The goals of this study were to: 1) design a web-based course using WebCT for future secondary school teachers at the University of Texas Pan American, 2) evaluate the effectiveness of the course, and 3) provide a set of guidelines for designing web-based courses for other teacher educators. The participants in this study consisted of junior- and…

Anyone who can access the Internet can be part of the knowledge-access, knowledge-building, information-exchanging culture, regardless of location. The research presented in this article is about blogs and their use in a new teacher professional development project. Weblogs were first named and described in 1997 by Jorn Barger (Blood, 2000) and…

This study answers a need for outcome assessment in study abroad by exploring the intercultural communication skills of study abroad and on campus students. Through a pretest and posttest of two specific skills, intercultural adaptability and intercultural sensitivity, study abroad students were compared to students who stay on campus to measure…

Since 1994, urban-absentee landowners have dominated rural landownership in Texas. This landownership change has created potential environmental problems associated with natural resource management. Few of the new landowners have any formal training in the basics of the soil-plant-animal interface. The solution may be to develop a vehicle that…

Grant writing experience can be a valuable asset for students completing masters-level degree programs across a variety of disciplines. A service learning grant writing project was incorporated in a multidisciplinary program evaluation course as part of a writing requirement. Twelve students served as "ghost writers" and wrote grant…

A study was made of the effect of career infusion on proficiency test scores in eight areas for seniors in a high school English class in Texas. The experimental group had not passed the proficiency tests and were considered at risk for dropping out of school. Two control groups were used: other at-risk senior English students and an 11th-grade…

In an effort to fill a need for validated instructional materials in secondary vocational health occupations education, an experimental instructional module was developed based on behavioral objectives identified by teacher coordinators in Texas Health Occupations Cooperative Training (HOCT) programs. The module was then pilot tested with students…

This study was designed to measure instructional design competencies as a result of participation in a 9-month Web-based training program called "Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design." The researchers used a self-assessment pre- and posttest to determine participant initial and final competence in 12 areas: adult…

Formative and summative evaluations were used to evaluate students' perceptions of online courses. Inquiry focused on three primary areas including a) interaction with course content and instructors, b) accessibility of resources in an on-line environment, and c) perceptions of online course engagement. Findings indicated that students both…

In addition to acquiring an appropriate undergraduate degree and passing a subject area ExCET exam, preservice teachers in Texas are required to pass the Professional Development Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET PD) to become certified teachers. This study was designed to examine the effects of a 5-week WebCT online…

This article describes 1) the special features and accessibility of an innovative web-based practice instrument (WebMA) designed with randomized short-answer, matching and multiple choice items incorporated with automatically adapted feedback for middle school students; and 2) an exploratory study that compares the effects and contributions of…

As special education teachers have increasing numbers of students requiring health care procedures in their classrooms, school nurses need to help these teachers maintain a safe, healthy environment for their students. Part of this consists of having teachers know the steps to take should certain problems arise. This article examines the…

Noting that early childhood education is one tool for violence prevention, this study examined the effectiveness of a preschool violence prevention program in influencing the knowledge and attitudes of Head Start teachers in a rural, heavily Hispanic, southern Texas community. Head Start teachers were nonrandomly assigned to a control group, a…

This booklet is designed to introduce secondary educators to a three-part training session that was developed to make Texas teachers more aware of the subtle gender-biased behaviors that can emerge during interactions between teachers and students in three typical settings: a teacher advising a student for upcoming registration, a rehearsal for a…

Results are summarized for the Austin, Texas, Independent School District (AISD) achievement testing program during the 1984-85 year. The data are presented to compare AISD results to national and urban averages. The performance of AISD students on other tests is presented, as well as two-year and six-year trends. Both percentile and grade…