Tests male and female high school band members' performing solos under three levels of audience presence: no audience, one observer, and a larger audience with recording equipment. Reports that self-reported anxiety rose with each step but that measures of physical stress only rose on the third step. (DSK)

Surveyed reactions of experienced primary teachers to the educational changes mandated by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) and whether these changes affected teacher retirement decisions. Responses indicated concern over the primary school program components of multiage grouping, no retention/no promotion, and increased mainstreaming. KERA…

Used portfolio and teacher change literatures as frames for analyzing four teachers' use of classroom portfolios over a three-year period. Found marked shifts in (1) portfolio document; (2) ability to document literacy learning; (3) students' involvement with the portfolio; and (4) use of portfolios to drive instruction for individual children.…

Tracked one prekindergarten teacher's experience to determine whether a relationship exists between student outcomes and a teacher's ability to use sign language. Found enriching preschool curriculum with sign language improves hearing African American children's receptive English vocabulary and confirms research that simultaneously presenting…

Examined early childhood teachers' behaviors when they became involved in children's naturally occurring peer interactions in the context of free choice activities. Results suggest the importance of maintaining overall program quality, including appropriate ratios, as a means of supporting early childhood teachers' ability and availability to…

Studied goal setting by elementary students by utilizing a strategy of psychomotor and academic games. No grade level differences were observed; however, proportionally more second- through fourth-grade girls and fifth-grade boys were classified as realistic goal setters. Concludes elementary students can set realistic goals in academic and…

This study sought to ascertain children's perceptions of the value and usefulness of mathematics. Children were interviewed with open-ended and structured questions about the uses of mathematics. Findings indicated that children at the kindergarten through third-grade levels are positive about mathematics and their abilities to do mathematics.…

Documented differences in the quality of play in thematic and housekeeping organizational patterns of the sociodramatic play center in a preschool classroom. Found the thematic organization resulted in higher quality sociodramatic play in which the children enacted more roles outside the home, utilized more aspects of their roles, demonstrated…

Explored the effectiveness of an intervention program designed by the researcher to enhance playfulness, using sensorial stimulation. Found that the effectiveness of the playfulness training interventions is an important theoretical result that provides support for a model of teaching and learning that includes the enhancement of playfulness.…

Studied differences in food intake, waste, and time required for eating when young children are served by preportioned or family-style food service. Found intake of children fed family style was significantly greater, and no significant differences were found in the mean portions of waste or in the time required to eat. (Author)

Examined illustrations for portrayal of older adult characters in Caldecott Medal-winning picture books, comparing 1972-83 and 1984-95 winners. Found that recent books portray elderly in a more positive manner than earlier winners. In addition, only two significant gender differences in a field of 36 possibilities were found over the entire…

In a year-long study of classroom reform toward more constructivist teaching and learning practices, 125 rural seventh graders engaged in design-based inquiry and learned research and communication skills by designing hypermedia materials to teach peers. Data from one participating teacher illustrate the evolution of new instructional practices…

Examines the need to help rural youth become employable in today's changing circumstances, especially young adolescents in middle school programs. Discusses elements in effective School-to-Employment (STE) programs, basic job skills appropriate to middle-school exploratory STE programs, and the need for program articulation between middle and high…

Describes an inquiry-based project on kinematics piloted at a rural middle school in 1996 by a Maine collaboration of university faculty, graduate students, and K-12 teachers. The group examines the new science standards, develops new curricula based on physics education research, helps middle-school teachers implement that curricula, and assesses…

Alternative assessments, grounded in reflective practice, can enliven instruction and improve students' knowledge, reasoning, and communication skills. When teachers share a rubric with students, everyone knows the standards for success. Sense of community and small class sizes in rural schools provide an ideal environment for teacher-student…