Proposes that those who supervise and train science teachers can be better guided by collecting and evaluating data on preservice teachers' changing attitudes toward teaching practices in a hands-on science classroom. Provides an assessment of preservice teachers' attitudes toward selected teaching strategies before and after a field experience.…

Discusses a survey of the teaching staff in the Preschool Program of the Jefferson County Public Schools in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. The survey was designed to ascertain the attitudes of the teaching staff toward the mainstreaming of disabled children in the program. (BB)

Studies response style characteristics among 1,908 Hispanic Americans and 14,425 non-Hispanic whites in 4 studies. Hispanic Americans prefer extreme responses on rating scales more than do non-Hispanic Americans. Hispanic Americans are more likely to agree with a given item. Results are discussed in the contexts of acculturation and education.…

Background: Likert-type scales are increasingly being used among people with intellectual disability (ID). These scales offer an efficient method for capturing a wide range of variance in self-reported attitudes and behaviours. This review is an attempt to evaluate the reliability and validity of Likert-type scales in people with ID. Methods:…

This study is an exploration of the "sense of community" in a college classroom. The construct was successfully developed by incorporating six variables borrowed from neighborhood community research. Sense of community scores significantly predicted students' classroom attitudes, perception of learning, and actual performance on course exams.

The Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF), a 25-item rating scale, was developed to identify the function(s) of maladaptive behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. The authors adapted it for use with individuals with serious mental illness who engage in maladaptive behavior and assessed the psychometric characteristics of the…

In winter of 2004, the Sociology Department at California State University-Bakersfield (CSUB) conducted a student assessment using an embedded assessment technique--a technique wherein a class assignment serves as an assessment tool. The authors conducted the embedded assessment for their Five-Year Program Review. Thus, similar to many…

Purpose: The aim of the investigation is to identify enabling and disenabling factors in the development and operation of virtual teams; to evaluate the importance of factors such as team development, cross-cultural variables, leadership, communication and social cohesion as contributors to virtual team effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach:…

The science epistemological beliefs of students have been found to play an important role in determining their learning orientations towards science. Conley, Pintrich, Vekiri, & Harrison (2004) developed a measure to examine the epistemology beliefs of students about science. The measure encompasses four dimensions about scientific knowledge:…

This article examines the disposition toward critical thinking of post-baccalaureate initial certification students at a Texas institution of higher education using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The inventory characterizes seven subscales of critical thinking disposition and an eighth combined score for overall critical…

Active learning promotes higher-level reasoning, and it can be achieved in large classes without wholesale changes in class format. Applicable methods include in-class mini-investigations, robust multiple-choice exam questions, online quizzes or review, and cooperative learning, particularly during exams. Data gleaned from observing student…

This study compared worldviews of Chinese international students who have been in the United States for 1 year or less, Chinese international students who have been in the United States for 4 years or more, and European American students. Worldview was assessed with the Scale to Assess Worldview (F. A. Ibrahim & H. Kahn, 1987). Results…

This paper reports on the effectiveness of an innovative course design that bridges classes from two different disciplines. The "Bridge" design creates assignments in two classes: a summary class and a panel class. The design encourages students to engage in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines, and…

This report summarizes the 2007-2008 program evaluation of professional development opportunities for teachers of English as a second language (ESL) in Austin Independent School District's Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) program.

Faculty and administrators of a private Christian university responded to measures of overall, intrinsic, and extrinsic job satisfaction as well as organizational and religious commitment. The survey measured responses on a five-point Likert-type scale. Data were statistically analyzed by using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Results…