Themes of the 24th Annual International Association of School Librarianship conference included: "School Librarianship"; "Children's Literature"; "Technology"; and "Children's Literature, Literacy, and School Librarianship." The following presented papers are assembled in this proceedings: (1) "For…

This report describes two studies prompted by research on rates of research use and attitudes toward research among preservice and inservice teachers enrolled in graduate programs in teacher education. The first study asked prospective and inservice teachers to rate the importance of various research skills and to provide a verbal exposition that…

This paper reviews the background of and compares three particular approaches to reflective professional development, specifically as used by Far West Laboratory: case methods, the Peer Assisted Leadership process, in which peer partners observe each other, conduct reflective interviews, construct leadership models, and explore alternate ways to…

This module is the fourth of five integrated professional development modules for adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) personnel. This module is in the form of a 6-hour workshop, the purposes of which are to develop further the practitioners' knowledge of the theoretical basis of teaching literacy in ALBE programs, to provide a supportive…

In this book, an experienced elementary school teacher recounts how she and three other teachers of grades 4, 5, and 6 decided to relax the compartmentalization of learning into subject areas and shuffle subject matter into new patterns to offer students a voice in their education. The book describes how the teachers created a multiage…

This paper reports on a study to document influences on five beginning mathematics and science teachers' instructional beliefs after a preservice methods course in secondary literacy. The participants were former military officers who had selected teaching as a second career. The study looked at: the teachers' beliefs about uses of literacy in…

This paper is a critique of problem-based learning and focuses on, first, the concept of life as problem-governed and professional practice as problem-solving; and, second, the utility of problem-based learning as a pedagogical approach in pre-professional training. The paper suggests that a problem-based approach to professional education is…

This paper reports on five related studies on upper elementary school students' beliefs about the role of real-world knowledge in solving mathematical word problems, and on possibilities of overcoming their unrealistic mathematical modeling. Findings from the first study of 75 Belgian fifth-grade students showed that as a consequence of current…

This report describes four innovative and culturally responsive early childhood education programs in Montana, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon. The introduction discusses developmentally appropriate early education and effective teaching practices. The report devotes one chapter to each site, with profiles and "close-ups" of selected…

A study was made of 10 practicum students in the College of Education at Louisiana Tech University and 7 cooperating teachers at a nearby middle school. The purpose of the study was to describe and analyze the practicum experience and its role in the preparation of middle school practicum students. Analysis of the study data yielded several…

Libraries have long been pivotal community institutions--public spaces where people can come together to learn, reflect, and interact. Today, information is rapidly spreading beyond books and journals to digital government archives, business databases, electronic sound and image collections, and the flow of electronic impulses over computer…

Because traditional performance measures may not accurately assess what students learn or are taught, some K-12 classroom teachers, states, and teacher preparation programs are beginning to use portfolio assessment to document learning and growth in learning over time. Portfolio assessment is considered a more authentic way of evaluating and…

This monograph explores practical and theoretical issues in use of case studies for college faculty to reflect on and improve instruction. Six chapters: (1) describe teaching case studies, with an overview of how and why they are used; (2) explore the rationale for their use within the frameworks of scholarship and professional development; (3)…

This paper reviews the research and attempts to identify instructional techniques and settings to promote generalization of appropriate work-related social behavior in individuals with mental retardation. First, it provides a definition of transition and discusses the importance of training for generalization, discrimination, and maintenance.…

This newsletter provides a periodic update on the activities of the Early Childhood Research Working Group (ECRWG), organized in early 1995 by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal government departments and agencies to promote interagency cooperation and public-private partnerships in early childhood research. This edition contains…