A qualitative study followed slow-progress students as they engaged in embedded word studies in their classroom-based literacy activities. Issues addressed were: (1) the ways embedded word studies promoted slower-progress students' word knowledge; (2) how developing word knowledge influenced these students' reading and writing attempts; and (3)…

Most of the literature on student retention focuses on what students do "wrong" that leads to departure from college, but there is much to be learned from studying student success in higher education. This article presents a study designed to uncover the strategies that successful minority students employ to overcome barriers to academic…

A paradigm for the recalibration of teacher-made assessment that assesses and evaluates in one operation is formulated. The effort to make the classroom the primary source of educational research activity is contingent on redefining educational research as empirical and not experimental. This emphasizes that the empirical analysis of instructional…

Problem-based learning (PBL), often used in medical education, is an educational approach that organizes curriculum and instruction around carefully crafted "ill-structured" problems, to which students apply knowledge from multiple disciplines and critical thinking. PBL is being investigated as a teaching approach for elementary and middle…

An 18-month qualitative study examined the process of designing, developing and evaluating a video-case laserdisc-based instructional support program for the professional development of English/language arts teachers and focusing on the application and practice of the reading/writing workshop approach. The first step was the creation of a…

This document contains an introduction to a group of papers in which the authors/professors who have designed and taught graduate or undergraduate courses in educational technology engage readers in the ideas of narrative as a part of teaching. The instructors also encourage readers to consider alternate approaches to teaching and learning that…

A year-long qualitative study constructed a "thick" (rich, literal) description and interpretation of the social organization, interactions, and attitudes displayed within one self-contained second-grade classroom during its scholastic language arts activities and instruction to explain how a literacy learning environment can be seen as…

This paper includes a qualitative study of the role of "inclusion specialists" in schools, a review of the history of special education, accounts of interviews with 17 special and 7 regular educators, accounts of day-long observations of four specialists, and the author's reflections. The literature review focuses on the relationship of…

Survey responses of seniors (N=63) at a large Eastern university on a questionnaire of their satisfaction with academic and student services were evaluated. Faculty interaction was most commonly reported as the best experience students had at the university, and often included mention of specific faculty and specific courses. The importance of…

A pilot study to investigate the use of concept mapping for assessment purposes was conducted during the spring of 1996. Thirteen teachers from a random sample of science teachers affiliated with the Iowa-Scope, Sequence, and Coordination Project and 12 other teachers affiliated with the project participated in the concept mapping study. Student…

Racism is on the rise at colleges and universities around the country. This study was developed from a racial incident that culminated in physical violence at a medium-sized eastern university. This study used a naturalistic, qualitative approach to further understand the perceptions and feelings of white respondents in relation to racism.…

This qualitative study examined the ways in which homeless children cope with their environment. Preliminary data were gathered by observing homeless children at a homeless shelter day care center in a medium-sized midwestern city. As many as 12 children, aged 2 to 6 years, were observed in the day care setting on three different weekday mornings.…

A qualitative study investigated the viewpoints and beliefs of five non-traditional secondary mathematics student teachers regarding using content literacy strategies. The five student teachers were military officers preparing for a second career as secondary mathematics teachers. Data included interviews, observations, and written materials from…

This paper offers concrete examples from recent policy research about how qualitative and quantitative methods can be combined to better address research questions. Using a conceptual framework developed by Rossman and Wilson (1985), later expanded by Greene, Caracelli, and Graham (1989), the paper discusses how the design and analysis phases of…

This qualitative study examined how college students majoring in Studio Art perceived their undergraduate educational experiences and the impact of this education on their post-college plans. Data were gathered through written questionnaires completed by 22 students, in-depth interviews with 6 students, and on-site participant observation.…