Psychological procedures change behavior in part by creating and strengthening perceived self-efficacy, which refers to personal judgments of performance capabilities in a given activity. In addition, it has been hypothesized that attributions, or perceived causes of outcomes, exert important effects on self-efficacy. A study investigated how the…

Following a review of empirical research on teacher feedback to students' wrong responses, this paper describes a paradigm for use with direct instruction materials, applying the feedback model to comprehension tasks from traditional reading and science textbooks. The next section details a classification system for wrong responses grouped into…

A study examined whether language patterns found in English, which differed from those in Spanish, would have a significant effect on English as a second language (ESL) learners' comprehension while reading English text. Average fifth grade readers were randomly assigned to either an initial Spanish speaking group (N=18) or an initial English…

This booklet is intended to assist tutors in helping transitional and low-level adult basic education (ABE) students acquire the reading skills required to make a successful adjustment to regular ABE classes. The exercises provided are intended primarily for use in student-tutor learning teams, with students gradually completing greater portions…

An exploratory, comparative study of the achievement of 186 homogeneously and heterogeneously grouped second graders found no significant differences in overall achievement in reading and mathematics. However, a significant difference in reading comprehension scores of children in the two groups was found. At low, medium, and high academic…

A study examined the ability of subjects of varying ages to write summaries of very familiar material. In particular, it explored the subjects' planning activities both prior to and during the summarization task. The subjects, 15 fifth, 16 seventh, and 15 eleventh grade students and 11 college students, were given two stories to study for a week.…

Papers delivered at the First American Reading Forum are collected in this yearbook. Focusing on the theme of comprehension, many of the essays respond to a preceding essay. The essays and reactions cover a variety of topics, including the following: (1) comprehension measures, (2) instructional strategies to promote comprehension, (3) current…

A study was carried out to assess the French language proficiency of kindergarten students enrolled in a French early immersion program and two "classes d'accueil," that is, a special program for non-French speaking immigrant children. The particular focus of the study was to investigate whether the level of proficiency in French is…

Classroom based research investigating the actual context of reading requires examination of the texts chosen, the purposes for which they are to be read, the strategies to be used in actually reading them, and, finally, the outcomes expected from reading them. Among the studies that have pioneered research of this kind are (1) those directed by…

To determine the general characteristics of beginning reading materials, to establish categories in regard to concepts and the instruction of concepts, and to search for a common framework among concepts, a study surveyed six popular, widely promoted basal series which had been copyrighted within the past 5 years. For each lesson, the stated…

The reading diagnosis tests and observations in this book provide a systematic way of gathering information about a student. The first 10 chapters test the following: (1) general reading level through oral reading of graded paragraphs; (2) silent reading comprehension; (3) phonics skills through oral reading of nonsense words and phoneme grapheme…

The purpose of this study was to investigate, in a broad sense, children's understanding of various types of people in two social domains: television and real life. Specifically, the study was designed to solicit information about (1) the physical and psychological abilities and vulnerabilities children would attribute to television characters and…

The Reading Test for New York State Elementary Schools is designed to determine the most difficult prose text a student can read with comprehension. Test uses described include evaluating the student's current level of achievement; determining reading difficulty levels for instruction; measuring growth of comprehension; determining statewide…

This primer was developed to help secondary school business teachers to encourage and promote reading in their curricular programs. Guidelines and suggestions are offered on ways teachers can stimulate student reading by capitalizing on student interests and on ways teachers can reinforce vocabulary and comprehension skills. The manual's first…

This primer was developed to help secondary school art teachers to encourage and promote reading in their curricular programs. Guidelines and suggestions are offered on ways teachers can stimulate student reading by capitalizing on student interests and on ways teachers can reinforce vocabulary and comprehension skills. The manual's first section…