A study surveyed 139 individuals to determine if differences in the way they approached the physical attributes of various learning environments could be attributed to either gender or age. Participants were Montana State University graduate students in education; adult basic education students in Bozeman, Montana; adult basic education faculty…

Reporting on the work of a task force formed for the purpose of improving writing skills in the Memphis (Tennessee) City Schools, grades K-12, this paper identifies the efforts of the task force and its recommendations and traces the development and implementation of the Writing Across the Curriculum Project. An introduction notes the importance…

The Number Test of the ACER Mathematics Profile Series, contains 30 items, for each of three suggested grade levels: 7-8, 8-9, and 9-10. Raw scores on all tests in the ACER Mathematics Profile Series (Number, Operations, Space and Measurement) are converted to a common scale called MAPS, a major feature of the Series. Based on the Rasch Model,…

The Rasch Model was used to define the word analysis skill variable and to develop, field test, and calibrate a corresponding test for grades 2-12: the Emory Word Analysis Skill Inventory (EWASI). Word analysis objectives focusing on content and hierarchical levels of difficulty were identified and field tested with 78 students, grades 2-12,…

This final report/doctoral dissertation describes activities and accomplishments of Project LIFT (Looking at Intervention Factors with Teachers), which assessed the relationships among classroom intervention acceptability, integrity, and effectiveness. Two studies were conducted. The first involved observing interventions implemented in 10 Iowa…

Democratic education is a learning approach that encourages and respects the voices of students. Unfortunately, much of the research on student empowerment and democratic education utilizes antiquated techniques that are researcher driven and disempowering to the objects of their study, the children. The current research incorporated a…

An instructor in a junior high school English program which involved teaching approximately 160 eighth graders on a daily basis found it almost impossible to assess students fairly by taking individual differences into account when grading. Her solution was to invite students to participate in the construction, performance, and evaluation of their…

A study examined the correspondence between parent involvement and second graders' reading achievement. It also examined the relationship between students' IQ scores and their reading achievement. Evaluation instruments included the SAT and the O-LSAT. Parents completed a parent involvement questionnaire, and two key informants were interviewed.…

A popular instrument purported to measure psychological dimensions of school climate--the Charles F. Kettering Ltd. School Climate Profile (CFK)--was analyzed psychometrically. Factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity of the CFK scale, Part A, General Climate Factors, which contains 8 subscales each with 5 items (a total of 40…

Public school districts vary widely in the extent to which they are aware of, receive, and use research and development (R&D) resources produced by four major programs within the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). A 95 percent response rate to a survey sent to a probability sample of 1,093…

The nature and extent of variations in student attributions about performance in their courses were studied, and the relationships between the attributions and responses on certain items of a student ratings questionnaire were determined. Causal or predictive relationships among these variables were also investigated. Data were collected using:…

Two school entrance assessments were compared to determine whether or not they are theoretically unique approaches to kindergarten screening. The first test was the "Brigance K and 1 Screen" (Brigance, 1982), a kindergarten entrance assessment which focuses on perceptual-motor development, background experience, and rote memory as…

A class was developed for 10 musically talented students in an elementary school, to enable the students to increase their musical interest and knowledge and to improve their music performance skills. Strategies for providing a more challenging musical environment for these students included: a pull-out class, teaching of music theory and…

The relationships between teachers' attitudes toward responsibility and locus of control and other characteristics such as stress, educational attitudes, and attitudes toward change were studied in 54 (35 female and 19 male) experienced primary and secondary school teachers taking a course on classroom-based research. Attitude toward…

Questionnaire responses suggest although educators know the learning value of problem solving, they rarely use it. Twenty-one educators were introduced to learning through problem solving. They were read a story and asked to overcome an associated problem. The questionnaire assessed children's literacy learning through problem solving, and…