The National Education Statistical Agenda Committee of the National Forum on Education Statistics established a Task Force in 1995 to study how a state or local education agency might best collect and report data on the incidence of crime, violence, and disciplinary behavior. The Task Force, which consisted of a core group of data providers from…

The Concept Attainment Model is described as a teaching approach that helps students develop skills for inductive and deductive thinking while learning subject matter in any field in a constructive and meaningful way. A definition and overview of the model are presented, with guidelines for using the concept-attainment approach to design and…

This publication is the culmination of a major effort to help establish a common terminology, descriptions, and coding structure for course information at the secondary level of education. There had previously been no standard system for collecting, maintaining, reporting, and exchanging comparable information about student course taking patterns.…

This annotated bibliography of material from the ERIC database presents 87 annotations on the topic of the "whole" whole-language debate. Entries in the bibliography are grouped under the topics of philosophy and analysis; the struggle for a definition; comparative analyses of whole language versus traditional approaches; and application…

A counselor with a dyslexic-like disability shares three conclusions concerning this type of disability. First, difficulties with reading, math, writing, heard language, and nonverbal language are not the disability but the symptom of the disability. Second, these disabilities are dynamic in nature and therefore the symptoms fluctuate somewhere…

This book is composed of 21 essays that define and illustrate the folklore of Texas. Following the introduction, the six essays concerned with defining are: "Classroom Definitions of Folklore" (F. E. Abernethy); "Defining Folklore for My Students" (Joyce Roach); "Folklore and Cinema" (Jim Harris); "Toward a…

A study examined the effects of word type and frequency of exposure on the incidental learning of unknown words in context. A target word pool of 60 words was selected to ensure unfamiliarity to the subjects, 110 male and female average fifth-grade students attending three private elementary schools in New York City. Students were randomly…

The controversial field of semiotics has been criticized for its "unwillingness to respect boundaries" and its "conviction that everything is a sign." The central concerns of this wide-ranging field, however, can be defined, and its implications for teaching can be outlined. Semiotics is the study of signs (symbols, icons, and…

This collection of papers focuses on definitions, assessment, assessment instruments, and distinctions between attention deficit disorder (ADD) and general learning disabilities or conduct disorders. Part I covers issues of definition and assessment in the following papers: "Methodological Issues in the Classification of ADD" (Jack Fletcher, et…

Presenting an overview of phonics work in community literacy programs in metro Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this book enables new tutors and facilitators to learn how to think about and do the kinds of phonics work that is used by experienced tutors and facilitators in the community programs. The first chapter of the book discusses the history of…

Two teachers gathered psychology definitions from 1,000 college students enrolled in introductory psychology classes on the first and last days of class during two successive fall terms at the University of Tennessee. A word analysis of first-day definitions suggested three major themes: behavior, mind/brain, and environment. These terms showed…

This script, which portrays a discussion by a five-person committee about whether to grant tenure to a faculty member, is a vehicle for discussing the meanings of scholarship and standards, the nature of truth and realism, and the constructivist view of learning. The argument about the quality of the faculty member's scholarship leads into a…

This paper outlines the conceptual framework underpinning the development of competency rating scales for adult literacy. It provides a rationale for a project that was conducted in Australia during International Literacy Year (1990) to develop appropriate ratings scales to assess adults' literacy and numeracy skills. The paper examines the…

Student portfolios provide information for the teacher, help children question and reflect on their work, communicate progress and growth to parents and teachers, and are useful in developing and evaluating children's school programs. To obtain a more adequate notion of what a student portfolio is, it is useful to ask five questions: (1) What do…

Concerning curriculum making, it is impossible to integrate the different meanings of "curriculum" into a single formula. Read as social constructions, different conceptions reflect varying educational, social-political, and historical contexts. This paper explores how these contexts, or multiple realities, evolved historically and how…