A study examined 149 urban and rural school psychologists' abilities to use formal and informal assessment data to diagnose autism and plan an effective educational program for a student with high-functioning autism. Respondents had difficulty recognizing autism but were able to select appropriate Individualized Education Program goals for the…

Discusses using audiation and music aptitudes as teaching tools to allow students to reach their full music potential. Describes music audiation and aptitudes and focuses on the importance of early music experiences for developing music vocabularies and musical aptitude. (CMK)

Discusses the differences between cognitive and social constructivism. Suggests a planning process that integrates cognitive and social constructivism to help social studies teachers make curriculum and instructional decisions that result in meaningful learning experiences. Addresses social studies education for the twenty-first century. (CMK)

Interviews with 15 families of young children with disabilities and 14 professionals working with them indicated that professionals have an understanding of the change in focus from child-centered to family-centered intervention; however there was some incongruence between family-centered attitudes and actual practice. Families expressed overall…

Examined students' preconceptions about environmental problems in cities, particularly that of urban disposable waste. They found that students' ideas were dominated by what they perceived, without regard to existing interactions, and that students were unaware of the fundamental role of reuse and recycling in the solution of the disposal of solid…

A survey of third graders' (n=677) health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors indicated that white children had significantly higher knowledge than black children, though attitudes were similar. Females had more positive attitudes than males, but knowledge was similar. There was a significant interaction of sex and race on the health behavior…

Three studies involving 174 elementary school students supported the hypothesis that training in an inductive strategy would enhance performance on tests measuring fluid intelligence, support learning school-relevant declarative knowledge, and improve problem solving. Implications for teaching and testing are discussed. (SLD)

Identifies components of a course on multiculturalism in teacher education. The course proposes these stages of awareness: (1) ethnic identity exploration; (2) development of knowledge in language and literacy acquisition; (3) refinement of a repertoire for cultural ways of teaching and learning; and (4) selection of a teaching style. (SLD)

Presents findings from the first phase of a longitudinal study examining the development of articulation quality and specific phoneme awareness during the fourth year of life. Articulation and phoneme awareness of /r/ and a control phoneme were assessed for 80 3-year-old children. (Author/JL)

Used cross-sectional life span data from normative sample for Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery to examine independence of age-related cognitive changes in childhood and adulthood. Found that majority of age-related differences were shared across different cognitive variables and were well predicted by individual differences in…

Surveyed experienced Dutch secondary school teachers regarding their professional identities, examining ways that they saw themselves as subject matter experts, didactical experts, and pedagogical experts. Surveys indicated that most teachers saw their professional identity as consisting of a combination of the distinct aspects of expertise.…

Investigated the contribution of cultural variables, particularly Africentric values and racial identity, to the prediction of drug use, knowledge, and attitudes among African American youths, highlighting individual, peer, and family variables. Data from upper elementary students who participated in a prevention program indicated that Africentric…

Considers educational reform and arts education, asserting that education is at a strategic inflection point (a transition from old to new ways). Discusses the importance of student learning, the signals for the inflection point, the knowledge of students and teachers, the role of teacher education, and a framework for attending to the inflection…

Assessed the impact of elementary science experiences on the development of sixth-graders' epistemological views. Found that, compared to students in a traditional science classroom, those in a constructivist classroom developed an epistemological stance toward science that focused on the central role of ideas in the knowledge acquisition process.…

Presents a crossword puzzle focusing on U.S. history which tests the knowledge of Canadian students about their "neighbor to the south." Includes items mentioned in an eighth-grade U.S. student textbook "America's Past and Promise". Provides a word list, blank crossword, and answers. (CMK)