Chicano college students who participated in a study skills program based on self-monitoring and self-reinforcement, supplemented with instruction and reinforcement from the program director, reported that time spent studying and performance on tests improved as a function of training and that the improvement was maintained. (CM)

Program development in the area of cross-cultural experiential learning is the direction in which educators in undergraduate liberal arts education should be moving, both on the home campus and in off-campus offerings. (Author)

Examines factors influencing the success of undergraduate psychology programs in meeting student needs before and after graduation. The author reviews research evaluating conventional and innovative psychology courses designed to help students in developing their postgraduate careers. The role of program evaluation in future psychology curricula…

Comparative data are gathered on (1) the institutional and nontransferrable fellow awards and (2) individual and portable awards of the Danforth Fellowship program. Results indicate that students attending elite universities will overwhelm their competitors in a national competition that is academically oriented and that open competition does not…

Effects of normalized living by eight severely to profoundly mentally retarded women residing in a structured community group home setting were studied over a two-year period. The group home environment emphasized normalized routines and procedures based on behavioral intervention methods. (Author)

A treatment designed to familiarize third graders with memory support strategies was delivered by parents. Results showed a complex pattern of effects, with treated students and classes significantly outperforming controls. Stable class-level Aptitude X Treatment interactions were also found. (Author/GDC)

College freshmen practicing rhetorically based sentence combining for a semester proved superior to conventionally trained students in both quality and syntactic maturity of writing. After 28 months, on a post test, intergroup differences were no longer statistically significant. (This study report includes a research review and experimental and…

The relationship between special admissions students' ratings of their skills and their use of campus programs was examined. High ability students participated in campus programs more. The smallest differences in use of campus programs between the ability groups were in areas most directly related to improvement of academic skills. (Author)

The University of Oregon's financial aid director describes the success of the Federal Direct Student Loan program in its first year at the institution. No significant program disadvantages were experienced, and its advantages included flexibility of administration, ease of data management with the servicer, decrease in office workload, and…

This article reviews the efficacy of hearing aids in adults with hearing impairments. Information is provided on the prevalence of hearing impairments; the daily effects of a hearing impairment; and the role of the audiologist. The effectiveness and benefits of hearing aids are reviewed, and a case study is provided. (CR)

Argues that national intervention endeavors should contain evaluation requirements that are sufficiently flexible to allow a range of rigorous evaluation designs. Uses the recent America Reads Challenge and research and evaluation efforts conducted independently at three university sites to illustrate the possibilities and pitfalls in engaging in…

Reports findings from case studies of eight gifted minority children in second and third grade who participated in a Project START (Support To Affirm Rising Talent). Discusses factors that promoted and discouraged success in the regular classroom and in transition to special services for gifted learners. (Author/CR)

Assessed the quality of different types of early childhood care and education programs in Chile according to international standards. Recorded structural and process characteristics observed in the classrooms. Found that Chilean preschool programs showed a minimum level of quality, with a high proportion of centers in the inadequate range.…

In a follow-up survey, talented undergraduate psychology majors (N=22) who participated in an intensive research program reported a greater change in research skills, greater research productivity, and stronger interest in research as a career choice than did the control group (N=21). (IAH)

Discusses the importance of assessing instructional programs by looking objectively at the interrelated factors of student performance, teacher performance, and program effectiveness to determine their relationship to the achievement of goals. Suggests methods that teachers can use to assess whether social studies activities and materials have…