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This article presents findings from the first year of a multiyear investigation of the implementation of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) book distribution program as part of one community's long-term initiative to improve early literacy skills. The authors describe (a) the study's logic model and associated theory of change, (b) findings and their connection to the short-term outcomes in the model, and (c) findings-based adjustments to the model. When compared to parent reports from the baseline year, Year 1 parents of rising kindergartners reported greater frequency of shared book reading (SBR), greater engagement with their children during SBR, and greater children's interest in being read to. Findings also revealed the need for additional strategies to support DPIL enrollment and maximize family SBR experiences.

At start-up of a book distribution programme (Dolly Parton's Imagination Library) in a southeastern United States community, we examined baseline relationships between at-home shared book reading (SBR) and children's language/literacy abilities and skills at kindergarten entry. One hundred fifty-two parent/child dyads participated; children (53% male) had a mean age of 5 years, 6 months. Survey data included family demographics, SBR frequency and practices, and children's interest in reading. Household income and parent education level were positively associated with SBR frequency. Relationships between SBR frequency and children's performance on measures of print concepts/ reading behaviours, narrative retelling, narrative comprehension, and interest in reading were statistically significant. Performance on a letter naming fluency and phonemic segmentation measure was significantly related to the SBR practice of stopping to ask the child about letters or words but not to SBR frequency. Differential associations are discussed in terms of constrained and unconstrained abilities and skills, with implications for future research.

This article aims to help those who support the pivotal role of public education in promoting a critically informed and actively engaged democratic citizenry understand what the American Federation of Teachers (2006) inaccurately describes as "The John Stossel Agenda." In his "20/20 Report," "Stupid in America: How Lack of Choice Cheats Our Kids Out of a Good Education," aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC), John Stossel functioned as an agent of an agenda, but not as its source. The agenda in question pursues the pragmatic aims of two mutually reinforcing ideologies: neoliberalism and neoconservatism. Here, the authors begin with an exacting analysis of the specific variety of liberalism advanced by the forces of neoliberal ideology. They demonstrate how the attack on public schools represents a small part of a much larger attack on the public and its role in a liberal, constitutional democracy. While the authors laud the open letters written to ABC in protest of Stossel's "Stupid in America" by the National Parent Teachers Association (2006) and the National School Boards Association (2006), as well as the report issued by the American Federation of Teachers, they urge everyone concerned with the future of the schools to look beyond John Stossel. The authors hope that teachers and teacher educators everywhere can now understand that the neoliberal/neoconservative agenda places more than the future of public schools at risk.

This manuscript describes the efforts of several instructors who incorporated videoconferencing in their teacher education courses at two large universities in the southeastern United States. Professors preparing teachers to teach elementary and middle school examined their interactive videoconference experiences linking preservice teachers with students in real classroom settings. Three projects are described. The first project involved "teleobservation" whereby professors co-taught with K-6 classroom teachers while preservice teachers observed. The second project focused on a middle-grades English Language Arts professor whose preservice teachers observed middle school students in real time. In the third project, a university professor served as a live audience for an elementary Reader's Theatre performance. The lessons learned through the evaluation of these three projects are discussed.

This study investigates the effect of word study instruction on the orthographic knowledge of college students enrolled in a developmental reading course. Results revealed significantly greater improvement in orthographic knowledge in students who received word study instruction when compared with those in a control group, suggesting that the word study approach was effective for these students. Because of the influence of orthographic knowledge on spelling, writing and reading, additional research is merited to examine how word study intervention impacts the reading behaviours and academic achievement of college students enrolled in developmental education courses.

This study of two successful first grade teachers examines the forces that guide their instructional decisions. Findings reveal the complexities of forces that influence the moment-to-moment decisions made by these teachers. Teachers repeatedly attempted to balance their desires to be student-centered while addressing state standards and implementing their schools' adopted curricula, with varying levels of success. The teachers' professional knowledge was the determining factor in that success. Levels of professional development and the professional learning communities of these two teachers and the contexts in which they were operating influenced their attention to certain forces. Findings from this study indicate that building teachers' professional knowledge through coaching and long-term professional development can improve teacher decision making

NCTE's Framework for 21st Century Literacies (2008) prompted collaboration between a university professor and classroom teacher resulting in a professional inquiry project utilizing a Web 2.0 tool, Scrapblog, with fourth-grade students. This article describes implementation of this project, including both challenges and positive outcomes. The authors found that the effort paid dividends in terms of student engagement ("Please, can I work on my Scrapblog?"), student empowerment (shift the responsibility for learning to the student), and collaboration (among university professor, classroom teacher, and students). Specific recommendations for moving beyond traditional literacy instruction practices and delving into 21st Century Web 2.0 learning experiences are included. (Contains 3 figures.)

The purpose of this article is to describe the impact of a three-day academic writing retreat on the writing lives of four female university faculty members. Goals of the retreat included rejuvenating their writing lives, focusing their research agendas, improving their writing, and engaging in concentrated blocks of writing and collaborative discussion about their scholarly work. Results indicate that the writing retreat had a positive impact on group members, especially in terms of rejuvenating their writing lives, and highlight the merit of concentrated blocks of writing time and collaborative discussion about writing.

Teachers often use science trade books in the classroom for a number of reasons: to enhance science instruction, to augment an adopted science textbook, or to integrate literacy with subject-area content. Using Patricia Hunsader's mathematics trade book evaluation rubric published in the April 2004 issue of "Reading Teacher" as a model, the authors present a rubric useful in assessing both the science and literacy value of science trade books. After using the instrument to evaluate 28 science trade books suggested by a science textbook publisher, the authors determined that the quality of science trade books varies greatly. Based on initial pilot testing, the rubric developed in this study served as an effective tool for beginning teachers as they selected science trade books for elementary classroom use. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

This article describes a study on the module-based online professional development project. The professional development model providing a basis for the Reading CEU (continuing education unit) Module Project involved four groups of stakeholders: master teacher instructors, module participants, module developers, and the university support team. Master teacher instructors, chosen based on existing collegial relationships with professors or module developers, co-developed and facilitated individual reading modules. Master teacher instructors interacted with participants by providing them with ongoing guidance and feedback about reading methodology implementation. Multiple data sources were analyzed in an effort to triangulate study data. Feedback from module participants was collected at the end of each month with an evaluation survey completed on a voluntary basis. Numerous themes emerged as data sources were analyzed, resulting in subsequent study findings. Benefits of the Reading CEU Module Project most frequently noted focused on the importance of practical implementation with students, student academic gains, participant growth and reflection, teachers' assumption of leadership roles, multiple resource availability, online accessibility and design, and consideration of "out of workforce" teachers. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This qualitative study examined the professional growth of literacy teachers as they scaffolded students' one-to-one literacy learning within a university reading clinic tutoring experience. These teachers--graduate students within a reading education program--documented both their own learning and that of their students through various venues. These included the data sources considered for this study: teaching videotapes, email correspondence with the university instructor, online discussions with colleagues, and final reflective essays. Findings suggested that substantive learning by these literacy teachers influenced not only their tutees but also their own professional growth, impacting their classroom practice and the wider educational community. Implications of such teacher learning within educational settings employing high-stakes testing and accountability were considered. (Contains 1 figure.)

Ten university graduate students created electronic case studies describing the learning of struggling readers as a part of this study designed to yield insights about literacy education and the efficacy of electronic case study development. A variety of data, analyzed through a qualitative content analysis, revealed understandings regarding participants' perceptions about themselves as learners, ideas about their influences on students, and revelations about literacy instruction. A final theme revealed that, as participants reflected upon their own learning; they also voiced a commitment to literacy teaching that went beyond their personal classroom settings. Further, researchers gained insights about how to better prepare literacy educators, as well as how to more effectively integrate technology into the case study process.

Although Vygotskian principles involving the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) are hailed as tenets undergirding teaching and learning within a constructivist setting, these principals have not been implemented widely within school classrooms. Tharp and Gallimore, building on the notion that learning can be maximized when a teacher has a heightened awareness of a student's ZPD and stimulates new learning based upon this understanding, argue that true teaching is a matter of "assisting performance". This study examines the efforts of one university instructor to assist the performance of her graduate students as they learned to teach, scaffold and support struggling readers. The findings suggest that the university instructor successfully assisted her students by providing supportive feedback, extending their learning and providing appropriate resources through ongoing Email correspondence and face-to-face meetings and tutoring sessions. Success was attributed to the instructor's extensive knowledge of supporting struggling readers, awareness of her students' ZPD's in relation to the context of their learning and her efforts to consistently provide appropriate and specific feedback through iterative dialogue.

Examines specific features of the online Blackboard distance learning platform that enhance the advantages of alternative teacher certification programs, especially with regard to helping teachers develop a culturally relevant pedagogy. Focuses on North Carolina's NCTeach program, which provides an accelerated certification process for people currently employed by schools who did not earn their provisional teaching licenses via the traditional route. (SM)

Examines the impetus for and impact of a high-stakes assessment plan and reform initiative, North Carolina's ABC Plan for Public Education, from the perspective of state level policymakers and local level implementers. Finds practitioners received little support for implementing the initiative, and an adversarial relationship developed between local and state level implementers. Suggests policymakers and practitioners alike could collaboratively focus on more fruitful and effective future visions for educational reform. (RS)

Investigated how various classroom practices ameliorated or undermined one high school students' efforts to gain assistance for his academic difficulties. Data from school documentation, evaluation reports, study materials, and interviews with key persons indicated that none of his psychoeducational evaluations considered the quality of classroom instruction, school grading practices, or study strategies, all of which increased his vulnerability to risk. (SM)

Describes elementary school preservice teacher's beliefs, understandings, and instruction of struggling and non-struggling readers as they evolved over time. Finds the preservice teachers improved in their abilities to integrate their personal, practical, and professional knowledges to inform their reading instruction. Suggests how university reading education courses may support the learning and development of future preservice teachers. (SG)

The effect of food deprivation on hypothalamic neuropetide Y and corticotropin-releasing factor gene expression in the Djungarian hamster was investigated. The study cloned cDNA from the animals to examine the ob gene expression. Results indicated that neuroendocrine consequences of food deprivation in the hamsters were determined by some factor aside from body mass such as the size of adipose tissue reserves. Furthermore, food-deprived hamsters experienced reduced plasma insulin concentrations.

The Djungarian hamster is able to adjust to seasons of low food availability and shorter photoperiods by altering its food intake and maintaining lower body weight. The adjustment mechanism for feeding may be mediated by neuropeptide Y, which is found in the hypothalamus. Hamsters that were given only small amounts of food and exposed to short photoperiods were found to increase the production of neuropeptide Y as well as mRNA coding for the protein precursor to neuropeptide Y.