E. D. Hirsch's call for authoritative knowledge about composition is flawed, according to this document, because he focuses on the product and not the process of composing, thereby excluding more of the problem of composition than he includes. Hirsch's principle of readability--that styles that communicate meaning with less effort from the reader…

This publication reviews research findings related to the verbal questioning behaviors and practices of teachers. It emphasizes current research related to the impact of questioning practices on student thinking, achievement, and attitudes. This includes questioning techniques and strategies and approaches to analyzing classroom questions. A list…

A study examined the effects of three types of teacher questions (literal, interpretive, applied) on: (1) frequency, length, and quality of student response; (2) classroom interaction; (3) student questions; (4) intentional and incidental learning; and (5) student attitudes. Multiple-choice formats were used to assess intentional learning, and…

Part of a series of instructor training modules on related subjects instruction for apprentices, this booklet deals with providing for individual learner needs. The first chapter consists of an outline of the scope and content of the instructor training modules as well as a self-asessment pretest. Covered in the module are determining needs,…

A cultural divide exists in the classroom, with each participant (teacher and student) having rarely-coinciding objectives for a session. In this paper, the authors wish to reflect on the teaching and learning of science as a process of creating understanding from both sides of this cultural divide. Gary, the second author, describes the…

By building on the natural language competence of children we can make literacy an extension of their language learning.

This paper discusses the memory abilities of children during the preschool and elementary school years, and states that successful remembering does not come naturally to children. Techniques parents and teachers can use to help children improve recall memory skills are described. Differences between recognition memory and recall memory are…

This is an overview of a project in which cross-age tutoring is used as a means of enhancing the learning and motivation of the tutors, in contrast to the practice in which the learning of the tutee is the primary focus. This teaching method is referred to as the "Learning-Tutoring Cycle." It is recommended that secondary students who are in need…

This study compares the validity of three cloze procedures (traditional, limited, and least-major-constituent limited) when reading comprehension is defined as cognitive change. Over 400 seventh and eighth graders from public schools in North Carolina and Arizona were randomly assigned to one of the three cloze formats for either fiction or…

This is an interim progress report on an ongoing study of teaching-learning interaction. The function of the study is to observe learning over a full year of schooling, focusing, in part, on reciprocal interactions. The teaching-learning interaction program is committed to three long-term objectives. Methodologically, it is developing improved…

In recent research, sequences of hypotheses observed during problem-solving have been categorized according to six hypothesis sampling systems that vary in efficiency. Three systems were characterized as strategies (focus, dimension check, hypothesis check) because they always lead eventually to solution. The remainder were called stereotypes…

This paper describes a program for memory strengthening for older adults which combines lectures by experts with small group discussions. The importance of peer counselor involvement, particularly in focusing on the concerns of older people and the most effective ways to address these concerns is emphasized. Program objectives, session topics, and…

This paper discusses a concept-based approach to teaching secondary geography. It is intended to help teachers in Australia write suitable geography programs and adopt teaching practices appropriate to the 1980s. A useful way to understand "concept" is to put the idea in a context with the definitions of other words such as fact,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of courses and instructors. The subjects were 810 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in education and psychology courses. A Feelings About Course test, consisting of a 50 item true-false instrument, was administered. Independent variables were the classification of the…

Several themes relevant to the personality development and intellectual functioning of children are presented in this position paper. Inferences for the education of Nigerian children are also drawn. Among general factors considered influential in children's intellectual development, three are emphasized: the way in which intelligence is defined,…