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 digest provides examples of measures well suited for assessing English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Alternative assessment is particularly useful with ESL students because it asks students to show what they can integrate and produce, not simply recall and reproduce. Alternative assessment includes varied measures adaptable for…

This study evaluated the impact of reflective teaching on the ability of preservice teachers to articulate a teaching philosophy. Three questions were explored: (1) how effective will a structure for reflecting be if used throughout a teacher education program? (2) how effectively will students be able to use that structure as a framework for…

A qualitative study examined the meaning-making processes involved as six struggling readers and a teacher interacted to make sense of a story during small group literature discussions. Students were low-achieving fifth graders. Instruction consisted of partner reading, written response followed by discussion and extended free journal writing.…

The set of instructional materials included here consists of reading, writing, and language development worksheets to be used in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy education. Materials are grouped according to four themes; this volume contains units on theme 3 (diary writing) and theme 4 (study skills). Each unit contains an…

Within the framework of the Wisconsin Model for a Comprehensive K-12 Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Program, this curriculum guide is designed to help students develop information and personal, interpersonal, and social system competencies as they explore fundamental principles related to alcohol and other drug abuse. The guide begins by…

A study investigated the effect of dialogue journal writing on English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students' speaking skills. Subjects were 136 students enrolled in a history program at an Egyptian university, divided randomly into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received training in dialogue journal writing in addition to…

This annotated bibliography provides the educator with pertinent and practical information on the use of student journals in undergraduate courses. The bibliography presents the themes and key points for each of 16 articles (published between 1975 and 1988) located in professional journals and dealing with subjects ranging from teacher application…

This paper examines theories on metacognition and instructional strategies for developing metacognitive processes. These strategies were then implemented in an inner-city grade 6 classroom in a low-economic, multicultural section of Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), in which 33 students kept journals that were studied for evidence of…

This book provides teacher lesson plans that are designed to help teachers of computer literacy courses make appropriate use of instructional materials. It is designed to help inservice teachers with the day-to-day challenge of assisting a wide range of students in becoming more computer literate. In addition, the book is useful for educators who…

Finding that community colleges and their female students are rarely and disparagingly depicted in fiction motivated this study of the image of community colleges in literature, movies, and television. The study also sought to compare this image with that emerging from the journal entries of 23 women community college students and 14 faculty…

This article reports on a classroom-based case study of a group of six Year 10 students, within a class of 23 students. The study implemented constructivist-informed teaching and learning approaches within a classroom setting in the topic of optics and documented any changes in the conceptual understanding students had about seven central concepts…

This article discusses the foundations for the assessment of primary science learning with a focus on the place of assessment in the curriculum, the association between pedagogy and assessment, and the role of formative and summative assessment. Alternative strategies are recommended for the assessment of science learning at primary level, and…

Journals can be valuable tools for fostering adult learning and experience. Research has supported the following assumptions about learning from journals: (1) articulating connections between new and existing knowledge improves learning; (2) writing about learning is a way of demonstrating what has been learned; (3) journal writing accentuates…

The faculty of one rural middle school in Ohio received professional development funds to implement a 5-year school improvement plan (Ohio's Venture Capital initiative). A study of the project investigated: (1) how the experience affected teachers' perceptions of their roles as reflective practitioners and as resources to their colleagues; (2) how…