Describes the Star Project in which each student was allowed to select a topic in any area of interest and then to create a project around that topic. Students selected mentors (often parents) to monitor and encourage their progress. The article describes the project's successes and failures. (SM)

Comparison of the listening comprehension of second language learners completing three different prelistening activities after one and two exposures to a passage shows that scores for subjects completing the question preview activity were higher than for subjects completing the filler activity and that additional exposure improves comprehension.…

Elaborates on issues surrounding the whole language debate, particularly the issue of qualitative research. Discusses differences in what the opposing parties mean by "research." Submits that, although it is reasonable to hold teachers accountable for learning, there are valid criticisms of traditional standardized testing. Speculates…

Examines first graders' tacit shared understandings about composing as related to expectations about the processes and meaning of writing. Finds evidence of three cultural themes: (1) the processes of creating and sharing text-mediated relationships with others; (2) writing was used to explore "self" and the world; and (3) collaborative composing…

Curriculum design principles developed by the National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators (NCITE) are recommended to evaluate and enhance basal reading programs for learning-disabled students. These principles provide a framework for fortifying instruction in ways that mediate difficulties that students encounter in phonological awareness,…

Compares the CD-ROM search techniques of 42 undergraduate native speakers of English with those of 34 undergraduate English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) speakers. Native speakers were more likely to use plural words and synonyms. Both groups underutilized basic search techniques, such as Boolean operations and indexing. (Author/AEF)

This article focuses on competencies needed for children's transitions from preschool special education programs to the primary grades, with a focus on literacy-rich classroom environments. The competencies concern: readiness to maximize academic achievement, social skills, and appropriate responsiveness to various instructional styles and new…

Forty-seven children (ages 6 to 14) with mild mental retardation, of whom 27 also had an articulation disorder, were evaluated to identify distinguishing characteristics. Task performance results successfully discriminated 89.3 percent of the children with articulation disorders and 80 percent of the children with normal articulation. Fine motor…

Discusses the conversion project of the congressional papers of Senator John Heinz into digital format and the provision of electronic access to these papers by Carnegie Mellon University. Topics include collection background, project team structure, document processing, scanning, use of optical character recognition software, verification…

Examines why seven third-grade teachers modified their skills-based reading and language arts program, and describes the instructional changes they made over a two-year period. Examines changes in students' reading and language arts standardized achievement test scores (increases in 4 classrooms), special education referrals (81% decrease), and…

Describes an effort to teach French to boys with emotional and behavioral difficulties. The teaching used was based on lexical chunks of language rather than grammatical structures in order to create motivation and maintain interest in the short time available each week. The students greeted the lessons with enthusiasm and grew in self-esteem and…

Presents an interview with Kieran Egan, an award-winning professor of education. Egan's research has focused on the role of imagination in learning, providing new understanding on how children's minds work. After presenting an academic portrait of Egan, discusses his opinion on the role of educational theory today and his teaching-as-storytelling…

Examines early literacy practices in the Montessori classroom. Suggests that there is a need for more integration across the domains of reading and writing. Proposes that the think, write, share, revise, publish, and final-share process in written story creation can provide children with meaningful literacy opportunities as they relate to the…

Reports on a study of the effects of self-blame or societal blame among 82 Canadian female college students. Finds that women encouraged to blame themselves were more likely to endorse accepting the situation, while those encouraged to blame society endorsed nonnormative individual confrontation. (CFR)

This paper presents a model for the full integration of children with severe speech-language problems into the regular classroom. It describes characteristics of this population, structure and roles of the collaborative teaching teams, the critical importance of administrative and parental support, and the active involvement of the staffing team.…