Discusses student tracking system development in terms of purposes, audience, organizational issues, and data utilization. Considers benefits (e.g., facilitates reporting behavioral outcomes, and illuminates the complementary/conflicting nature of college services) and costs (e.g., direct costs for computer programing, postage, printing, etc., and…

Examines the difficulties of two elementary school teachers as they learn to use cooperative learning in the classroom. They experience ambiguity because their current understanding of practice is not sufficient to help them solve the problems they encounter. Ambiguity is dealt with by modifying their practices or their appreciative systems. (SLD)

Teaching is an applied science derived from research in human learning and behavior. The science of teaching is based on cause-effect relationships existing in three categories of teacher decisionmaking (content, learner behavior, and teaching behaviors). Several "templates" can be used to describe, interpret, and evaluate either…

This symposium report probes the barriers within special education that slow research utilization and examines positive influences on attitudes toward conducting research in practical settings. The first section presents five categories of barriers to technology implementation, outlined by Joel Mittler. Barrier categories include equipment,…

Trends over the past 25 years in research on evaluation of school administrative leadership are analyzed in this summary report. Administrator evaluation became a concern as the principal's influence on the performance and attitudes of faculty and staff was realized. Research on organizational psychology demonstrated the relationship between…

A community impact study for Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) was conducted to generate data for institutional planning, management, and evaluation. Specifically, the study involved learning how well KVCC was achieving its stated goals relative to career advancement, personal development, and recreational enjoyment; determining general…

This pamphlet includes several program transcripts on educational research from the National Public Radio series, Options in Education. Dr. Harold Hodgkinson, former Director of the National Institute of Education, and Noel Epstein, Education Editor of the Washington Post, discuss "The Quality of Media Reporting on Education" and whether…

This paper describes a method of research to examine the process of effecting educational change through adopting innovative ideas. Twenty-nine elementary teachers in the process of adopting a complex curricular innovation were studied. Because of the complex nature of this process, ordering theory was used as the method for analyzing the adoption…

Encourages music teachers to discover ways to apply research findings in their classrooms. Considers how teachers' attitudes, approaches, and applications affect research utilization. Provides a sample music listening lesson on themes and variations by applying research findings extracted from "What Works: Instructional Strategies for Music…

The experience of one group engaged in classroom research is recounted, focusing on the variety of uses to which the results were put. The report begins with an overview of classroom research principles, then describes the project in question. The researchers were seven teachers of English as a Second Language at the University of Hong Kong who…

Developed to assist individuals and institutions in the evaluation of staff development programs, this guide reviews strategies to determine desired program outcomes, to include evaluation in ongoing planning, and to implement evaluation results. Following an introductory review of societal and educational trends affecting community colleges, the…

A study was conducted to determine the perspectives of two-year college faculty and students regarding the teaching and learning of literacy. Specifically, the study examined participants' definitions, personal values, and experiences related to literacy instruction/acquisition. Data were gathered from interviews with 12 faculty members and 12…

The knowledge and abilities are available today to ensure that teacher preparation programs graduate only potentially superior teachers. Process-product research of the past decade has confirmed many aspects of what superior teachers in prior times knew only intuitively. To aid in the organization of this research the acronym TEMPO can be used. T…

Staff members of a state literary resource center surveyed their practitioner clients to determine how they viewed research and the kinds of uses they made of it. Mail surveys were sent to all of the 404 adult education and English as a second language program directors in the state, and followup telephone interviews were conducted with 16 of the…

Elementary teachers' attitudes towards science and their confidence to teach it have for some time been identified as important in determining both the quality and quantity of science taught to children. Attitudes and confidence are influenced greatly by the teachers' own experiences as learners of science and as teachers of science. This paper…