Students exhibiting failure syndrome approach assignments with low expectations of success and tend to give up at early signs of difficulty. This Digest delineates the nature of failure syndrome, suggests strategies for coping with failure syndrome students, and discusses how teachers can help. Some students, especially in the early grades, show…

Examines areas of study that all teachers receiving multicultural training and inservicing should explore (culture, cognitive learning styles, organizational and instructional strategies, bilingualism and cognition, and bilingual education for language minority students). Some researchers recommend taking a macro view of minorities to interpret…

Many language teachers experience frustrations about their lack of success in developing fluency in their students. Reasons for the difficulties are discussed, and the avoidance of short-cuts is advocated. (LB)

A memorization technique using books recorded on tapes gave nonreading children practice in reading connected discourse and put them in touch with a variety of books. (JH)

The author suggests strategies for forcing success on students who seem determined to fail and for altering their negative opinions of their own ability. (SJL)

Diagnosis of cognitive learning skills could be the first step to reducing painful learning environments. Every student has an individual learning style and different cognitive learning abilities. Teachers need to be aware of these differences and modify instruction based on the student needs. (MLF)

While acknowledging that studies reveal no single personality structure characteristic of disabled readers, the author presents basic techniques for secondary teachers which improve reading while taking account of the emotional needs and predispositions of nonreaders. (SJL)

Recommends reality counseling to help students who identify with failure to take responsibility and achieve success. Defines reality counseling and discusses its principles: get involved, focus on present behavior, help the student evaluate his/her behavior, make a plan for future behavior, encourage student commitment, accept no excuses, and…

Argues that classroom learning inevitably requires adaptive responses by students, and that teachers should deliberately promote the development of students' adaptive learning within a supportive classroom environment by emphasizing the constructive benefits of functional failure and the limited benefits of uninformative success. (SKC)

This handbook contains advice for the teacher in diagnosing dyslexia and developing an individualized program for overcoming severe reading problems. Observable characteristics of dyslexia are listed as an aid to the teacher's diagnosis, but it is emphasized that cooperation between the teacher and a reading specialist is of great importance in…

Argues that effective instruction for children with reading difficulties relies little on accurate diagnosis. Maintains that standardized reading tests can help identify children with reading problems. Asserts that children with reading difficulties would be better served by more instruction and less diagnosis. (CFR)

The orthodox view of reading as the accumulation of isolated skills continues to dominate classroom practice. Under this framework, prescriptions for problem readers usually involve intensified drills in the same basic skills to which the students failed to respond in the first place. Prevention entails the early and often precipitous examination…

This inventory was developed to serve as a working tool to help local education agencies review existing policies and practices that may negatively affect students' achievement and encourage their dropping out, especially in grades 7 through 12. The following areas are covered: (1) instruction; (2) discipline; (3) support services; (4) attendance;…

This handbook addresses the needs of postsecondary instructors who work with students with learning disabilities. The information in the handbook is gathered from sources throughout Canada and the United States. It is intended to lead instructors toward a greater understanding of the educational needs of students with learning disabilities. The…

Presents a solution to the problem of helping high-risk students develop the mathematics skills they need. Suggests that individualized projects, providing students with hands-on learning experiences that are tied in with the real world, be employed to build student self-esteem. Appendices provide example projects. (MDH)