The Reading Test for New York State Elementary Schools is designed to determine the most difficult prose text a student can read with comprehension. Test uses described include evaluating the student's current level of achievement; determining reading difficulty levels for instruction; measuring growth of comprehension; determining statewide…

An information processing approach was applied to the development and validation of a test battery intended for personnel selection, classification, and guidance; and design of training programs. The approach specifies that test should measure specific cognitive processes and basic abilities, rather than prior experience. Tests should be short,…

This two-part learning module is designed to assist instructors in writing behavioral course objectives that will provide their students with precise statements of what is expected of them in terms of high-level cognitive learning, that is, learning that involves analysis or judgement. Part I of the module defines behavioral objectives as those…

This book is a manual for the administration and interpretation of the Learning Styles Inventory, Version III (LSI-III). Part 1 is reproducible (so each teacher who administers the LSI can have a copy) and answers the following concerns: what the LSI-III is and what it measures; administering and scoring the LSI-III; interpreting students' scores…

This newsletter issue focuses on how consumers with disabilities find and access information. The importance of dissemination of research findings to consumers is stressed in a statement by John D. Westbrook, Director of the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR). The first article suggests that often research results…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project that addressed three challenges to improving outcomes for young children with disabilities: (1) a current and thorough synthesis of the knowledge base, (2) the effective translation and dissemination of this information for families, practitioners, and administrators, and (3) an…

This book explores the development of critical cultural awareness through the process of teaching and learning about foreign cultures. It draws upon theoretical foundations relating to inter- and intra-cultural communication from contemporary philosophical movements, namely critical theory and postmodernism. The study adopts critical pedagogy as…

This study first examined the motivation construct with personal goals, agency beliefs, and emotions in a World Wide Web assisted learning environment. It also investigated the influence of personal goals, agency beliefs, and emotions on the students' learning achievement from fundamental biology courses assisted with Web pages. Finally, it…

This paper provides an overview of the different patterns of behavior problems that teachers are likely to encounter in the classroom. Different systems for categorizing learning and behavioral problems are considered. Suggestions for informal observation of classroom behavior are included. (Author/BE)

A model for assessing communicative ability is presented that is prompted by the fact that most error analysts in the past concentrated on morphemic and syntactic levels. It is suggested that emphasis must shift from acquisition of linguistic competence per se to communicative competence. (23 references) (LB)

Research findings demonstrate that PDSs effectively prepare general education teachers and lead to increased student academic outcomes. Previous studies within the extant literature have investigated the application of the PDS model with traditional credential candidates. Acute teacher shortages and the implementation of alternative credential…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined case-study teaching methods, specifically, the use of case stories in the training of educational administrators. A case story blends aspects of the case-study methods with storytelling. The case-story approach asks students to develop case stories, using their personal experience to create…

This practicum report describes a community college program developed for the purpose of increasing the awareness of early childhood personnel in a central Ontario (Canada) community concerning the benefits of developmentally appropriate practices. The need for the program arose from a discrepancy between the emphasis in community college courses…

This collection of research papers considers extensions of the Rasch model. In Chapter 1, K. C. Cheung explains how measurement and testing in the classroom can be made more meaningful, particularly through the use of Rasch family item response models. In Chapter 2, K. W. Koon and K. C. Cheung apply the Rasch model in constructing a part-whole…

The purpose of this booklet is to provide social studies teachers with student writing samples that exemplify the criteria used to score students' responses on the June 1987 Alberta (Canada) Social Studies 30 Diploma Examination. Students choose one of two possible essay questions that required writing a defense of individual initiative in…