Francisco, John M.; Maher, Carolyn A. (2005). Conditions for Promoting Reasoning in Problem Solving: Insights from a Longitudinal Study. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, v24 n3-4 p361-372. This paper describes insights on how to promote mathematical reasoning in problem solving based on the mathematical experiences of participants in a long-term study in which the students engaged in strands of well-defined, open-ended mathematical investigations, as a context for research on the development of particular concepts and ways of reasoning. Over the years, the students demonstrated ways of working in which sense making became a cultural norm and collective and individual sharing and justifying of ideas was a common practice. The paper examines the environment that enhanced the development of these and other qualities. The insights address aspects of task design and researcher role in the students' mathematical activity. Both were central in enhancing the students' engagement in thoughtful and meaningful problem-solving activity. The paper addresses the relationship between problem solving and mathematical reasoning from the perspective of the long-term study and provides… [Direct]

Francik, Wendy A. (2012). The Nature of Self-Directed Learning and Transformational Learning in Self-Managing Bipolar Disorder to Stay Well. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Texas State University – San Marcos. The purpose of the research was to explore the self-directed learning and transformational learning experiences among persons with bipolar disorder. A review of previous research pointed out how personal experiences with self-directed learning and transformational learning facilitated individuals' learning to manage HIV, Methicillan-resitant "Staphylococcus" aureus (MRSA), prostate cancer, and breast cancer to maintain their health. In addition, participants in a study examining self-management of bipolar disorder identified educating one's self as important for staying well. However, unexplored in the previous research was how self-directed learning and transformational learning experiences transpired among persons who were self-managing bipolar disorder. The three research questions focused on experiences prompting learning, personal experiences with learning self-management, and personal experiences contributing to strategies for staying well. Of the 12… [Direct]

(1975). Region X Adult Education Staff Development Program. Final Report. The 3-year Region 10 Program was designed to develop a cooperative network of sharing and resources among states in the region. Although, during the program, specific objectives and activities considerably changed as a response to the new knowledge and conditions which the Program identified, some general characteristics and outcomes which were continuing concerns over the entire Program include: (1) The Consortium Board function as a regional planning, sharing, coordinating, policy-making body for the Program, (2) State Departments of Education be responsible for leadership in staff development planning and coordination within the state and among states in the region, (3) participating universities work toward the development of relevant courses and programs which meet the needs of adult educators, (4) participating universities provide technical assistance to local programs in planning, implementing, and evaluating pre- and in-service activities, (5) local adult education programs… [PDF]

Blick, Eddie (1995). Use of an Electronic Discussion Group for High School Publications Advisers: A Descriptive Pilot Study. This study aimed to catalog the nature of written message exchanges on a network computer bulletin board, HSJOURN, which caters mainly to high school journalism teachers and publications advisers. The study analyzed the content of messages between December 1993 and January 1995 and cataloged them in the following categories: announcements; chatting; does anybody know?; ethical matters; conducting conferences; editorial guidance; consumer information; legal matters; trading classroom material; expression of opinion; reprints from mass media; sharing problems or solutions; sharing teacher tips; maintenance; and other. A tabulation of the number of messages falling into each category shows that most message activity occurred in 3 categories: announcements, chats, and does anybody know? Another tabulation shows that October was the most active month on the bulletin board and August was the least active. Activity was fairly consistent over the 7 days of the week. Other tables show: (1)… [PDF]

Hilliard, Ann T. (2010). Student Leadership at the University. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, v7 n2 p93-98 Feb. The focus of this article is about the utilization of student leadership at the University. Based on research, student leadership opportunities at the university have been frequently at a low percentage (Zimmerman, Burkhart, 2002). The researcher identifies practical ways to involve students in various leadership activities. Emphases are placed on the definition of leadership, characteristics of strong leadership, importance of stakeholders, early involvement, expectations of today's leaders, and benefits of student leadership at the university. The three ways to look at leadership includes a respond to an idea that the future is unknown and there is not any one model for leadership, prepare for the future by embracing and creating the capacity for change, participate in organized learning and look at collective leadership that helps in the capacity to change. There are many characteristics of strong leadership based on the needs of the organization. A strong sense of moral purpose,… [Direct]

Wright, Ruth (2008). Kicking the Habitus: Power, Culture and Pedagogy in the Secondary School Music Curriculum. Music Education Research, v10 n3 p389-402 Sep. Within a theoretical framework drawn from sociologists of education Bourdieu and Bernstein, this paper will examine some of the findings of an ethnographic case study conducted with a secondary school music teacher and one class of her pupils in Wales. This teacher attracted 25% of Year 10 (14-year-old) pupils to study music as an optional subject against a national background of 8% average. The study attempted to examine the lived experiences of the participants in music at home and school. Teacher and pupils had much to say about music teaching and learning in the classroom and beyond. Much of the success of this particular music curriculum model appeared to stem from the teacher's ability to empathise with her pupils' musical interests and recontextualise the National Curriculum for music to reflect these. Pupil voice was instrumental in curriculum design and delivery and the teacher showed the empathy required to "kick" her Western Art Music-informed habitus to enable… [Direct]

Schmidt, Gene L. (1983). Facilitating Inter-District Cooperation. After an introductory section which points out that the responsibility of small and rural schools is to provide all children with a quality education, and that Boards of Education must decide what is best for all children in the community, the paper briefly describes 16 exemplary programs involving cooperation between school districts. The necessity for small school systems to overcome their reluctance (often due to squabbling over locus of decision-making control) to join in regional and cooperative programs is noted. Cooperative sharing of programs, students, and teachers in districts in New York, Minnesota, and Alabama is discussed. Three major tasks for the 1980's, critical to solving problems of rural schools and small districts, are stated: basic research on small school problems, practices, and unique features; curriculum and program development that builds on these features; and elaboration and instrumentation of models for funding and regulating small schools. Lists of 24…

Deason, Melissa; And Others (1992). Rural Public Libraries-A Resource for the Disabled. Special "Breaking New Ground" Technical Report. Plowshares No. 15. The role that rural libraries could have in increasing the awareness level of disability issues in their communities and in expanding opportunities for the disabled was studied in a survey of 401 rural Indiana and Iowa libraries. A review of the literature associated with rural rehabilitation services suggests that the two crucial barriers to the delivery of such services are awareness of and access to disability-related information. A combined return rate of 49.1% indicated that many rural libraries serve a number of clients from farms and ranches and that they generally serve a small population, with relatively few books in circulation. Slightly over 87% were associated with a Library Network System that allows sharing of resources, a mechanism that can increase the information available without increasing costs. Just under 59% of these rural libraries were wheelchair accessible and only 25% reported plans to improve accessibility. Most offered little in the way of services or…

Hoffman, Rosemarie; Whitehead, Joann (1984). Cooperative Jobline: An Employment Lead Sharing Resource Network for Service Providers. The "Cooperative Jobline" is an employment-lead sharing network established and initiated by the Resource Council of Genesee County, a team of service providers from non-profit agencies whose prime function is in placement, job training, and development. This centralized, cooperative exchange system of current, up-to-date, job-related information lists specific job openings, future available positions, applications being accepted, firms accepting resumes, training programs, and other pertinent data. It is implemented by use of a code-a-phone system and a message tape. Only one individual from each member agency has access to the telephone number. The system is also capable of receiving job leads from members. The Resource Council has become a necessary appendage to the success of the Jobline. It meets once a month, works as a unit on community projects for the unemployed, and shares knowledge of programs and activities. (Appendixes, amounting to over one-half of the…

(1988). Challenges for School Leaders. This book is a compilation of the recommendations on leadership contained in education reports and management studies over the past 5 years. In addition exemplary programs reported in a survey by the American Association of School Administrators are presented throughout the book in sections titled \Promising Practices.\ Eight issues identified in the reports and addressed by the educational leaders are discussed: (1) what leadership is; (2) what education reports say about leadership; (3) sharing-decision making; (4) attracting, motivating, and rewarding good teachers; (5) curriculum leadership; (6) leadership for at-risk students; (7) building partnerships; (8) involving parents; and (9) leadership beyond the reports. Lists of education reports addressed and business texts consulted are included. (SI)…

Grant, Lyle K. (2004). Teaching Positive Reinforcement on the Internet. Teaching of Psychology, v31 n1 p69-71 Feb. This study is an examination of an Internet-based tutorial that teaches the concept of positive reinforcement. An experimental group of 50 students studied an online tutorial about positive reinforcement, and a control group of 50 students studied an online tutorial in biological psychology. Students in both groups took an 8-item pretest and posttest over positive reinforcement. An analysis of the students' change scores indicated that the students benefitted from the positive reinforcement tutorial. Students rated the positive reinforcement tutorial highly on several dimensions. I discuss the desirability of greater sharing of Internet-based educational resources as a means of providing students with a wide variety of low-cost online instructional software….

Bard, Dana (1998). Literacy Practices in Extra-Academic Conversations: Quilting Bees via E-mail. A study examined conversations of 10 "avid" female quilters from around the United States who communicate via e-mail. Results indicated that their conversations reveal ways in which they are using this modern technology in the construction of their feminine quilt artist identities. While most of the e-mail was devoted to the business of quilting (sharing techniques, books reviews, providing feedback on projects), a certain amount was devoted to subversive responses to the dominant culture–both the dominant art culture and the dominant male culture. The quilters' extra-literacy practices seem to have implications for the composition classroom. Findings suggest that these quilters appropriate literacy practices to express "domestic" concerns in much the same way that students in the composition classroom would appropriate them for academic concerns: having conversations to make knowledge; collaboration; and sharing the power. Perhaps educators can find a way to… [PDF]

Barth, Roland S. (1984). The Principals' Center at Harvard University. By promoting insight-sharing among members, Harvard's Principals' Center works to develop, personally and professionally, those influencing the quality of schools. Growing numbers of principals outside Massachusetts, having attended the center as visiting practitioners, are founding centers in their own areas; the Harvard center itself is creating a national network of centers to strenthen individual development attempts. Additionally, the center is contributing to the little known area of leadership characteristics. Among its findings are these: (1) that principals are seen and see themselves as leaders, not learners; and (2) that nonprincipals identify the skills they believe effective principals should possess. The center is striving to alter both concepts by helping principals to reflect upon and analyze their work in order to understand better their own styles and schools. Conditions associated with enrichment seem to include recognition, voluntary participation, a protected… [PDF]

Bayraktar, Ayseg√ºl (2013). Nature of Interactions during Teacher-Student Writing Conferences, Revisiting the Potential Effects of Self-Efficacy Beliefs. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, n50 p63-85 Win. Problem Statement: Within Language Arts instruction the use of teacher-student writing conferences is accepted as an effective strategy for teaching writing. The writing conference allows for an individual one-on-one teacher-student conversation about the students' writing or writing process and provides the student an audience in terms of revising or sharing purposes (McAndrew & Reigstad, 2001; Newkirk, 1989; Sperling, 1991). Although there is more than one way to label writing conferences, their process and purpose is consistently defined. Teacher-student writing conferences have purpose, follow predictable structure, and put students in a position of being partners in collaboration (Anderson, 2000). Several studies purport that writing conferences make students better writers (Bell, 2002; Eickholdt, 2004; Haneda, 2000; Hewett, 2006; Koshik, 2002; Martone, 1992; Steward, 1991; Wong, Butler, Ficzere, & Kuperis,1996), help them learn better and increase their achievement… [PDF]

Panettieri, Joseph C. (2007). Breaking Away. Campus Technology, v20 n8 p37-38, 40, 42-43 Apr. This article discusses open source projects which may free universities from expensive, rigid commercial software. But will the rewards outweigh the potential risks? The Kuali Project involves multiple universities writing and sharing code for their financial and operational systems. Another, the Sakai Project, is a community source platform for academic teaching and course management. Kuali and Sakai are bold initiatives that could free universities from rigid commercial software that's often expensive to acquire and maintain. But the journey to open source freedom also includes numerous risks. While commercial software has a support network including thousands of hardware, software, and integration partners, niche open source projects may involve only a few hundred–or even a few dozen–software developers worldwide. Still, more and more universities are seeing the upside of open source. In fact, many universities are deploying or evaluating open source databases, e-mail systems,… [Direct]

Maultsby-Springer, Barbara Michelle (2009). A Descriptive Analysis of the Impact of Co-Teaching on the Reading/Language Arts and Math Achievement of Selected Middle School Students in a Middle Tennessee School District. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Tennessee State University. This research examined the impact of collaborative teaching (co-teaching) on the Reading/Language Arts and Math achievement of Middle Tennessee students in grades 5-8, as measured by the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement test. Within the context of this study, the co-teaching model of instruction is defined as the special and general educator, referred to as co-teachers, sharing equitably the tasks of the lesson planning, implementation, and assessment. Six schools participated in this study. Three of the schools implemented co-teaching practices at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. The remaining three schools did not implement co-teaching practices at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. The dependent variables were students' Reading/Language Arts and Math TCAP Achievement test scores over a two year period. The independent variables were gender, ethnicity, disability categories, type of classroom (one with co-teaching practices and one… [Direct]

Goodman, Earl O.; Moy, Caryl T. (1983). Observing Change in the Family Therapy Supervisory Relationship. A common assumption in family therapy supervision is that the relationship between supervisor and supervisee changes over time, following a developmental continuum from the tentative competency of the supervisee as a therapist to relative competency. In particular, Ard (1973) theorizes that supervisees and supervisors move steadily together through preceptorship, apprenticeship, mentorship, sponsorship and finally to peership. Everett (1981) presents a different model that likens the process of supervision to that of differentiation, such as the process of moving from childhood to adulthood, with \stormy\ transition periods. To examine whether this process of change occurs as presumed by either model, a coding system of 15 response styles was developed for categorizing both the content and intention of statements made by supervisors and supervisees. Using audio tapes from supervisory sessions, the interactions of three supervisors and five trainees were analyzed over a 1-year…

Rycik, Mary Taylor (2006). 9/11 to the Iraq War: Using Books to Help Children Understand Troubled Times. Childhood Education, v82 n3 p145 Spr. Four years after the 9/11 attack on the United States, the country continues to be in considerable turmoil. Children have lived through the devastation of the September 11th attacks, the panic over the anthrax mailings, the hunt for terrorists in Afghanistan, elevated homeland security threat levels, the war in Iraq, the tsunami disaster, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Not surprisingly, many children feel anxious and afraid, and some have personally experienced the death of a loved one due to these events. In her 1977 book, Bernstein stated that reading books as a form of therapy (bibliotherapy) gives children the opportunity to identify with others undergoing the same problems, helps them realize that they are not alone, provides catharsis, and facilitates the process of sharing their problems with others. In this article, which gives detailed descriptions of books written about the September 11th attacks, the Iraq War, and other disastrous events, the author shows how children's…

Chernus, Nancy; Kekelis, Linda (1984). Talk to Me: A Language Guide for Parents of Blind Children. This brochure published in 1984 for parents of blind infants and young children offers suggestions for building the child's language and social skills through talking to the child and interacting in a variety of ways. The importance of talking to the young infant, even though he/she doesn't respond with eye contact, and of learning to recognize the infant's efforts at communication is stressed. Other suggestions include avoiding the over-stimulation of constant television or radio, describing family activities to the child, helping the child to explore his environment, including the child in family activities, sharing in the child's experience of the world, helping the child become aware of his/her feelings, and asking the child many questions. (DB)… [PDF]

Jochum, Julie (1989). Whole Language–Writing: The Critical Response. MRA (Minnesota Reading Association) Highlights, v11 n2 p5-7 May. Writers of all ages and abilities come to the act of writing with three critical needs: (1) they need a commitment of time; (2) they need ownership over their topics; and, most important, (3) they need a response to their personal revelations. Sharing and responding to student writing can take place in writers' circles and writers' conferences. In a writers circle, students gather in small groups and share their writing processes or products and receive responses from their peers. The most effective writers conferences are brief and focus on what the writers are communicating rather than on the perceptions of the respondent. The writer is the informant as open-ended questions are used to expand or to focus the conference. (RS)…

Pettibone, Timothy J.; Roddy, Mary E. (1987). Using an Inter-University Network for Research. An inter-university network of computer centers, the "Because It's Time NETwork" (BITNET), is described. Specific guidelines and format requirements for using BITNET, with sample commands, are presented. More than 1,800 computers at over 600 institutions of higher education and research centers in Europe, Asia, and North America are linked in this "store-and-forward" network. Users must have access to a main-frame computer located in a BITNET member institution. Users share information via real-time terminal messages and electronic mail. Other applications of BITNET include document transfer, program sharing, data exchange, and access to BITNET data services. Four maps of regional BITNET nodes in the United States and other parts of the world are included. (SLD)… [PDF]

Aghbar, Ali A.; Trump, Kathy (1985). When Theory and Intuition Meet: An Approach to Composition Instruction. Two teachers of English as a second language composition discuss, in dialogue form, their intuitions about writing and some of the theories of language learning and writing advanced in recent years. Among the topics addressed are the following: self-consciousness; the importance of developing self-confidence in writing; finding a balance between the \what\ and the \how\ of composition; learning on the right side of the brain; finding or establishing good, nonjudgmental conditions for writing practice; learning to write through free-writing; good teacher intentions that do harm to student writing; getting over the obstacle of the blank first page; finding the potential for growth in composition; sharing and discovery as objectives of writing; and the role of the subconscious. (MSE)… [PDF]

Heimberger, Mary J. (1978). Continued Focus on Families for Cultural Appreciation, Curriculum Planning, and Tutoring in Reading. There are a number of ways in which parents can serve as role models in helping children to value reading, including parent-child sharing of culture through family rituals, reading aloud to children or having the children read aloud, tutoring at home and in the schools, using home learning kits for skill development and to provide a carry-over of skills learned in school, and serving as paid or volunteer teacher aidesreceiving training and becoming vital participants in reading programs in the schools. Parents are often in a good position to discover children's interests and to perceive their emotional reactions toward the reading situation. They should be encouraged to visit and observe school reading programs and to act as volunteers or as resource persons. (TJ)…

Atwood, Beth S. (1974). Building Independent Learning Skills. This book provides over 100 ideas and activities developed and tested by teachers to help students become independent learners. Specific strategies are suggested that may aid students in defining problems, planning individual studies, finding information, and recording, reporting, and evaluating results. The six chapters are \Independent Learning,\ which distinguishes between independent, individual, and isolated learning; \Communication,\ which lays the groundwork for critical investigation and idea sharing; \Investigation and Organization,\ which details ways to lead children into the use of a variety of exploration tools; \Analysis and Evaluation,\ which suggests activities that help students anticipate problems, search for solutions, and recognize trends and causes;\Transformation,\ which suggests ways to help students develop their own unique learning systems; and \Resources,\ which lists supplementary media for teachers and students. (KS)…

Willman, Frederick (1975). Developing a Sense of Community. A Report on the Master Plan of the Oakland Unified School District. Working Papers. Over a four-year period from 1971 to 1975, the Oakland (California) School District, with the assistance of the Rockefeller Foundation, made a concerted effort to bring parents, students, organized community interest groups, religious and service organizations, and school staff members into a decision-sharing relationship. The Master Plan Citizens Committee was established to investigate a broad set of issues in the areas of curriculum and instruction, finance, multicultural education, management and administration, buildings and maintenance, and community relations. This publication is a social history of Oakland's Master Plan Citizens Committee. It approaches the committee's work from the perspective of the participants and examines what the experience has meant to them and what they feel the Master Plan effort has meant to the Oakland schools. (Author/JG)…

Lavender, Peter (2005). Connecting with New Social Movements. Adults Learning, v16 n7 p18-19 Mar. In this article, the author discusses the emergence of unions and social movements which provide opportunities for adult educators in forwarding their adult literacy campaigns. The author describes the recent World Social Forum (WSF), held at the end of January in Porto Alegre, that provides ample opportunities for adult educators to make connections with new social movements. The forum drew 100,000 people to register in over two thousand seminars, workshops and activities. The author mentions that the WSF is a place to learn. Sharing information and learning about action that changes policy and transforms lives and communities is what the WSF is about. The World Social Forum shows that, despite globalisation and the decline in socialist politics, new and inventive social movements cannot be kept down…. [Direct]

Diamond, Eileen; Fox, Cindy (2004). Just Do It: Supporting a World of Difference. Kairaranga, v5 n2 p25-27. As Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist in Tai Tokerau, we have worked in collaboration with CCS Northland over the last two years to facilitate two day workshops for students attending mainstream schools that have moderate to severe physical disabilities. We chose venues that were community based so that the students could be out of their normal school environments. We used worksheets, discussion, guest speakers, group games and activities, the performing arts and adventure as tools to reach our objectives. The aim is to bring students together for mutual sharing and support to strengthen and empower. Students and their parents acknowledged and appreciated advantages of time together to share experiences, struggles and aspirations. This has led to friendships, networking for all and a request for continued workshops…. [PDF]

Burke, John Francis (2005). Teaching Catholic Social Teaching through Communitarian Sensibilities. Current Issues in Catholic Higher Education, v24 n2 p101-126 Fall. As much as Catholic social teaching is sometimes referred to as "our best kept secret" (Henriot, DeBerri, and Schultheris 1987), in recent years it has been gaining a renewed emphasis in Catholic higher education. This "renaissance" of Catholic social teaching integrates well with the self-evaluation of Catholic higher education over the past decade from at least two distinct directions. First, "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2000) without a doubt has generated a lot of debate over the Catholic identity of Catholic universities. Indeed, a great deal of debate has especially ensued over the provision that theologians need to have a mandate from ecclesial authorities. But rather then getting sidetracked by the politics of this particular debate, for the purposes of this essay, I submit that that the overall discussions incited by "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" and then subsequent Church documents such as "Sharing… [Direct]

Blair, Patricia W. (1974). General Revenue Sharing in American Cities: First Impressions. Too much of the debate over the five-year, 30 billion dollar program of State and Local Assistance has focussed on its presumed or theoretical impact. Too little has dealt with what actually happens when the quarterly Treasury checks arrive at the local level. Local-level studies that are under way concentrate heavily on the fiscal impact of revenue sharing, but at least three other issues are of major concern: the amount and quality of citizen involvement in GRS decision making; the efficacy of mandated protections against discrimination; and, the extent to which GRS is being used to meet the needs of the poor and near poor. In order to clarify such issues the National Revenue Sharing Project has conducted an intensive, 18-month survey of GRS in some 60 localities. The survey was carried out by local members of three organizations. The citizen monitors worked from a very detailed, demanding survey instrument. They collected comprehensive demographic and budget data, looked into… [PDF]

Thornton, Julie A. (1996). The Unified Language Testing Plan: Speaking Proficiency Test. Russian Pilot Validation Studies. Report Number 2. The report describes one segment of the Federal Language Testing Board's Unified Language Testing Plan (ULTP), the validation of the speaking proficiency test in Russian. The ULTP is a project to increase standardization of foreign language proficiency measurement and promote sharing of resources among testing programs in the federal government. In the validation study, about 200 Russian-speaking subjects were tested. Results show increased reliability of the Russian test over the previously validated Spanish and English tests. It is concluded that the new test meets many of the oral proficiency testing needs of participating government agencies. The report details the test's design, chronicles its development, including procedures resulting from development and pilot testing of the Spanish and English versions, describes the validation study's design, and explains and summarizes the results. Appended materials (comprising over half of the document) include the examinee… [PDF]