Forty to sixty percent of students who begin doctorates in selective colleges and universities do not persist to graduation. Although numerous research studies have focused on doctoral attrition and persistence, there have been no systematic studies because, among other reasons, there are no nationwide databases on attrition as there are for…

Siempre Adelante, a support organization for Central American and Mexican immigrants and refugees in Los Angeles, provided adult Spanish literacy classes inspired by Freire's practice of critical pedagogy. A 13-month ethnographic study of intermediate Spanish literacy classes examined how "critical student agency" was fostered or…

Communications technologies such as Web-based conferencing and chat are being used increasingly around the world by instructors and students in either face to face or distance learning courses. While some discuss the affects of this phenomena, others are more focused on how these technological tools can be used in specific courses to achieve…

Noting that the majority of teachers of boys are women, this book provides a series of case studies in which experienced women teachers talk about enjoying and using boys' energy in the classroom, tuning in to the ways that boys communicate, and varying lessons to suit all learning styles. Case studies from various schools in Australia illustrate…

The Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) documents dimensions of quality in legal education and provides information about law student participation in effective educational activities that law schools and other organizations can use to improve student learning. Since its inception in 2003, more than 64,000 law students at 111 different…

A report on how individual students respond to a course in plant anatomy using self-instruction and group interaction is presented. Learning profiles are described. Assessment tests measured performance in four capacities: recall of knowledge, comprehension, application and short-chain problem solving. (Author/MLW)

An undergraduate student and a college faculty member describe the benefits and challenges of working together on a textbook. Although some of the consequences of their collaboration were anticipated, several of the most valuable aspects surprised them both. They both concluded that the challenges of an undergraduate student research assistantship…

Analyzes data from interviews with teachers in LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) classrooms regarding the political and cultural aspects of teaching English as a Second Language. Findings indicate that teachers perceive language policy in ways determined by the local situations in which they teach and that there are differences…

Observations of and interviews with urban high school teachers and students examined situational and personal contextual factors that enhanced or minimized student engagement in physical education. Results indicated that, in contexts promoting engagement, teachers treated students humanely and equitably, expressed concern and interest in them, and…

Discusses five strategies that can enhance the communication among parents and early childhood educators: (1) Keep parents well informed about what is happening in the classroom; (2) help parents to introduce themselves in the classroom; (3) create dialog in newsletters and bulletins; (4) post questions rather than reports; and (5) disseminate…

Five articles explore how to manage difficult classroom behavior: (1) "Responding Professionally and Compassionately to Challenging Behavior"; (2) "Developmental Issues that Affect Behavior"; (3) "Norman and the Bunny: A Story," on children's responses; (4) "Hard Joys: Managing Behavior with a Creative Mind and a…

Assesses the impact of libraries on one measure of high school reading proficiency, the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Data on per pupil expenditures, computer software, teacher to student ratio, public library circulation, and books per student in the school library media center were analyzed from all 50 United States and…

Describes the dynamics of problem solving through spoken discourse in one-to-one tutoring of second-language writing in order to determine whether these processes vary with either instructional approach or language used. Tutors' and students' cooperative efforts to solve problems in the students' draft compositions focused primarily on local…

Applies key components of the Reggio Emilia approach to Hearts Home, a Houston school: (1) parent-teacher-child interdependence, including home visits, communication, training sessions, and field trips; (2) children's competence; (3) utilizing functional and beautiful learning environments; and (4) teachers as partners in co-construction of…

Discusses the advantages of creating teaching portfolios. Portfolios help teachers examine how and why they teach, how they change, whether they evaluate, and whether they get and give feedback. The self-reflective statements must be supported with personal materials, student and colleague feedback, and excellence in teaching products. (SM)