Examined whether instructional unit on death and dying during emergency medical technician course reduced death anxiety in trainees. Found no significant differences between treatment group (n=28) that received unit and control group (n=25) that did not on pre-, post-, or delayed-tests. Death education apparently had no more influence on death…

Examines criticisms in gifted education from the perspective of a teacher of the gifted. Critical concerns about identification of gifted students and special programming to meet their needs are discussed as they affect classroom instruction. (Author/DB)

Examines one university's efforts to develop a reliable and cost-effective multimedia classroom. Discusses why and how the process was undertaken, as well as the cost implications for the department. Reviews advantages and disadvantages of the actual system implemented. (AEF)

A survey of 164 accounting departments found that more of those accredited by American Association of Colleges and Schools of Business used assessment for planning purposes. More of those accredited by Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs used assessment results for instructional changes. (SK)

The 4S model uses the criteria "Simple, Stable, Scalable, and Sustainable" as a filter for selecting instructional technologies. This paper considers a social dimension that uses culture and interaction as the primary consideration in the deployment of any instructional technology within the context of the 4S model. (Author/MES)

The Occupational Education program at Southwest Texas State University was established in 1973 to serve military personnel at four bases in San Antonio, Texas. The program's success has rested on seven principles of sound program development. These principles point toward faculty preparation and establishing obtainable goals related to distance…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of curriculum-based measurement (CBM), with and without diagnostic feed-back, on general and special educators' instructional planning in reading. Participants were 19 second-grade teachers with their 309 students without disabilities and 16 resource teachers with their 127 first-through…

Thoughtfully constructed standards provide valuable direction for curriculum and instruction. But to bring about significant improvement in education, standards must be linked to students' learning experiences and to classroom assessments. The author describes the table of specifications, a planning tool for analyze standards for instruction and…

"High Schools That Work" is an effort-based school improvement initiative founded on the conviction that most students can master rigorous career/technical and academic studies if school leaders and teachers create an environment that motivates students to make the effort to succeed. HSTW is the nation's first large-scale effort to engage state,…

"Teaching English by Design" is two books in one: a primer for teaching secondary English and a comprehensive guide to creating and using four to six-week instructional units. Peter Smagorinsky shares important insight about students, how they learn, and what kinds of classrooms support their achievement in reading and writing. Then he uses those…

The purpose of this collective case study was to understand the nature of planning and the influences on planning among intern and novice teachers in Illinois. Sixteen intern teachers and 15 novice teachers participated in reflections, focus group interviews, and individual interviews. In regard to the nature of planning, both intern and novice…

A carefully coordinated literacy assessment and instruction framework implemented school-wide can support school teams in making sense of various types of data for instructional planning. Instruction that is data based and goal driven sets the stage for continuous reading and writing improvement. (Contains 2 figures.)

The central feature of doctoral training in the humanities, according to this author, must remain the organization of curricula to support the mastery of disciplines, the development of rich conceptual frameworks, and a demonstrable attainment of research skills. The work of transmitting these capacities is only partially done by the curriculum. A…

This paper presents a discussion of an experimental, innovative course in corpus-informed EAP for doctoral students. Participants were given access to specialized corpora of academic writing and speaking, instructed in the tools of the trade (web- and PC-based concordancers) and gradually inducted into the skills needed to best exploit the data…

This case study presents the experience of an instructional designer working on an instructional development project for the first time. The project team was creating online course materials for a college level business calculus course. Project management skills, considerations in the project budget, and communication issues are suggested as…