Discusses the concept of matching instructional methods to learning styles to improve student performance. Research on learning styles is reviewed, and other benefits of investigating learning styles are suggested, including recognizing the cognitive and affective diversity among students and encouraging more versatile teaching techniques. (15…

This article presents results of an analysis of literature which considers the research and conceptual bases of teacher education and staff development. This analysis reveals and discusses several shortcomings in the research bases undergirding teacher education and suggests future directions for inquiry. (IAH)

Offers an overview of trends and issues in student tracking, including methods of collecting data, determining which data should be gathered, obtaining follow-up data, and using results to inform decisions about institutional planning and improvement. (DMM)

While those involved in staff development often seek new or further information or research on effective successful staff development, they often overlook or do not know how to use the voluminous amount of literature that already exists regarding conditions, processes, adaptations, motivation, and strategies for effective educational change. (CB)

Using the research on effective staff development, a rural Minnesota school district developed a grass-roots professional development program which featured opening-week workshops, training programs, mini-grants, a professional library,and a school effectiveness program. (JD)

After research on problem solving is briefly summarized, an in-service program on problem types and solution strategies is described. Teachers must know how pupils solve problems; they can use activities designed for both instruction and assessment. Key aspects of assessment are summarized. (MNS)

By not specifying what they will attend to, and by virtue of the relatively extended amount of time they devote to exploring their phenomena, qualitative inquirers have practically no limit to what they can uncover. This is illustrated through data on the role of ethnicity in an ethnically diverse high school. (Author/BJV)

Defines and discusses the extremes of "poetism" (or overreliance on intuition) and "scientism" (overreliance on research-based models) in teaching and supervision. Argues that teaching is neither an art nor a science, but more like a craft that skilled teachers practice as artisans, combining technique and reflection. (TE)

The balance between college teaching and faculty scholarship is examined in the context of growing economic concern over the education of an internationally competitive workforce. "Aggregative scholarship," the effort to integrate and interpret highly specialized research findings for interconnections and trends, for both specialists and…

Underscores the importance of scholarship to the community college president's professional development, presenting scholarship as a way of keeping in touch with core values, setting an institutional climate, gaining credibility, renewing and revitalizing oneself, and enhancing leadership effectiveness. Identifies barriers to presidential…

It is argued that employment data provide a useful and flexible metric to assess social impact. Problems and advantages with the traditional use of population statistics and the use of employment data are discussed, and an example of the use of each is given. (SLD)

Discusses the problems inherent in applying what is learned in a carefully controlled information retrieval (IR) research project to searching the scientific databases available through a large commercial database. STN International is used as an example. (five references) (LAE)

Provides a brief summary of current research in mathematics education at the college level. Explores the current needs of college-level faculty. Suggests ways of coping with the apparent perception that some of the best contemporary research is useless or irrelevant from the practitioner's point of view. (22 references) (JJK)

Profiles the general education assessment movement on colleges/universities, identifying as benefits improvements in curricula, instructional strategies, and educational quality. Describes efforts to assess and describe fully student learning experiences. Notes gains in institutional community/identity, renewed curricular meaning and purpose, and…

Statistical significance does not necessarily make research meaningful. The problems and implications must be significant and valuable, and the research process should not be emphasized more than product. Qualitative methods and better reporting of conclusions would enhance significance. (SK)