This study's findings may have important implications for understanding how students learn in the classroom. Consonant with previous research, they indicate that both engagement in school and students' perception of their own academic competence influence achievement in mathematics for high school students. But the study departs from earlier work…

Item parameter estimates vary for a variety of reasons, including estimation error, characteristics of the examinee samples, and context effects (e.g., item location effects, section location effects, etc.). Although we expect variation based on theory, there is reason to believe that observed variation in item parameter estimates exceeds what…

This study explored how six preservice teachers who participated as interns in a Professional Development School (PDS) program experienced learning to teach in the PDS context. The paper explores the scholarship of learning to teaching, highlighting the disjuncture between the complexity and contexts of school-based practicums, restructuring of…

A study examined the impact of the rural context upon the career patterns of women educational administrators in rural public school divisions in Saskatchewan, Canada. Surveys were completed by 107 female administrators who served rural schools in Saskatchewan, and 24 female administrators were interviewed. Findings indicate that women…

In the present research we examined variations in the after-school experience of young adolescents as a function of family background characteristics and the extent to which after-school activities were associated with behavioral adjustment at school. After-school time use was assessed through telephone interviews with 438 young adolescents…

This publication presents proceedings from the 1998 Contextual Teaching and Learning Design Conference, which focused on developing a framework to study contextual teaching and learning strategies in teacher education. The conference provided participants with an opportunity to think, talk, and work together on that task. Participants included…

An essential aspect of Old Order Mennonite identity is located in the historical-cultural understanding of who they are as one group of God's people. Schooling is an intentional means of reinforcing this understanding, and it is finely tuned to prepare children for the Old Order way of life. As such, it emphasizes basic academics, acquisition of…

This review investigated the available literature on diversity and its relationship to teacher thinking. The literature review produced 36 studies, from which five categories emerged: beliefs teachers hold about student diversity and student performance; effective teaching in diverse settings; the impact of teacher experience on teacher cognition…

This study investigated designer background characteristics and contextual variables that were hypothesized to influence the incorporation of motivational components in the design of instructional materials, as well as the factors that may affect the perceived level of a project's success. A hypothesized model was developed that depicted…

The current national debate about higher education has focused heavily on varying interpretations of the U.S. higher education system's accountability structures. Much of that debate has emphasized undergraduate learning and the specific issues of student engagement and outcomes. But relatively little attention has been paid at either the state or…

Notes that within certain spheres of international English language education, active student participation is seen as central to the "good" lesson and successful conference. Argues that this idea of participation is generated by a discourse of power belonging to a particular culture of professionalism and that it is ethnocentric and…

Examines the role that Yoruba greetings play in understanding the culture of the speakers. Illustrates that these greetings not only establish an atmosphere of sociability, but also communicate cultural information and serve as value reinforcement for participants and observers. Also emphasizes that teaching greetings in Yoruba involves teaching…

Reviews research on the role of context in learning how to teach physical education. Discusses how to develop strategies for learning teaching context, the integration of concepts into the teaching act, and ways to design teacher education programs that designate context and have deliberate strategies to prepare students for context. (SM)

Discusses a performance assessment tool that entails open-ended tasks requiring students not only to provide answers but to show their solution processes. Discusses several areas to address in developing open-ended tasks. Areas include the need to assess important mathematical content and cognitive processes, use of effective prompts, and use of…

Discusses an innovation second-language teacher education project for teachers of English as a foreign language from Egypt. The model program used was based on the premise that teacher education programs must provide trainees with opportunities to reflect critically upon their own teaching practices and beliefs in a context of collaboration with…