Interviews with 9 Southeast Asian families, 10 children, and 4 Head Start staffers found both families and staff were unaware of differences in their beliefs and values in the area of education, parenting, child learning, and disability, which led to confusion and misunderstanding. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article describes how a first-grade teacher used poetry to provide students of diverse ability levels with reading and language activities that stimulated their interest and improved basic skills. Activities with poetry included reading the poems aloud individually and as a group, discussing and analyzing the poems' words and meanings, and…

Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) results in third- and fourth-grade reading and writing, 1999-2001, were compared for Latinos taking the English or Spanish CSAP and all Colorado students. Latino students had equivalent or higher scores on the Spanish CSAP compared to the English CSAP, but had lower scores than all students, regardless of…

Focuses on issues of cultural identity and educational development in emergence of a new institute of teacher education in Hong Kong. Discusses demands placed upon it to support educational reforms after the return to China. Describes processes and ideas of developing a vision statement and the values chosen for the institute. (CAJ)

Focuses on the assessment of writing skills of incoming English-as-a-Second-Language college students in the United States and Canada. The article discusses the traditional impromptu essay and its alternatives, portfolio assessment and the Undergraduate Academic Writing Assessment (UAWA). The UAWA reveals students' previously unknown strengths and…

Describes a writing project that was set up to improve the writing skills of selected categories of corporate employees. The article considers the interplay between the technical platform for distance training scenarios and the pedagogical strategies these made available to course writers and tutors. (10 references) (Author/CK)

International students who have learned English in the classroom have different writing problems than U.S. resident language minority students who have learned English primarily by listening. Non-native speakers need information and practice in specific areas of academic prose such as content and organization. Many language minority residents also…

Offers strategies for working with international students throughout the writing process to produce more critical thinking and better text. The process approach has specific advantages for non-native speakers of English. Implementing it involves techniques encouraging prewriting, planning, conference groups and peer support, and multiple drafts.…

Describes the use of dialog journals by deaf secondary students to communicate weekly with college students in a teacher education program. The experience provided the younger students with opportunities for meaningful writing, positive feedback, and improved writing skills. The prospective teachers of deaf and hard-of-hearing students were…

Investigates the effects of training for peer revision in college freshman English composition classes, focusing on students' ability to critique peer writing; quality of student writing; and students' attitudes toward peer revision and writing in general. Findings revealed an improvement in students' ability to critique peers and in their…

A discussion of language disorders that often occur with learning disabilities focuses on definitions, characteristics, alternative assessment methods, and service delivery models and interventions. Use of standardized test batteries, curriculum-based language assessment, and portfolio assessment is reviewed. Principles and methods to enhance…

Considers issues concerning the education of minorities, in Europe and elsewhere, by examining the vexed question of the nature of identity. Offers the concept of identity "markers," now most commonly nationality and citizenship, but changeable in times of crisis. Discusses culture switching, intermediate or multiple cultural identities,…

Educators in Texas and rural Louisiana programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students used videotapes to communicate with parents, including Spanish-speaking parents; to model teaching strategies for parents to carry out at home; and to teach new sign language vocabulary to parents. Communication between parents and students, and between parents…

Discusses basic concepts and technologies related to World Wide Web information system development. Describes the design and implementation of Virtual Travel Mart, a Web-based end- user oriented information system. Emphasizes design considerations, which focus on user needs; creativity; integration of in-house databases on the Internet; currency;…

Reviews the needs of students with hearing impairments, focusing on Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines and the role of developmental education faculty in meeting these needs. Discusses the use of speech reading, assistive listening devices, and sign language interpreters to enhance oral communication; the use of written communication; and…