Improving student learning is the primary goal of every teacher of algebra. Teachers seek strategies to help all students learn important algebra content and develop mathematical practices. The new Institute of Education Sciences[IES] practice guide, "Teaching Strategies for Improving Algebra Knowledge in Middle and High School Students"…

Music teachers must learn to read and analyze research studies and apply the research findings to their teaching. The author's experience in conducting workshops to help teachers analyze research reports shows that teachers are capable of making transfers and generalizing from research results to their own situation. (RM)

Developments in humanities scholarship are moving in surprisingly congruent directions. Far from competing with proper attention to pedagogy, they provide solid bases for curricular coherence and teaching effectiveness. New integrative themes crossing disciplinary lines in humanities, focusing here on history, can help fulfill several humanities…

Reviews the principles of the behavioral model of learning and discusses the need to incorporate these principles in the development of educational software programs. Criteria for evaluating software programs based on their inclusion of behavioral principles are provided, and the evaluations of six available programs based on these criteria are…

Critical thinking is much talked about and much desired in higher education but little understood. Research into critical thinking might benefit from a close examination of the nature of Socratic inquiry as it can be applied in teaching, faculty interaction with colleagues, and faculty research. (Author/MSE)

By not specifying what they will attend to, and by virtue of the relatively extended amount of time they devote to exploring their phenomena, qualitative inquirers have practically no limit to what they can uncover. This is illustrated through data on the role of ethnicity in an ethnically diverse high school. (Author/BJV)

Underscores the importance of scholarship to the community college president's professional development, presenting scholarship as a way of keeping in touch with core values, setting an institutional climate, gaining credibility, renewing and revitalizing oneself, and enhancing leadership effectiveness. Identifies barriers to presidential…

Presents a list of recommended practices for designing computer-based instruction courseware based on principles derived from learning research. Research-based principles and the corresponding design practices are outlined for the areas of stimulus design, learner responses, feedback, and lesson control. (6 references) (CLB)

The authors in this volume propose expanding the topic of motivation in the preservice teacher education program by including contemporary research. Margaret W. Cohen reviews a body of research and theory concerned with the effects of extrinsic reinforcers on intrinsic motivation. She notes that contemporary research in the area of intrinsic…

Described is a model for teaching elementary school science based on the generative view of learning: that meaning is created by the learner through mental processing that involves relating new input to existing ways of viewing the world. How curriculum researchers can help teachers implement this model is also discussed. (RM)

Two types of research, general theoretical and specific practical, are involved in the evaluation and improvement of university teaching. Not all faculty members can or will carry out general theoretical research, although they can benefit from its findings. However, all can and should carry out specific practical research on their own teaching.…

Translation of educational research into practical strategies that have impact on teacher education students is a problem in the teaching profession. This article offers suggestions for teacher educators to consider when planning for preservice teacher education programs. (DF)

Presents 17 research paradigms students might employ for doctoral dissertations on instructional design, makes suggestions for students evaluating the literature and developing a conceptual framework for research, and summarizes dissertations developed by University of Florida doctoral students, classifying them into three research paradigms which…

Summarizes the interview and observation of mathematics teachers on their classroom teaching of problem solving. Discusses the related issues that teachers should consider as they plan and teach problem solving lessons. (YP)

This yearbook contains papers, written by prominent educators, on the use of research in teaching. Also examined are the questions of how the education profession obtains its knowledge, how that knowledge is translated into practice, and how that practice becomes artistic. Chapters are written on: (1) use of research by various professions; (2)…