This handbook is intended to be a self-study guide to the effective use of nine specific instructional strategies proven to improve student achievement. The strategies are: (1) identifying similarities and differences (comparing, classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies); (2) summarizing and note taking; (3) reinforcing effort and…

Based on a review of educational research and informal teacher inquiry suggesting that students could benefit from instruction to improve organizational skills, this action research project examined the effects of teaching selected organizational skills on the study habits and achievement of third and ninth graders. Participating in the study were…

Discussed is the influence of mathematics textbooks on the sequence and amount of mathematics taught in middle grades. An alternative method of organizing mathematics instruction is proposed. The issue of homework is addressed. (KR)

Reports results of a survey of British children ages 7 to 15 that examined time spent watching television, listening to music, reading, and playing outdoors; attitudes and stereotypes regarding these activities; and frequency and opinions of doing homework with the television on. Correlations of various behaviors and perceptions are presented.…

In a follow-up study, academic achievement results from 2 years later are added to data from 1990 for 1,208 seventh and ninth graders for whom relationships between achievement and time use were studied. Results focus on competition of time uses for the time and attention of the adolescent. (SLD)

Effects of aspirations, homework, and scores on standardized tests (endogenous variables) on teachers' grades and effects of exogenous variables of socioeconomic status and gender on endogenous variables were studied for 753 Israeli elementary school students. Complex effects are discussed. Teachers tended to grade students properly, according to…

Argues that when the principles of engineering are applied to development of computer-assisted language learning software, resulting products are more reliable, easier to maintain, and easier to modify later. Those principles were used in developing the Elementary Language Study Exerciser, a program that drills students and corrects their written…

The achievement gap, traditionally measured by test scores, also can be documented by dropout behavior. Examining dropout behavior among Black, White, and Hispanic students, with a particular focus on gaps within groups and not just between Whites and minorities, shows a clearer picture of the achievement gap. The results of our study show…

Using brain-based research, Douglass Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado, looked at the natural assets that both girls and boys bring to school and realized that its classrooms were generally a better fit for the verbal-emotive, sit-still, take-notes, listen-carefully, multitasking girl. Teachers tended to see the natural assets that boys bring…

Noting that parent involvement in their children's schooling is a key to academic success, this book provides techniques and strategies for parents to help them assist their children with homework completion without conflict. Chapter 1, "Getting Started," includes guidance on who should help with homework and how to set a homework…

Directed at the parents of preschool and elementary school children, this document consists of a collection of the informational brochures, catalogs, promotional materials, price lists, and order forms for a series of audiocassette tapes. All tapes are commercially available from Achievement Inc. Titles of tapes available are as follows: (1)…

This report addresses the use of computer-based telecommunications services to meet educational needs at home, focusing on services for students in grade 7 through college, including adult education. The curriculum areas on which the report concentrates are mathematics, science, technology, engineering, and career education. The report is divided…

A survey of the parents at a middle school in central Florida indicated that parents believed homework should contribute to the student's grade and that 47% of the respondents felt that mathematics should have daily homework. Based on these results, a study was conducted to determine the effects of implementing an innovative automated…

This study explored the effects of after-school supervision on 8th graders' academic performance. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 relating to a total sample size of 20,491 students (after exclusions) in 802 public and 233 private schools were analyzed. The analysis indicated that parents do not discriminate between…

These 15 lessons are intended for the 3-week initial phase of a 68-lesson intensive audiolingual basic French course developed recently by the Defense Language Institute to train native speakers of English to a Level 3 second language skill proficiency. Designed primarily to enable students to distinguish and produce French sounds accurately…