During the 1988-89 academic year, the public community colleges in Illinois reviewed the general education component of their baccalaureate/transfer degree programs. Subsequently, the colleges were asked to respond to a series of questions about the following: (1) the relationship of the general education curriculum to program objectives and other…

This practicum was designed to solve a problem related to the provision of a computer training component for students enrolled in an early childhood education teacher training program. Increasing pressures on graduates of the training program to integrate computers and educational software into programs for young children as well as the students'…

The essence of a healthy democracy is open dialogue about issues of public concern. An integral part of the training of young citizens, therefore, includes the discussion of controversial social, political, and economic policies. The use of classroom discussions as a pedagogical technique to examine controversial issues is explored by considering:…

Four experiments were conducted to determine if the California Critical Thinking Skills Test--College Level (CCTST) measured the growth in critical thinking (CT) skills achieved by college students completing approved CT courses. The experiments, conducted at California State University (Fullerton) involved 1,169 college students in 5 courses with…

A study skills course offered through Project Start, a summer program for high-risk incoming college freshmen at Ball State University, Indiana, is described. While primarily designed for students who were denied regular admission because of low high-school rank and low Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, the program also allows previously…

Performance/Outcome Based Principal Evaluation (P/OBPE) attempts to enhance the instructional and managerial leadership of the principal and assistant principal by providing a basis for effective data collection, communication, personal and organizational development, and employment decision making. Professional criteria--job related expectations…

Performance evaluation is designed to assist principals in better accomplishing their leadership role. Performance/Outcome Based Principal Evaluation (PBPE) is defined as "a process for the professional development of principals through the identification of job-related expectations, documentation of skills regarding those expectations, feedback…

An examination of foreign language syllabus design reviews current literature on six syllabus types and discusses the process of choosing and integrating syllabi for classroom use. The six syllabus types are structural, notional-functional, situational, skill-based, task-based, and content-based, characterized as differing by increasing attention…

Schools tend to have a built-in bias toward left brain activities (tasks that are linear and sequential in nature), so the introduction of right brain activities (functions related to music, rhythm, images, color, imagination, daydreaming, dimensions) brings a balance into the classroom and helps those students who may be right brain oriented. To…

Focusing on the importance of the search for meaning in reading, the essays in this book address critical reading and the confusion about the place of skill development in the search for meaning. The following works are included: "Introduction to the 50th Yearbook" (M. P. Douglass); "The Quest for Meaning" (M. Poplin);…

The development of fluency in beginning readers is a gradual process that often involves different oral strategies such as word-by-word reading, pointing to words, and reading aloud to oneself. A review of research related to these behaviors and to corresponding spelling behaviors suggests a number of implications for instruction, including the…

Evaluation results for the College Bound (C.B.) program at New York City public schools are presented. The C.B. program seeks to improve reading and mathematics skills of high school students who are 2 or more years below grade level and to prepare these students for college. It includes basic skills instruction in reading, career and college…

A curriculum was developed for the purpose of training child care teachers to provide high quality music and art experiences for infants and toddlers. Introductory material provides a brief overview of the curriculum development project, giving specific attention to the completion of grant objectives, advisory committee involvement, dissemination…

Suggestions for instructional improvement are offered for science teachers in this compilation of research summaries on specific areas of science education. This series examines the topic areas of: (1) higher-order cognitive skills (focusing on developing operational definitions and classification schemes for cognitive skills); (2) microcomputers…

As part of an investigation of the effectiveness of a microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) activity in developing students' graphing skills, this study was specifically designed to examine the differences between females and males in both performance on graphing tasks and on their attitudes to graphs and graph-based activities. Results based on a…