Eight vocational schools in Jefferson County, Kentucky, use computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for remedial work in math, reading, and language skills. The use of CAI in the career development centers has led to other programs--for adults, dropouts, and potential dropouts--and has brought about a close working relationship with Louisville…

Implemented on the PLATO IV computer-assisted instruction facility located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Language Arts Routing System (LARS) is a package of lessons and tests designed to provide remedial training in certain basic language arts skills. LARS is a system which may be used by itself or as an adjunct to regular…

Students in Miami-Dade Community College's remedial education courses supplement reading, writing, and mathematics coursework with computer-assisted instruction in a special electronic classroom. The experimental program is investigating whether integrating computer instruction in the basic skills curriculum helps underprepared students overcome…

Describes a student-centered software package designed at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin to support student writing by helping students generate ideas, improve organization and development, and improve editing capabilities. Describes UT's basic writers and presents findings from the classroom research-based program evaluation. (DMM)

This evaluation of the 1989-90 Resource Laboratory Program for Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in Washington (District of Columbia) elementary and junior high schools found that the program improved participants' mathematics achievement, but did not have a significant effect on reading achievement. The program is funded under Chapter 1 of the…

Research on perceived locus of control indicates that there is a positive correlation between internal locus of control and a variety of cognitive behaviors associated with academic achievement, that the perceived locus of control of educationally disadvantaged students is more external than average, and that the perceived locus of control of such…

This paper is based on data collected from New York City's Computer Pilot Program, an on-going investigation of the use of comprehensive computer based instruction (CBI) programs in the basic skills remediation of educationally disadvantaged students in grades 3-12. The findings suggest that the use of comprehensive CBI is altering the ways in…

Several years ago, the English faculty at the Schuylkill Campus of Pennsylvania State University entered into a cooperative venture with the campus learning center to use computer-assisted instruction in the basic rules of grammar as part of the remedial English course. The software used for the lab is the Houghton Mifflin English Microlab…

This digest focuses on the importance of learning assistance centers (LACs) to academic success and student retention. LACs differ from learning resource centers, which mainly provide and disseminate educational information. They also differ from development education offices, which give emphasis to teaching basic skills and preparing students for…

This digest discusses two specific computer-aided instruction systems used in two-year colleges in the United States and Canada, and addresses critical points regarding system implementation in remedial education programs. As developed in the Nova Scotia Community College System in Canada, the INVEST computer system provides literacy-based…

Many efforts to improve school quality by adding school resources have proven to be ineffective. This paper presents the results of two experiments conducted in Mumbai and Vadodara, India, designed to evaluate ways to improve the quality of education in urban slums. A remedial education program hired young women from the community to teach basic…

Describes a microcomputer-based program of assessment and instruction in language arts incorporated into the developmental curriculum at four colleges. Discusses the instructional value of assessment. Describes three different implementation modes. Finds a climate for experimentation, a program champion, an implementation team, and organizational…

The curriculum consists of 16 units covering: (1) addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers; (2) common fractions; (3) mixed numbers; and (4) decimals. Each unit consists of a pretest, assignment of lessons as needed, and a posttest. Paper-and-pencil worksheets that accompany the computer lessons are an integral part of…

This document is a final report on a two-year study involving nine community colleges, four disciplines and two special programs, 49 faculty, and 2,381 students in an exploration of the relationship between developmental courses and computer-based instruction. The report begins with an introduction, a description of students needing developmental…

Research findings on college instruction are discussed in 43 papers from the first Regional Conference on University Teaching. The papers are grouped under three large theme areas: "Teaching, Technology and the Future" (15 papers), "Computer Designed Instruction & Testing" (13 papers), and "Basic Skills: Dealing with Differences" (15 papers). The…