assessment research by using a multiple assessment strategy in natural classroom contexts, involving general education…

Reports on the implementation of the education with production (EWP) curriculum reform 13 years after its implementation in eight pilot schools in Zimbabwe. EWP attempted to foster socialist principles, redress colonial mentality, and inculcate industrial and technical skills. Poor planning, political interference, and lack of support hurt the…

Describes a pilot study of computerized adaptive testing in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program's tenth-grade mathematics problem-solving and applications subtests. Comparisons are made to pencil-and-paper tests, and student reactions as determined by a posttest survey are discussed. (LRW)

Reports on a pilot project for collaborative collections management by the University of California and Stanford University Libraries to provide shared access to physical science translation journals; and suggests 12 steps for successful resource sharing with a focus on both human and technical systems. (Author/AEF)

Describes a two-year Anglo-French pilot project undertaken to develop a systematic program of study for understanding foreign cultures while learning the language of that culture. The teachers participating in the project integrated the project material with their own syllabuses and used it to extend their language skills. (eight references) (CK)

Describes the use of Rasch item statistics for curricular analysis and instructional decision making. Uses a case study of application of the Rasch model in the pilot testing of items selected for criterion-referenced tests developed for grades one through eight in Charleston (South Carolina) schools. (SLD)

Examines participation in secondary school courses and programs of selected minority groups in Canada. This pilot study of 2,308 secondary school students illustrates methods and software that make fine-grained analysis of group participation possible. Methodological issues are explored. (SLD)

Discussion of multimedia instruction focuses on a pilot study that compared the relative effectiveness of three interactive media formats in a DVI/RTV (Digital Video Interactive/Real Time Video) computer-mediated instructional lesson for a military communications system. Hypotheses tested are discussed, and the educational importance is…

Participating school districts conforming to the standardized dropout reporting system of a pilot project of the National Center for Education Statistics indicate that revising collection and reporting can be difficult but may yield more accurate results. Recognizing long-term payoffs, administrators nevertheless dislike the time and expense of…

Intent of "A Nation at Risk" was to call attention to erosion of students' family lives, not to excoriate teachers. Reforms affecting only six hours of children's daily lives cannot succeed. Schools must reach out to help parents, and child-care workers become skilled at incidental (informal) teaching. Other concerns include technology,…

Presents a classification scheme for reading-related exercises advocated in English-as-a-Foreign-Language textbooks. The scheme proposes a hierarchy of the degree and type of mental processing required by various vocabulary exercises. The categories of classification are selective attention, recognition, manipulation, interpretation and…

Reports on the training experiences of workers from linguistically diverse backgrounds via a focus on their learning activities in community college apprenticeship programs. A survey identified areas of linguistic difficulty that students were experiencing in their coursework and ways in which instructors could reduce these barriers to success.…

Describes the implementation of a pilot program for proactive inclusion at East Tennessee State University Child Study Center. Focuses on program characteristics critical to inclusion such as effective consultation strategies related to transitions, assessment and curriculum, and professional development; and family-centered services. (KB)