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Qualitative methods were used to study: (1) the effect of engaging in a mathematics teaching experience in an alternative high school program, the Transcend program, on preservice teachers' beliefs; and (2) the effects of a guided preservice teaching experience on at-risk learners' beliefs, self-concepts, and mathematical development. Five secondary preservice mathematics teachers and five at-risk learners were the subjects of the study. Researchers used observations, videotaped classes, interviews, and a mathematics assessment to gather information about the effects of the alternative mathematics program. Case studies of three preservice teachers and two learners are presented to illustrate their development and interactions. There were changes in the self-concepts of the teachers, their perceptions of at-risk learners, and their instructional practices, although many of their beliefs remained unchanged. Students experienced learning gains, especially with regard to increased mathematical self-concept. Transcend appears to have provided both teachers and learners with a unique environment to enhance mathematics teaching and learning. (Contains 27 references.) (SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert