(2003). Aging in Place: Knowing where You Are. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, v57 n1 p77-90. Research on aging in place appropriately emphasizes the value of familiar surroundings. The current study contributes an exploration of elders' personal knowledge of where and with whom they are aging in place, knowledge actively accumulated from a lifetime spent in the same area. Structured conversations over a four-month period with 10 elders living on a peninsula in northern Maine provide richly detailed narratives of physical and social particulars of where they live. I use Rowles' (1978) image of concentric circles radiating out from home to organize the information gathered regarding each elder's dwelling, neighborhood and community. Most notable is the depth and detail of their personal knowledge of where they are and with whom they are growing old. I conclude that both the knowledge itself, and the sharing of that knowledge with others, contribute to the implicit and explicit support deemed so valuable for elders who age in place…. [Direct]
(1999). Halving It All: How Equally Shared Parenting Works. Noting that details of everyday life contribute to parental equality or inequality, this qualitative study focused on how couples transformed parental roles to create truly equal families. Participating in the study were 88 couples in 4 categories, based on division of parental responsibilities: equal sharers, 60-40 couples, 75-25 couples, and alternating-shift couples. Equality was defined as a 50-50 split in child care over a typical week. Data were collected through telephone interviews and follow-up face-to-face interviews. The study found that couples' employment decisions set them on trajectories toward or away from equality, with unequal parenting often developing over time through numerous husband-wife interactions. Parents' emotional responses, role identities, distrust of daycare, and cultural ideals jeopardized translating egalitarian ideologies into equal parenting. Equal couples varied in how they defined and divided family work, how they explained it, and how they…
(1988). Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for the Intermediate Grades: Report of a Long-Term Inservice Project. From March, 1987, through June, 1988, an inservice program took place to help teachers in grades 3 through 6 improve their skills in teaching mathematics and science. The teachers, from central and southern Indiana, met for a week in June, 1987 and for 3 days in June, 1988. From October, 1987, to May, 1988, workshop staff visited classrooms of the participants to help them apply workshop ideas to their specific teaching situations. A second group of teachers was added for the June, 1988, workshops. Much of the time in the June, 1988, workshops was devoted to sharing of teaching experiences among both groups of teachers. Evaluation data from the project indicate that working with teachers over an extended period of time is an excellent inservice format. Participants spoke of the camaraderie they developed over that period and of their opportunities to try out new ideas when workshop staff were available to help with any problems. Participants who attended only the June, 1988, session… [PDF]
(1976). Annual Evaluation Report for the Arizona Migrant Education Program, 1975-1976. During the 1975-76 school year, there were almost 8,000 migrant students enrolled in the regular school program and 1,300 in the summer program. Students received both academic and health services. Over 460 full-time equivalent staff persons were directly involved in project activities. All projects attempted to actively involve parents in their child's educational process, and had an ongoing plan for the dissemination of project information to enable the sharing of insights and knowledge. The program was a part of the educational process for over 400 students who graduated from school. Standardized tests which were used for both diagnostic and evaluative purposes indicated that one-third of 21 projects achieved at least a one-year average gain in reading ability and that high school level students as a whole performed significantly better. This report presents a description of the State's exemplary migrant education projects and gives information on enrollment, program content,…
(1999). \I Get Proud When I Read\: First Graders Talk about Reading. This interpretive research explores five first graders' perceptions of reading and of being readers, asking the questions: What does reading or being a reader mean to a group of children who are at the end of first grade? What do they see as its purpose? and How do they view themselves as readers? The data are presented in the form of narratives describing the children and their views, followed by a discussion of the children's reading identities and purposes for reading as condensed into five categories: practice, people, power, pleasure, and performance. Practice, a main purpose for the children, entailed reading longer words and books, learning more words, and developing decoding skills. Reading as a social process included connections to people, both while being taught to read and when sharing texts with others. Mastery of reading provided varied feelings of power and control either over general textual ideas or over the words themselves. Pleasure and humor were emphasized in… [PDF]
(1998). Participation with the Superintendent in Decision Making: A Decade of Rhetoric or Reform?. For over a decade, numerous educators have espoused the need for increased participation in decision making. Yet, evidence shows that mechanisms intended to broaden access actually result in governance that is little different from traditional, more autocratic management methods. To better understand this phenomenon, an examination of the decentralization of authority and control in the school superintendency of teachers, parents, and students is offered. The paper compares the level of participation provided by school superintendents following a decade of rhetoric about the inclusion and sharing of governance. For the 1996 study, surveys were administered to 120 superintendents randomly selected from three northwestern states. The survey instrument described situations in six general topic categories: business; instruction; personnel relations; student relations; community relations; and noninstructional operations. The findings were compared to a similar survey performed in 1984…. [PDF]
(1984). Initial Report of the Evaluation of the Elementary Writing Program. The Fairfax County, Virginia, Schools' Elementary Writing Program (EWP) was evaluated over a two-year period. The first year focused on describing and analyzing program development and implementation. The second year of the evaluation addressed program effectiveness. Three questions comprised the development and implementation phase of the evaluation: (1) the effects of inservice training workshops on participants' attitudes and behavior; (2) the extent of implementation in the schools; and (3) the roles played by administrative and school district staff in planning, implementation, and support of the program. Writing processes (prewriting, drafting, revising, and sharing) were taught by teams consisting of the principal, reading teacher, a primary level teacher, and an upper level teacher. Evaluation data were collected from questionnaires, interviews, and a case study of one school. Results indicated that EWP implementation was highly satisfactory, although program developers had…
(1998). Redesigning Masters of Education Programs To Meet the Needs of Classroom Teachers: The Place of Action Research. This paper describes how Western Washington University's Woodring College of Education designed an elementary Master in Education program to meet the needs of practicing teachers. Data gathering activities included systemic review of the graduate catalog's programs and enrollment; surveys of administrators and educators who completed Master's degrees; and information-sharing meetings with teachers and administrators from area public schools. A cohort model of up to 25 students to complete the courses and program over 6 consecutive quarters was developed. Classes were held on weekends during the academic year and Full-time during the summer. Candidates learned to implement innovative literacy assessment and evaluation techniques, develop superior literacy-based curricula, design and implement action research literacy projects in their schools, and understand social, psychological, and philosophical theories related to literacy and child development. Faculty communicated about the… [PDF]
(2006). Are We There Yet?: Teachers, Schools and Electronic Networks. Curriculum Journal, v17 n2 p167-186 Jun. The "Learning How to Learn" project of the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme engaged teachers from primary and secondary schools in the UK in development and research of practice related to "assessment for learning" between 2001 and 2005. As part of the project, we were concerned to discover what factors encouraged the development and sharing of practice within and between schools, including the use of electronic networking. A range of data about the use of electronic networks, tools and resources was collected through: a survey of over 250 teachers; an audit of participating schools' IT infrastructures and available resources; semi-structured interviews; and a novel "network mapping" task. We discovered that while use of IT is now a well-established element of classroom practice, teachers made less use of electronic networks to develop their professional practice, even when their schools were part of networks designed to support them in so… [Direct]
(1983). Strengthening the Government-University Partnership in Science. Over the past decade the relationship between the federal government and universities with regard to federally funded scientific research has become increasingly strained. Mounting concern over the deterioration of this relationship and its impact on research led to the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Government-University Relationships in Support of Science. This document is the committee's report. The two chapters in part 1 describe a new and independent body: the Forum on Government-University Relationships. The Forum is concerned with science and technology and is designed to improve communication between the partners and to facilitate resolution of the problems they share and will share in the future. The establishment of the Forum is the primary result of the committee's work. The origin and substance of specific issues in government-university relations are discussed in the five chapters presented in part 2. Issues considered are related to: graduate education in the…
(2001). Comprehensive Program Evaluation Project: Program Development and Implementation. This pilot project was designed as a collaborative effort to serve substance abusing women and their young children. The goals were to improve the health and welfare of these families by early identification of pregnant substance abusers; improve access to and coordination of health care services and chemical dependency treatment; and provide family-focused early intervention services. This report emphasizes the process evaluation and focuses on issues surrounding program implementation during the first service year. Three pilot sites served 194 women and their children. Key findings include: (1) more than half of the women were over age 25 and 73% were Caucasian; (2) over 80% of the women received chemical dependency treatment services; (3) the majority of women reported conventional parenting attitudes; (4) most understood the dangers of drug use; and (5) less than half said they were able to handle their problems. Several factors were identified as critical to the successful… [PDF]
(2004). Taking Stock of Library Resources. Teacher Librarian, v31 n4 p42 Apr. At the end of each school year there are discussions on all the international teacher-librarians' lists about whether there is a need for inventory or, as the Australians call it, "stocktake"; whether it is reasonable for us to request resources be returned before the last day of school; and whether the library should be closed to allow staff to undertake this procedure without interruption. The list in this article, is a guide for those who find themselves having to justify their actions, compiled with the assistance of teacher-librarians all over the world in response to a question posed on their discussion lists. An inventory is a legal requirement that ensures that librarians are accountable for the money spent throughout the year. Including staff salaries, this can amount to over $100,000 per year. It is done at the end of each academic year as part of the collection evaluation process, at a time when there is less demand for resources and most of the collection is…
(2007). Supporting E-Learning in Enterprise: The TE3 Project. Education & Training, v49 n8-9 p656-671. Purpose: The Technology Enhanced Enterprise Education project (TE3) promotes the use of learning technologies to enhance enterprise and entrepreneurship education in the 12 HEI partners of the Mercia Institute of Enterprise (MIE). This paper describes the formal processes and procedures underpinning TE3, describes issues around material development and use, and comments on the lessons learned and added value outcomes experienced by community members. Design/methodology/approach: TE3 works as a community of practice with regular events and online support for the sharing of materials and experience. Materials developed with TE3 funds are made available to all partners to download, adapt, and use for educational or research purposes. Community learning is captured via quarterly progress and end-of-project forms which ask educators to reflect on the lessons they have learned, and to note any added-value benefits that have emerged as a result of material development. Findings: Since its… [Direct]
(2006). Using Tablet Technology and Recording Software to Enhance Pedagogy. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, v2 n6 Aug-Sep. A key benefit of information technology in educational settings is its ability to support engaged, interactive learning experiences consistent with constructivist principles. At the same time, educators are continually searching for low threshold technologies that integrate well in traditional learning environments, that do not require a high degree of technical expertise, and that merge seamlessly with learning management system platforms. In their study, David Radosevich and Patricia Kahn establish how tablet PCs and recording/playback software offer a way to meet such needs while also making a significant difference in learning outcomes. Radosevich and Kahn evaluate this hardware/software combination by comparing student performance over two semesters; during the first semester students in three courses did not receive the technology, and during the second semester students taking the same three courses did receive the technology. Both quantitative and qualitative evidence… [Direct]
(1997). Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools. Second Edition. Offering a comprehensive view of teaching that takes into account the great variety of backgrounds, abilities, and interests of secondary students, this book uses a holistic, integrated approach to teaching the English language arts, including group activities throughout to provide listening and speaking opportunities in literature, composition, and language. The book does not stress one curricular component of English over another but emphasizes the relatedness of literature and reading, composing and writing, speaking and sharing, listening and responding, acting and creating, and constructing language and meaning. Chapters in the book are (1) The English Language Arts; (2) The Students We Teach; (3) Understanding Curriculum and Instruction; (4) Individual Planning; (5) Oral Language: The Neglected Language Arts; (6) Teaching Composition; (7) Teaching Literature; (8) Selecting Literature; (9) Improving Writing Skills: Usage, Syntax, Mechanics; (10) Understanding Grammar; (11)…