Prior research has established that teachers' use of curriculum materials is affected by a range of factors, such as teachers' conceptions of mathematics teaching, and the nature and extent of their teaching experience. What is less clear, and far less examined, in prior research is the role that the teacher guide (TG) may play in mediating the…

This newsletter presents some insight into the program, the Human Sciences, prepared for sixth-grade students with emphasis on the module, Behavior. This module focuses on aspects of the study of interaction between organisms and their environment. Other modules included in the program are: (1) Survival, (2) Sense or Nonsense, (3) The Learning…

This investigation focused on the vocabulary beliefs and instructional practices of social studies teachers in intermediate and middle school grades as well as their use of teachers' manuals. Using a self-reporting survey to measure these beliefs and practices, we found some discrepancy between what teachers believe about vocabulary learning and…

Presents the theoretical framework for examining texts in educational contexts. An actual reading lesson is analyzed in terms of the text structure and content, the nature of student-teacher interaction with the text, and post-reading discussion of the text. Tables outline the text structure and contrast teacher manual recommendations to actual…