This dissertation chronicles my search to engage high school English students in inquiry as part of a formal research process. The perspective of critical literacy theory is used to describe the four phases of the problem posing process in shaping student research and action. Grounded in Freire's approach and consistent with Dewey and others who…

Describes two methods of invigorating student research in social studies. Showcase events are culminating activities or simulations which demonstrate student learning in an active, imaginative, and involving way. Snapshots are dramatic interpretations of specific moments in time. Examples of both methods are provided along with suggestions for…

Discusses a study that examined what tenth-grade students enrolled in three academic tracks of language arts know about using the Web and how they search the Web for information. The major research hypotheses addressed in this study focused on two dependent variable sets, general knowledge (GK) and search knowledge (SK), and their relationship to…

Analyzes above and below average readers' informational reports, which synthesize both source texts and writer-generated materials. Concludes that general reading ability and success at synthesizing overlap, and that success at synthesis may be related to cognitive factors associated with comprehension, such as sensitivity to text structure. (RS)

A public forum on community water quality was conducted by tenth grade students participating in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparatory Program (BioPrep). BioPrep was designed to provide rural high school students with an intensified education concentrating on mathematics, science, communication, rural life, health, and…

A four-week summer project for 100 rural tenth graders in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparation Program (BioPrep) enabled students to acquire and apply social sciences research skills. The students investigated drinking water quality in three rural Alabama counties by interviewing local officials, health workers, and…

Discussion of the use of multimedia programs in writing labs or classrooms focuses on the use of "HyperStudio" in high school sophomore advanced English classes for students' research projects. Highlights include computer writing lab activities; teaching strategies, including small group demonstrations, printed instructions, and…