My report is a summary of what I did during those months of study, what I learned as a result of my classroom observations and readings, the successes and non-successes I achieved when I attempted to involve my own classes with this topic, and the personal growth that I achieved, as a result of my studies. I spent my long-term leave as a research associate at The Center for Advanced Technology in Education at the University of Oregon. The majority of my work took place on a project designed to develop computer-based study strategies for students with disabilities. My report has links to web sites that support and describe the project. This leave report summarizes my personal reading, study, and outdoor activities related to my fall term 1999 professional development leave.
Appendices summarize, with comments, books read and web sites used.
A third appendix describes how to download a numeric data stream from a computer into a handheld graphing calculator. This was a 12 month curriculum beginning in Sept. 1998 and ending the following Sept. 1999. It provided both an academic and practical educational experience. The rhetorical theory and oratorical models of Renaissance and Enlightenment England and France were well known to our country s founders and set a standard for oral performance in American education. Yet in the past fifty years it appears to many rhetorical scholars that we have witnessed a decline in the speaking skills of the average American student.