Partnering with parents is essential if an early childhood program is to succeed. "From Parents to Partners" explores the reasons and methods for developing ongoing partnerships with parents and other family members. It also provides the tools and strategies needed to build the communication and support networks within which these partnerships…

Facetious, yet honest, look at expressing oneself when angry or upset. Contains samples of letters one wishes one could write, along with the types of letters one actually should write. The central point: Write that scathing message to vent your frustrations, but don't deliver it. (WFA)

Education is complex, slow, and demands teamwork. This is what educators need to be able to explain and what the public needs to understand. This is not getting across in the headlines. It is the author's experience that we have at least three categories of wrong ideas and half truths circulating around education: assumptions that mislead,…

High school teacher and instructional coach Tony Winger laments how traditional classroom grading practices lead to grades becoming a distraction from learning--a commodity students feel they work the system to attain--rather than a clear message to students and parents. Teachers' passion for their subjects is too often met with students'…

Educators have been challenged to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Although this mandate has existed for 30 years, local educators report difficulties with program planning; graduation and grading of students with disabilities; recruitment and retention of qualified teachers; ensuring access of all…

In this paper, I report on the findings of a study that investigated non-native speaker interaction in a three dimensional (3D) virtual world that incorporates avatars and text chat known as "Active Worlds." Analysis of the chat transcripts indicated that the 24 intermediate level EFL participants were able to undertake a variety of tasks through…

The considerable risk of negative consequences of unprotected intercourse underscores a need to better understand how Latina adolescent girls acquire the skills to manage the risks associated with sexuality. The authors used in-depth qualitative interviews with mothers and their daughters to examine communication related to sexuality with the goal…

InterMath participants spend time in workshops exploring technology-rich mathematical investigations and completing write-ups. These write-ups include a written explanation of their problem solving process, screen captures of files that they generated while completing the investigation and links to these files. This paper examines the use of…

Purpose: To describe clinical services and health communication needs for recent immigrants. Methods: A review of relevant health behavior and policy research published in the past 20 years was conducted. Results: Health coverage for primary care, prenatal and safety net services needs to be continued for all immigrants. Legislative bodies should…

This article highlights instructional communication and distance education research with an emphasis on the social dynamics of the online learning experience and their impact on the learning experience. Literature related to the twin concepts of immediacy and group cohesiveness--central constructs related to building an effective classroom social…

The past three decades have seen a growing body of research into language learner metacognitive knowledge, strategy use, and the relationship between them. However, the correlation between knowledge about strategies and strategy use in ESL listening and speaking has not been explored. This study investigates 278 Singaporean students' knowledge and…

Responding to disruptive or troubled pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) remains a highly topical issue. The challenges these children present relate to wider issues of continuing political concern: the perceived declining discipline in schools; school and social exclusion; the limits to inclusion for children with special…

The effects of three information distribution strategies in a course management system (CMS) on student performance and satisfaction were investigated. Analysis of the data found that the distribution of instructional materials in class resulted in significantly higher student performance on an end-of-the-semester technical knowledge test than…

"Instant Messaging" (IM) and "Presence," which is essentially the ability of being able to detect if other users are logged in on the network and send them messages in real time, has become one of the most popular applications of the Internet, causing people to want to stay connected to the Internet for inordinate amounts of…

This article presents a synthesis of the theoretical and research literature on facilitating asynchronous online discussions effectively. Online courses need to be designed so that they provide motivation for students to engage in productive discussions and clearly describe what is expected, perhaps in the form of a discussion rubric.…