Examines barriers to student participation in online conferences, including psychological/social forces and software limitations. Proposes the following ways to encourage student input: require participation; form learning teams; make activities interesting; don't settle just for opinions; structure activities; require hand-in assignments; know…

Describes a new scholarly review process for courseware and other interactive learning and information system products. The purpose is to provide a mechanism to support faculty in the creative scholarship of designing and developing interactive products, evaluating their quality, disseminating results, and providing opportunities for the…

Examined beginning teachers' needs when working in an urban school district with a university-supported collaborative peer-assistance-and-review program. Surveys and interviews indicated participants had to address issues of survival before moving toward instructional concerns and professional growth. They were able to be successful managers and…

Reviews the literature on faculty evaluation to define how different purposes and competing values have produced two approaches. A procedural approach relies upon both self-evaluation and appraisals by peers, administrators, and students. The developmental approach rests upon teaching portfolios, dossiers, and self-evaluations. Contains 23…

Assessed the information-seeking behavior of scientists at the University of Oklahoma using an electronically distributed questionnaire, a copy of which is appended. Results indicate a preference for printed peer-reviewed journal articles and the need for libraries to provide access to electronic bibliographic databases. Appendix II lists…

Discusses a method of evaluating middle school students' writing portfolios that places responsibility on the students themselves. Presents the evaluation assignment in three parts: students' self-evaluation, peer-evaluation, and parent-evaluation. Notes the effects of the portfolio method and evaluation strategy on literacy education. (JPB)

Reasons for a national shift from traditional to alternative assessment practices are examined, and the philosophical beliefs and theoretical assumptions of traditional and alternative assessment are examined. Classroom implications of this paradigm shift for instructional strategies, formative and summative evaluation, development of rubrics used…

Presents eight separate short descriptions of teaching tips or classroom activities for composition classes submitted by teachers, including tips on writing exchanges, grammar problems, peer evaluation, revision, mock quizzes, critical thinking regarding television news, computer-assisted commenting, and an educational and entertaining end-of-term…

Employing multiple approaches and data sources, School Improvement Model (SIM) researchers have worked with selected districts nationwide to implement a new 360-degree feedback model favored by many companies. This article describes how 360-degree feedback (from students, peers, self-evaluation, supervisors, parents, and student achievement) can…

A York University (Ontario) project in which four French second-language teachers paired with peers for observation of their classroom techniques and interactions is described. It is concluded that this form of extensive peer- and self-evaluation is a powerful tool for understanding the complexity of language teaching and learning. (Contains 14…

Describes a study that investigated whether cooperative editing had lasting benefits for remedial freshman composition students. Reports that students who had been taught the application of standard written grammar made significantly higher mean grades in freshman composition than students who had been taught using only textbooks, discussion, and…

The major literature review by Black and Wiliam (1998a) provided strong research evidence indicating that assessment for learning can produce significant gains in students' learning. The present study applied the main aspects of assessment for learning, as highlighted in the Black and Wiliam review, in a specific area of science education, that of…

Building capacity within schools and districts for continuous improvement is a goal of educators at all levels across the United States of America. An important first step in capacity building is identifying schools' current strengths and weaknesses. Schools can then begin building upon existing strengths to implement improvement initiatives.…

Communicative tasks are defined as activities in which meaning is primary, there is a goal which needs to be worked toward, there is a real world relationship and the interaction among students is the means for achieving the task outcome. However, it was assumed that adopting communicative tasks alone is not adequate as it leads the learner to…

In an effort to explore new methods of evaluation better suited to alternative instructional styles, a model peer coaching program was implemented at Northern Michigan University. The program was based on findings from a review of the literature and was designed to meet the University's needs for continuing improvement in teaching and learning,…