(1981). The Functions of Reading in Four Elementary Classrooms and Their Effects on Children's Reading Interests. A longitudinal study examined the classroom environments in which 30 children learned to read. Over the first four years of the study, data were collected on how the children's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers taught reading and other subjects, the kinds and numbers of books that the children had available to read, the functions of reading in the classrooms, and the connections made between assigned reading and literature. During the study, the children kept records of what they read and answered questions about how they heard about these books and what they thought of each book. The results showed that teachers were most successful in fostering reading interests when they gave children time to read, used literature to teach reading, or read aloud regularly to their classes. The positive effect of sharing books in class was evident in the children's reports of how they got information about books and in the examination of reading by one child, whose preference for…
(1978). The Magic Ingredient in the Teaching of Written Composition: Prelude, Theme, and Variations. Perhaps because writing is a comparatively recent development in human history, it is more difficult to teach than any other aspect of communication. It is essential in teaching writing to enlist the interest and the pleasure of the pupil. Some ways to do this include: preceding the writing process with speaking and listening, providing for individual differences in interest and ability, providing as many enriching experiences as possible in and out of the classroom, discussing anything in the news that will interest the class, giving sufficient time for gestation of an idea, and allowing opportunities for sharing written work. Some principles of evaluation include doing it on a one-to-one basis, giving positive encouragement, looking for only a few errors at a time, having students judge each other's work, emphasizing content over mechanics, inspiring students' pride in their work, and rewarding excellence in writing as excellence is rewarded in other fields. The surroundings for…
(1968). Mothers' Training Program: Educational Intervention by the Mothers of Disadvantaged Infants. Twenty mothers of culturally disadvantaged children took part in a program of self-help which was both child- and mother-centered. Two groups of ten mothers each met weekly with two staff members over an 8-month period and were trained to tutor their infants (1 to 2-years-old) in their homes. Fifteen of the initial 20 mothers remained in the program a second year. The program included: (1) training mothers to use educational toys and materials to stimulate their children's learning in sensory-motor, concept, and language development; (2) discussion of child-rearing problems; (3) fostering attitude change through sharing ideas; and (4) helping the mothers to develop self-confidence and responsibility. Regular home visits were made by staff members to observe mothers working with their babies and to make helpful suggestions. The implementation section of this report describes recruitment of mothers and selection of educational materials. Also given is an account of the weekly meetings… [PDF]
(1970). Do Teacher Aides Aid American Education?. A far-reaching 1968 study on teacher aides revealed that very little was known about the aid that aides supposedly provide. It was found that there is some direct relationship between the use of aides and action programs to improve instruction. Some general points crop up regularly: 1) Teachers who have aides usually will not do without them. 2) Teachers who are contemplating having aides often are very apprehensive about sharing the classroom with another adult. 3) Training programs need to be developed at which both the teacher and aide learn to work together. 4) Teacher aides are performing three categories of services: supervisory, clerical, and instructional. 5) Teacher aides generally express satisfaction with their jobs, but complaints relate to the teacher's over-expectations or under-expectations of them. The roles must be defined. The rest of us might just play our roles by supporting the several differentiated staffing studies now under way and withholding judgment until… [PDF]
(1975). The State of the Art of Counseling High School Girls. Final Report. Fels Discussion Paper No. 89. A year spent in fulltime study of over 3,000 young women and counselors of both sexes in 13 schools shows that both groups have largely discarded the traditional stereotype of womanhood. Attitudes were measured on a continuum from dichotomous (gender-based) to androgynous (no sex referent). Counselors were significantly more androgynous than the girls they counsel. Self-report statements indicate that counselors are relatively more free of sex bias than their counselees. This tells more about what they say than about what they do. Girls miss the more subtle basic implications of feminism. Many think that women should work only if it doesn't interfere with domestic duties. They seem unaware that couples are increasingly sharing both domestic responsibilities and outside work. A strong positive relationship emerged between high I.Q. scores and androgynous attitudes. Although less strong, a significant relationship was found between attitudes toward sex roles and ethnicity. Anglos held… [PDF]
(2001). Capacity and Charter Project Consultation. The 25 colleges of Ontario's Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology have strategic directions built upon new programs services, accessible diverse learning options, state-of-the-art learning technology, innovative alliances with business and education, and inter-institutional resource sharing. Yet the implementation of these strategic directions must vary according to the students, regional communities, and markets being served. The colleges, which were founded in 1965, have always been connected directly to the world of work, but that world has changed dramatically in the intervening years. Only 44% of the colleges' students came directly from high school, and their average age is 26. Per student grants have decreased from over $5,000 per student to under $3,000, while tuition has increased 109%. As a result, there is a call for a new charter for the 21st century. The paper estimates that there will be a 21% enrollment increase (30,000 students). It asks: What will be the role of… [PDF]
(2010). Blueprint for Change in Ohio: State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2010. National Council on Teacher Quality The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook" goals and recommendations. State teacher policy addresses a great many areas, including teacher preparation, certification, evaluation and compensation. With so many moving parts, it may be difficult for states to find a starting point on the road to reform. To this end, this paper provides a state-specific roadmap, organized in three main sections. Section 1 identifies policy concerns that need critical attention, the areas of highest priority for state policymakers. Section 2 outlines "low-hanging fruit," policy changes that can be implemented in relatively short order. Section 3 offers a short discussion of some longer-term… [PDF]
(2007). The Challenge of Improving Children's Writing Ability: A Randomized Evaluation of "Writing Wings". Grantee Submission Background: This study evaluated the impact on student's writing ability of a structured writing program, called "Writing Wings," for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders developed by the Success For All Foundation (SFAF). Writing is a critical skill for success in school. Purpose: The study was intended to answer one confirmatory question, "What is the impact of 'Writing Wings' on the writing ability of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade elementary students?"; and two exploratory questions–"What is the impact of 'Writing Wings' on the writing attitudes and practices of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade elementary students?" and "Do the impacts vary by the characteristics of the students and their teachers?" Setting: A total of 39 schools, from 21 states, participated in the study over two years (2005-06 and 2006-07). Study Sample: A total of 39 schools, 150 teachers and 3,000 students. Teachers were randomized to a treatment or control group. Intervention: "Writing… [PDF] [Direct]
(1996). Serving Underserved Areas through Off-Campus Coursework and Telecommunications. Joint Report to the Illinois Board of Education and Illinois Community College Board. To respond to the needs of place-bound adult students, an increasing emphasis has been placed on off-campus credit activities in the state of Illinois. During academic year 1995, 52,609 off-campus courses were offered in the state, with the Illinois Community College System accounting for 78.6% of these offerings and independent colleges accounting for 14%. In Illinois, 10 regional consortia of colleges and universities have been formed to coordinate plans and help serve the educational needs of different geographical areas of the state. The consortia have begun to develop a statewide telecommunications-based instructional delivery system to expand statewide access to underserved areas. A fall 1995 survey of telecommunications activity for the consortia indicated that between fall 1994 and 1995, the number of courses offered over interactive telecommunications had more than doubled among consortia statewide. One of the major obstacles to the use of telecommunications technologies in… [PDF]
(1995). Linking School-Based and Work-Based Learning: The Implications of LaGuardia's Co-op Seminars for School-to-Work Programs. Technical Assistance Report. Co-op seminars are a key component of the cooperative education (CE) program at LaGuardia Community College in New York City. All LaGuardia students must enroll in CE and attend a series of co-op seminars that raise general issues about work, occupations in general, and the competencies required on the job. The seminars serve as a form of career exploration and a mechanism of connecting school- and work-based learning. Three levels of generic and major-specific seminars are offered. Like LaGuardia's CE program, the seminars attempt to promote an approach to teaching called TAR (Teach-Apply-Reinforce) and include classroom exercises and fieldwork assignments. Over the past decade, the co-op seminar program has undergone numerous changes, including a movement toward more generic seminars, greater flexibility, and use of union-sponsored and union-supported tutoring in basic skills. The co-op seminars incorporate a range of classroom techniques, including traditional lecture, class… [PDF]
(1996). Maritime English for Communication and Cooperation. Because most maritime accidents are caused by human error, notably breakdowns in communication or cooperation, and because English is the international maritime language, instruction in maritime English for communication and cooperation is an important element in maritime education. The International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, has established the World Maritime University (WMU) in Sweden to train specialist maritime personnel from developing countries. The university is a small, postgraduate institution providing instruction in shipping and related fields, including improvement of maritime safety. Students come with established careers or executive positions with shipping companies and port authorities, and from diverse cultures and educational and work experiences. WMU offers five courses in varied maritime fields, leading to a master of science degree. It is an English-medium university, and offers an intensive English language program. A… [PDF]
(1995). Trends, Issues, and Implications: The Influence of Child Care Needs on the Employment of Women. This report focuses on current trends of women in the workforce, issues they face with child care, and how the implications of those trends and issues have influenced corporate and governmental response. In 1990, 47% of the working mother population relied on spouses or relatives to provide care for their young children. Between 2 and 5 million children ages 6 to 13 are on their own between the time school lets out and when their parents return from work. Licensed day care centers account for the care of approximately 10% of the 8.5 million children under six years of age. For families earning $15,000 or less annually with a child under 5 years of age, childcare expenses consume 23% of all household expenditures. For families earning over $50,000 the percentage falls to 6%. Even in states where overall supply of child care is high, access is sharply lower in poorer areas and rural communities. The high cost of child care restricts women's employment prospects, both in terms of… [PDF]
(1994). Research on Current ABLE Services and Recommendations for Achieving Pennsylvania 2000 Goal 6. Final Report. A project developed a comprehensive database of Pennsylvania state adult literacy service providers that could be used to provide information on service provision to public and private organizations and individuals. The project team distributed a mailed survey to 2,911 known and potential adult literacy service-providing organizations throughout the state, including Pennsylvania Department of Education-funded programs, literacy councils, libraries, and businesses with over 500 employees. The survey questioned organizations on six areas: services, staffing, sites, outreach, technology, and funding. Findings indicated that 324 of 948 responding organizations provided services. The largest categories of service providers were community-based organizations, school districts, and literacy councils. The types of services most likely to be provided were adult basic education, general educational development or alternative secondary education, and basic literacy services. Responding… [PDF]
(1993). Talking with Young Children about Adoption. Even though current wisdom holds that adoptive parents should talk with their child about adoption as early as possible, no guidelines exist to prepare parents for the various ways their children might respond when these conversations take place. This book discusses how young children make sense of the fact that they are adopted, how their awareness might appear in their play, and what worries they and their parents may have. The introduction looks at changes in adoption practice. Chapter 1 explores the meaning of adoption from the perspective of the parent. Chapter 2 reviews some of the research on adoption outcome, research that is often outdated and disheartening, reflecting not scientific truth but cultural bias and apprehension about adoption. Chapter 3 examines adoption from the child's perspective and explores the ways in which young adoptive children understand and communicate about adoption. Chapter 4 contains accounts by 20 adoptive parents of conversations about adoption…
(1999). Cataloguing the Internet. Associates: the Electronic Library Support Journal, v5 n3 Mar. This paper discusses problems and opportunities, presented by the information explosion and the growth of the Internet, for libraries to apply and augment traditional methods of cataloging. The first section provides an overview of how the process of cataloging evolved, including the development of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR), Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal classification systems, MARC format, OCLC, and Library of Congress Subject Headings. Issues or difficulties in applying classification systems to the information available on the Internet are explained in the second section, including lack of controlled vocabulary, lack of stability due to frequency of change to the data, and lack of quality standards. The third section shows the possibilities and plans for libraries to use cataloging for improving research on the Internet. Three current projects are described: (1) the Dublin Core, a set of metadata elements for cataloging electronic material; (2) the OCLC… [PDF]