A high school biology teacher studied the use of both competitive and noncompetitive games in classroom learning. Students were surveyed to find out how they felt about the games and what they learned from them. Results indicated that games helped students improve self-esteem, peer relationships, and learning. Competition provided motivation but…

In relation to health promotion and education, the use of post-positivist and constructivist approaches has been gathering strength in recent years. Despite this emerging tradition, little has been done to explore what this sort of approach actually represents, particularly in terms of health promotion in schools, professional organizations and…

Institutions of higher education are looked to by society as the training grounds and gatekeepers for college-trained workers. However, despite a long history of being viewed by many as unresponsive to labor force needs, the academy has not found ways of effectively meeting these demands, nor articulating why it is that they have difficulty doing…

A professional development initiative in writing provided a context in which teachers could be researchers their own knowledge about writing, writing assessment and writing instruction. Through close attention to student writing samples, and debate in ascertaining writing levels using the English Exemplars, teachers articulated growing confidence…

Getting papers published in the (largely English-language) international literature is important for individual researchers, their institutions, and the academic community, and the resulting pressure is being felt increasingly in China as a result of top-down policy initiatives. For many researchers, reaching this goal involves two intersecting…

This report summarizes and compares findings of researchers' and teachers' opinions in six subject areas (literature, social studies, science, mathematics, music, and art) about ideal and actual elementary school curricula. Three researchers and three teachers participated in each subject area. Participants were asked to write detailed responses…

This volume contains five essays on the uses of poetry and one poem by elementary and secondary teachers involved in a project to encourage teachers to develop the habit of scholarship as the basis for their teaching. In the first essay, "Female Poets of the First World War: A Study in Diversity for the Fifth Grade Social Studies…

This paper considers the value of the self-study perspective and discusses quality factors in self-study research by educators. The context of the paper is the experience of the Self Study of Teacher Education Practices (SSTEP) special interest group. Reasons for increasing interest in self-study among teachers and teacher educators include its…

This paper describes the reactions of graduate secondary school student teachers to an experiment which required them to evaluate specified techniques and theories of teaching and learning as part of their classroom practice. The aim of the experiment was to: (1) improve the quality of their judgments about pupils; (2) acquire variety in teaching…

This study was conducted to explore the process of teacher and principal change initiated by elementary school teachers who wished to replace the school's culture of isolation and seclusion with a culture of collegiality and caring. Their vision of change and the change process itself was intertwined with the development of a sense of teacher…

As part of a larger examination of student perspectives on science, social studies and communication arts, this case study provides accounts of two fifth graders' participation in a writers' workshop. Teacher-researchers involved in the overall study included two fifth grade teachers, one third grade teacher, two university professors, and three…

This study builds on an earlier one in which the role of institutional researchers in providing computer information systems (CIS) data to administrators was investigated. To examine the relationship between college culture and the role of institutional researchers as either providers of information or interpreters of data, a study was conducted…

This guide is designed to assist professional development facilitators responsible for helping Virginia's adult literacy practitioners develop and implement the professional development plans that constitute a key component of the state's professional development system for paid and volunteer literacy training providers. The following are among…

This paper looks at why there are so few teacher researchers and how such professionals can be encouraged, in the light of the reform movement in both general and special education which demands that teachers take on new roles including that of researcher. Institutions of higher education are urged to show their respect for research by teaching…

Considerations unique to classroom research and problem-solving where the teacher is English-dominant and many students speak English as a Second Language are examined, and advice is offered to teachers. The discussion reflects the specific concerns of a group of graduate students in teacher education. An approach is outlined, in a conversational…