Uses case study data from two British schools for grades 9 through 11 (160 students and 109 students) to show the way in which girls link their mathematics underachievement not to themselves but to the type of mathematics that is commonly taught in the United Kingdom, which they believe denies them access to understanding. (SLD)

Presents the results of a study that measured the efficacy of an international economics simulation among undergraduates. The simulation consisted of a macroeconomics game where students develop economic policies for four hypothetical countries. A multiple choice test and posttest questionnaire suggests that classroom games are more effective than…

A classroom approach using music to enhance the enjoyment of literature in the French language class is discussed. Two short stories by Guy de Maupassant were tape-recorded by a professional actor, with background music added. Students listened to the tapes and completed a written exercise in which they answered vocabulary, comprehension, and…

Studies the relationship between Dutch students' attitudes toward German, the course material, and the teacher and students' achievements in German. Results show that students having positive attitudes achieved more than those with negative attitudes and that students enrolled in a communicative course had more positive attitudes than those in a…

This article provides a framework for systematically evaluating and adapting reading comprehension curriculum lessons for children with various reading abilities, including children with mild disabilities who are in the regular classroom. A sample checklist for evaluating reading comprehension curriculum lessons and a sample teaching format for…

A growing body of empirical and theoretical work indicates that young children (grades K-3) have difficulties solving word problems because of deficient language and text comprehension strategies. Describes a computer simulation designed to model working memory demands in "bottom-up" comprehension of arithmetic word problems, offering a…

To determine if different levels of graphic presentation affected understanding, 131 middle school science students with high and low spatial ability were shown programs teaching concepts of molecular diffusion with no graphics, static graphics, or animated graphics. Students with low spatial ability benefited from animated presentations. Spatial…

Discusses the principles of teaching that can help students to be actively, purposefully engaged in their learning. Describes current innovations in reading, language arts, and mathematics education. Introduces the constructivist principles and teaching practices that can facilitate implementation of current instruction innovations. (MOK)

This study examined the effects of work with video-mediated cases on the meaning preservice teachers made of classroom teaching and learning vignettes. Analysis of interviews and discussions indicated that one-third of the topics discussed were adopted, transformed, or created by respondents for use in describing personal meaning making. (SM)

Evaluated hypothesis that cognitive antecedents of word recognition are domain-specific and unrelated to higher-order domain-general cognitive abilities in a longitudinal study of Hebrew-speaking children. Found that kindergarten domain-specific measures accounted for 33 percent of variance in Grade 1 word recognition, even after controlling for…

Describes a study of the listening comprehension of first-year, nonnative English speakers in a large North American university that sought to find out how students--all economics majors--were coping with listening to economics lectures and to try an experiment in mentoring by linking them with a lecture buddy. The mentoring project was found to…

Discusses the need for educational environments that allow for authentic learning. Shows how the Internet enables practice in which students are able to manipulate concepts for the sake of getting things done and receiving feedback regarding how well the application of an understanding worked. Provides examples of three learning activities on the…

Argues for the use of poetry reading in second language classrooms. Reviews literary and linguistic theories of poetry and synthesizes these theories within a psycholinguistic model of poetry reading, according to which the central aspect of poetry reading is the conscious negotiation of the formal structures of language for comprehension…

Challenges the assumption that female students enter college possessing greater verbal abilities than male students. The results of reading comprehension exercises conducted in introductory macroeconomics courses over a four-year period reveal little dichotomy in gender-specific performance. These findings are generally supported by SAT scores.…

Specific difficulties for the secondary student with reading difficulties are described, followed by a literature review of most promising practices, including peer tutoring that incorporates comprehension strategy instruction and elaborative strategies in history and science classes. Research using "Inspiration" software to generate spatially…