Many students probably know something about space from playing computer games or watching movies and TV shows. Teachers can expose them to the real thing by launching their experiments into near space on a weather balloon. This article describes how to use high-altitude ballooning (HAB) as a culminating project to a chemistry unit on experimental…

This paper analyzes student evaluations of library orientation and information literacy instruction over a ten-year period, 2002 to 2011. The survey respondents were five hundred students who were taking or had just completed their first course in LEEP, the distance education option of the M.S. program at the University of Illinois. This case…

An experimental design was utilized to examine the effects of elaborative talk during and/or after an event on children's event memory reports. Sixty preschoolers were assigned randomly to one of four conditions that varied according to a researcher's use of high- or low- elaborative during- and/or post-event talk about a camping event. In a…

By means of a qualitative research method known as folknography, a concerted effort was made to discern perceptions of math and math education in the rural Midwest. A community that will be referred to as Midville, located in the state of Illinois, was chosen as the target population for this study. The community and surrounding region stands over…

This article provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing studies that randomize groups to measure the impacts of educational interventions. The article (a) provides new empirical information about the values of parameters that influence the precision of impact estimates (intraclass correlations and R[superscript 2] values) and…

Communities That Care (CTC) is a prevention system designed to reduce adolescent substance use and delinquency through the selection of effective preventive interventions tailored to a community's specific profile of risk and protection. A community-randomized trial of CTC, the Community Youth Development Study, is currently being conducted in 24…

This article discusses the practical application of mixed quantitative and qualitative designs. Mixed methods designs can be especially powerful in illuminating policy solutions and directions for social action, thus supporting the social justice goals of social work and other helping professions. However, the decision to combine methods must be…

This article describes a research study in which a biologist and his research on Antarctic seabirds became part of an integrated science course for prospective elementary teachers. Students used the scientist's database on seabird chick growth rates for an experimental design investigation while the "regular" classes had a single science…

Background/Context: In the United States, the percentage of schoolchildren planning to become high-status professionals is grossly disproportionate to the percentage of such jobs comprising our division of labor. As in a game of musical chairs, it is not structurally possible for everyone to remain a contender. Focus of Study: Various adults who…

In the studies described, focus groups were conducted with recreation administrators, special-interest groups, and the general public to determine needs and opinions about recreation and leisure activities. The ways in which the groups elicited information about the needs, language, and history of the community are discussed. (SLD)

This paper provides an analysis of "Corrective Reading" research. A research review of 28 published studies was completed. Twenty-three studies examined the effectiveness of "Corrective Reading" as delivered by teachers in general education (n = 4), special education (n = 12), and alternative education (n = 7) settings. Five…