The Randolph, New Jersey Intermediate School updated its industrial arts program to reflect the challenges and work force of the Twentieth Century in which students apply a design/problem-solving process to solve real-world problems. In the laboratory portion of the program, students circulate between workstations to define problems, complete…

To analyze a student's conceptual changes, analyzing transcriptions of writing and verbal statements may not provide enough information. In a study of 25 sixth graders learning about matter and molecules, concept mapping of students' stated ideas was used to analyze the kinds of organizational changes the students made to use new science…

Preservice students in the College of Education at Wayne State University (Michigan) are expected to complete at least one semester using microcomputers and courseware that they can use to support their teaching of elementary school and secondary school pupils in metropolitan Detroit. A survey form was developed to collect information about the…

This publication is a guide to assessing the competence of prospective music teachers in the California public schools. The guide was developed as part of a state-wide response to legislated entry and exit standards for teachers in elementary and secondary schools. An introduction describes the regulations and Executive Orders which are the basis…

This publication, the result of a series of workgroup meetings that culminated in a conference of 45 educators held in San Diego, California, in November 1989, is a guide to assessing the competence of prospective history and social science teachers in the California public schools. The guide was developed as part of a state-wide response to…

This case study addresses the need for qualitative descriptions of effective music teaching and explores exemplary elementary general music teaching. An elementary general music teacher with 23 years of experience was observed teaching sixth graders for 10 weeks of instruction and was interviewed before and after each observation. Patterns in…

This monograph gives an account of three associated studies of the professional craft knowledge of teachers as articulated by 20 teachers in 4 secondary schools in Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales, Australia. Participants were chosen on the basis of: (1) student identification of their best teachers and (2) equal representation from three…

The understanding of children and adults regarding four component properties of the arithmetic mean was studied. The component properties were: (1) the mean is a data point between extreme values of a score distribution; (2) the sum of deviations about the mean equals zero; (3) when the mean is calculated, any value of zero must be taken into…

The curriculum presented here contains three units designed to help Mexican-American migrant students understand and value the richness of their culture, experiences, and family. Unit 1, "My Roots," examines the different components of a culture, and presents aspects of the Aztec civilization and culture. Activities include hearing a…

This report provides an analysis of issues and recommendations for further implementation of the National Education Goals and the America 2000 National Education Strategy related to education in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. This report considers teachers and teaching at every level. The report focuses on the need to build a…

Some of the major barriers to progress in special education reform are highlighted, and critical issues for improving the prospects of achieving equity in schooling success for all of the children in U.S. schools are discussed. Vignettes illustrate what new programs and policies for helping students might actually mean for the students and their…

It is hypothesized that the educational, cultural, and historical context in which education takes place, especially in a developing country, will result in a particular view of teaching effectiveness. This study, conducted at the University of Botswana, sought to identify classes of teacher characteristics that were considered to be contributors…

The development and pilot testing of a set of performance assessments to determine classroom teachers' measurement competencies in areas covered by "Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students" (1990) are described. How the use of performance assessments in a graduate-level classroom-assessment course can…

A review of North Carolina public preschool, elementary school, and secondary school education was done with the aim of increasing school districts' effectiveness in improving outcomes for all students, particularly improving the low achievement and postsecondary school attendance rates of African American males. Focus was on determining the…

Given the explosion in the use of instructional television, it is especially important that it be used appropriately in international and multicultural classrooms. In 1990, a team of researchers at Northern Illinois University (De Kalb) began to compile findings from a study of the most critical audience factors with impacts on the design and…