Studies children's justification of message choices as characteristics of their reasoning processes. Indicates that interpersonal reasoning increases in sophistication and complexity over the age groups studied and that females reason at a higher level than males. Situational influences on level of interpersonal reasoning were also found. (JMF)

Identifies and explains five widespread myths related to the what and how of evaluation in English student teachers. Describes a multiphased cycle or process aimed at helping teachers identify teaching problems, receive data from supervisors, and develop solutions that produce self-directed teachers. (FL)

Reports on a study of five multicultural third grade students' responses to literature across the interaction patterns of adult-dominated, peer-dominated, and adult-balanced social situations. Concludes that a direct relationship exists between the structure of the social interaction pattern and its consequence in verbal behavior. (FL)

Describes a method to elicit data about the results of a personnel training program so that quality improvements can be made by having trainees' supervisors evaluate the training impact on the job. Also describes cases in different organizations where this approach was used to determine program weaknesses and strengths. (MF)

An attitude change strategy was used to alter attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities. Personal feelings and behavioral suggestions were made during interactions between disabled and nondisabled persons. The study produced significant positive attitude gains for persons in the experimental condition versus the two comparison group…

Two evaluation procedures were evaluated in terms of their impact upon client attrition in a community mental health center. The behavioral analysis report, an innovative evaluation procedure, led to more treatment contacts than a traditional evaluation method. Possible effective elements within the behavioral analysis report are discussed.…

A co-educational living-learning center for the arts was studied through participant observation and quantitative assessment. The results document the importance of full self-selection into a membership group and demonstrate the relationships between reference group identification, basic interests in personality, and social behavior. (Author)

The purpose of assigning writing that will not be formally graded is to assist students in learning subject matter and to create a classroom context that encourages active learning and interactive teaching. Offers three examples of college-level writing-to-learn assignments used in various disciplines, and some ways teachers can respond to such…

Data from study of a learning community program in an urban community college are used to explore the educational character of student persistence. Analyses reveal that classroom activities influence persistence by changing the way students and faculty interact within and beyond the classroom. Implications for current theories of persistence are…

Describes the Cultural Flags program, which teaches students to be proactive in engaging in cultural learning through learning a few basic phrases in the five most spoken languages in their community along with cultural facts about other countries. Some program evaluation results and project guidelines are presented. (SLD)

Maintains that intelligence tests contribute little to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instructional interventions for children. Suggests that intelligence tests are not useful in making differential diagnostic and classification determinations for children with mild learning problems and that such testing is not a cost-beneficial…

Presents four articles in the context of workshop discussions on characteristics of environments that promote language development: (1) "Children's Conversations: Why are They Important?"; (2) "Ways of Talking: Respecting Differences"; (3) Paul's Talk: Teachers and Parents Look at a Child's Language"; and (4) "In the…

This study evaluated effects of training parents of 33 children (ages 3 to 6) with mild/moderate language delays in either effective joint book-reading techniques (using the Whitehurst Dialogic Reading Training Program) or more general conversational instruction. Results suggest the potential of the book-reading training for facilitating language…

Children's television personality Fred Rogers describes an experimental e-mail program in which children were invited to express their concerns about school. He discusses the drawbacks of computers, as well as the benefit of interactivity, and emphasizes the importance of the teacher-child relationship. (AEF)