Susquehanna University (Pennsylvania) has worked to reorganize its teacher education program to raise the level of understanding of issues associated with diversity and inclusion through outcome-based education. The curriculum has been restructured according to an outcome-based model; a team model has been instituted for placement of student…

This paper describes a field-based effort in which practicing teachers collaborated with a university researcher to develop, inaugurate, and maintain a family literacy program. In this context, family literacy is an intergenerational program serving all members of the family, meeting the needs of adult family members as individuals, not just as…

This paper reports on research in the analysis of high school and middle school students' appropriation of the Research Article genre in science classes. The appropriation of this rhetorical form is proposed as a measure of students' understanding of adult argumentative practice in science and the effectiveness of a learning environment in…

The objectives of an innovative teaching model implemented in a course at Northwest Missouri State University Department of Science/Information System are to: (1) use the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept in course design and implementation in the MIS (management information systems) curriculum; (2) develop attitudes and behaviors associated…

This paper defines benchmarking and its relationship to quality management, describes a project which applied the technique in a library context, and explores the relationship between performance measurement and benchmarking. Numerous benchmarking methods contain similar elements: deciding what to benchmark; identifying partners; gathering…

The study reported in this paper represents the first stage of a five-year project aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning in undergraduate mathematics courses for science and engineering students. Students were surveyed about their confidence in their mathematics background, their confidence with current mathematics topics, and…

As social problems continue to threaten the fabric of American society, the community has emerged as the single entity capable of meeting these challenges. It is increasingly important, then, that community colleges position themselves for the role of rebuilding communities. The loss of traditional support systems, changes in family structure,…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics encourages the use of calculators in the classroom as a teaching and learning tool, as well as a computational tool. This paper evaluates the impact on teachers' approaches to teaching mathematics and students' attitudes toward mathematics as the result of participation in an in-service program…

The Accelerated Schools Project has the overall purpose of creating the best schools for all children so that every child has the opportunity to become a creative, critical, and productive member of society. The project represents a philosophy and a process for transforming conventional schools into accelerated ones where powerful learning…

This paper describes a cybercourse model that was designed and created by infusing the following four beneficial telecomputing activities into a World Wide Web-based learning system: collaborative learning; demonstration; interactive discussion; and problem solving. Differences between the regular Web-based distance learning system and the…

The Dade County (Florida) Public School System is replacing its Teacher Assessment and Development System (TADS), initiated in 1982, with systems that draw on recent research, link teaching skills to school improvement, and recognize and reward advanced pedagogy. The comprehensive approach will integrate subordinate and peer assessment through a…

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act, enacted by the Minnesota State Legislature in 1985, allows 11th- and 12th-grade high school students to take courses, for credit, in colleges, junior colleges, and vocational-technical institutes despite opposition from high school authorities. Students may use credits from these courses to count toward…

One of the seven correlates of an effective school, as identified by the Effective Schools Research, is a positive school climate: a positive attitude on the part of the entire staff and student body exhibited through overt behavior that creates a warm, orderly learning environment. Development of such an environment depends upon: (1) strong…

Two addresses presented at a conference of top administrators of traditionally black colleges are presented. In "The Clarion Call: Imperatives for the Pursuit of Excellence," Robert J. Albright discusses urgent issues in the survival and strengthening of historically black institutions. The paper begins by examining the significance of…

Humanities courses have often been given little attention in continuing education for adults, possibly because they have been viewed as not "practical" or not "job-oriented" enough in our career-oriented, technologically advanced society. However, the humanities should be an integral part of our culture and of the lives of…