At a Portland (Oregon) weeklong summer workshop, K-12 teachers connect with their peers, learn from professional writers, and develop skills for teaching writing. As follow-up, participants get four guest writers for weeklong classroom residencies, $400 for books, and additional meetings with fellow participants. The program has improved teaching…

Argues that NASA's 20-year research effort which will culminate with a manned flight to Mars is an opportunity to involve students in the science of that effort. Describes the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Teacher Academy Program, a program designed to reach science teachers so that they can prepare their students to…

Describes the process of designing a continuing education workshop on chemical information instruction. Discusses tailoring material to the audience and setting; adapting instruction to the available technology, with the Web as a presentation tool; and lessons learned about effectively teaching chemical information. (AEF)

Discusses the complicated role of the published writer in academics. Suggests that the writer teaching in a university setting has a similar goal to the academic: to illuminate the human experience. Asserts that the writer undertakes this mission in a creative, unstructured way, whereas the academic does it traditionally and often as a critic.…

Outlines much of the work accomplished by the University of Aberdeen geography department and an employer-liaison group. The group, in conjunction with local businesses, prepared seminars on developing and connecting academic geographic skills to the employment market. Lists employers involved and summarizes students' responses to the seminars.…

Presents a workshop format and strategy instruction that helped struggling middle school readers connect with books, the teacher, and one another. Recognizes that the author needs to get adolescents who frequently avoid reading to see themselves as readers and help them improve. (SG)

A New Mexico foundation helps primarily Hispanic and American Indian communities restore adobe churches by supplying technical assistance and matching grants. Community leadership of the projects enhances volunteer commitment. The projects build community cohesiveness and pride, maintain local culture, foster intergenerational relations, teach…

Discusses the efficacy of a Writers' Workshop (WW) approach for promoting writing skills and writing self-efficacy in fourth- and fifth-grade learning-disabled students who had significant writing deficits. Compares various outcomes from WW students with outcomes of students with significant writing deficits who were exposed to a "writing across…

Presents a strategy for technology integration that can be used effectively with any professional staff development activity. Through properly designed workshops over an academic year, one can facilitate the implementation of change in an educational institution. Discusses focus of the workshops; focus on teachers; spaced practice; workshop…

Recounts the use of a computer-mediated proficiency test in an intensive international teaching assistant workshop. Both traditional raw score analyses and item response theory analyses done on the test data are described in detail. Indicated that the test was not suitable for making exemption and retention decisions with this particular group of…

Discusses the benefits of collaborative writing in a writing workshop and the value of a social cognitive approach to learning for middle school students. Examines a taped collaborative writing workshop to demonstrate themes of using exploratory talk to stimulate thinking, promoting conceptual understanding, internalizing language to gain…

A study investigated the circumstances and views of 16 individuals 8 years after participation in one agency's conversion from a sheltered workshop to an exclusively community employment service. Most participants associated the agency's changeover with long-term, personal benefits, including community employment opportunities, increased income,…

Recounts a technical writing institute presented by a delegation of North American technical communication faculty to Chinese English as a foreign language teachers. Discusses planning the 10-day technical writing institute; challenges and assumptions about teaching technical communication in China; institute lectures and activities; and institute…

A study examined 127 teachers' assessments of the trustworthiness, usability, and accessibility of intervention information obtained from other teachers or colleagues, workshops, college courses, and professional journals. Teachers generally rated their colleagues and workshops not only as more accessible but as providing more trustworthy and…

Presents a lesson where students make faux Chinese bronze vessels through slab or coil clay construction after they learn about the history, function, and design of these vessels. Utilizes a variety of glaze finishes in order to give the vessels an aged look. Gives detailed guidelines for creating the vessels. (CMK)