Examines students' ability to understand definitions of novel verbs--in 2 experiments upper elementary students received definitions of pseudowords paired with sentences using those words and evaluated use as appropriate for definition given. Finds students' judgments about these sentences were not substantially different from chance, suggesting…

Explores ways in which the field of career guidance is unfolding. Focuses on the evolution in use and the definition of the term "career counseling" in the United States. Claims that career and personal counseling must combine to address many work-adjustment problems. Examines the results of such a combination. (RJM)

This article on adolescent alienation defines alienation, discusses the constructs of alienation, suggests questions educators can ask if they suspect a student is feeling alienated, and discusses strategies/interventions school staff and educators can use to decrease student alienation. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

A study examined all research articles published in four journals from 1993-2001. Approximately two-thirds of the articles consistently described participants by the diagnostic categories from the 1983 American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) diagnostic manual. An average of 10% of the articles described participants in terms of the 1992…

Discusses the role of literacy in enabling people to influence the political and social processes that affect their lives. Reviews various definitions of literacy. Citing Paolo Friere and others, considers the political, social, and economic issues related to literacy; and the components of and the conditions needed to develop a liberated…

Maintains that, as guides to critical thinking instruction, traditional definitions of critical reading must be updated to reflect the limitations of language in capturing meaning and the complexity of the comprehension process. Argues that a definition of critical reading should reflect the role of critical thinking during and after…

Analyzes journal articles pertaining to whole-language instruction in elementary classrooms to compile a definition for this term. Finds that definitions and descriptions of whole language vary widely throughout the literature and that differences exist between school- and university-based authors' perceptions of the concept. (RS)

Examines theoretical underpinnings of metacognition and defines it operationally. Reviews related research findings. Proposes practical implications for classroom teachers who are interested in metacognitive instruction. (RS)

Argues against both overly broad and excessively narrow definitions for the term "technical writing." Suggests that a definition would be useful for clarifying the bounds of technical writing. Argues, however, that it is better to keep the field intact with experience-based ideas of what technical writing encompasses. (SG)

Clarifies the definition of hypertext by contrasting traditional database management systems and associative information management systems software. Relative strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed, and useful applications of hypertext on personal computers are described. A glossary and a directory of product information are…

Reviews the literature concerning play theories. Classifies play theories into three categories: classical theories, early twentieth century theories, and recent theories. Theories discussed include psychoanalytic, cognitive development, arousal, communication, and adaptive plasticity. (RJC)

Discusses a survey of the members of the National Career Leaders Communication Network regarding the "health" of career education in their communities. Includes opinions on the term "career education" and their definition of career education. (JOW)

The paper discusses problems with traditional definitions of dyslexia and reviews research that suggests a more comprehensive definition, viewing dyslexia as a developmental language disorder that involves a deficit in phonological processing. The disorder is seen as manifesting itself in various phonological difficulties as well as in a specific…

The production of an "etymologary," a dictionary giving insight into etymology, is proposed as a creative Classroom activity and source of learning exercise that encourages linguistic manipulation, which can have positive effects on vocabulary development. Examples from French and Italian are presented. (MSE)

Examines how children's beliefs about word meanings may affect their use of contrastive linguistic information in the input of word learning. Two separate studies are discussed that involve how three- and four-year-old children handled new word meanings after exposure to novel terms. (58 references) (GLR)