Reports on a study of an improvisation curriculum used with 66 fifth-grade music students. Finds that students who received instruction emphasizing improvisation performed at significantly higher achievement levels than students who did not receive such instruction. (CFR)

Eye-movement registration was used to examine the influence of the semantic complexity of addition and subtraction word problems on response time and eye-fixation patterns of 10 high-ability and 10 low-ability second graders. Data provide evidence of the crucial role of semantic factors in word problem solving. (SLD)

Fourth grade Taiwan students (94 males and 97 females) completed 2 cognitive risk-taking tasks with variable payoff or fixed payoff in a game or test context. Both variable payoff and game context increased the level of academic risk taking. Results are discussed concerning interactions between ability and risk taking. (SLD)

Examines children's ability to formulate testable hypotheses, both from a theoretical viewpoint and from results of a British study of responses to an assessment instrument. Addresses implications for science education and difficulties in judging whether a child has demonstrated the skill. Concludes that evidence presented by teachers about…

Addresses three issues concerning the assessment of the overrating and underrating of academic competence: (1) the impossibility of separating effects of overrating and underrating from effects of perceived and actual competence; (2) the questionable validity of Connell and Ilardi's method; and (3) the proposal of a new method and its implications…

Presents a description of pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics, constructed from interviews with fifth grade teachers; suggests modifications in the general conception of pedagogical content knowledge based on this description, and suggests revisions in teacher education practices to improve teachers' understanding of pedagogical content…

Examined relations among problem-solving appraisal, self-reported study habits, and academic performance for 63 college students enrolled in developmental course for academically unprepared students. Found problem-solving appraisal significantly predictive of study habits and semester grade-point average. Suggests problem-solving appraisal is…

Investigated were the determinants of intentions to enroll in a high school science course by middle school earth science students. The impact on intentions of students' attitudes, social pressures, and specific external variables are discussed. (KR)

Contends that recent advances in theory and research on academic self-concept have important implications for practice of school psychology. Reviews research on most commonly posited structural models of self-concept, and pervasive frame of reference effects that link individual academic self-concepts to larger social context. Discusses…

Documents the extent of differences in educational achievement among a cohort of Mexican-American students in a large, urban middle school. Analyzes this information using two theoretical perspectives, socioeconomic and sociocultural, and a conceptual framework of the roles of social and academic behavior on educational achievement. (MJP)

This study analyzed the Stanford Achievement Test scores of Hawaiian students with disabilities and made comparisons to the larger normative population. After local subgroup norms were developed to supplement national norms, results indicated students with disabilities made greater gains in achievement from third to sixth grade than typical…

This theory-based article describes how data analysis tools, simulations, and modeling software, when used in the proper instructional contexts, provide young learners with rich intellectual environments for inquiry in science learning. Highlights include inquiry learning; abilities of learners; and the integration of technology within classroom…

Explored relations between former Head Start parents' self-efficacy beliefs, beliefs about their children's academic abilities, affective state of depression, perceptions of school climate, and reported level of involvement in their children's education at end of kindergarten year. Parents' views of school climate and beliefs in their ability to…

Describes a study of a pilot alternative college program, in which underprepared students must successfully complete a range of developmental courses and a freshman seminar before moving into the mainstream of the university. Indicates that retention rate for the program's first year was 82.7%. Includes 11 citations. (MAB)

Analysis of data from a longitudinal study of high-ability, college-bound minority students, based on Scholastic Assessment Test scores, determined the effects of background and school variables on status five years later. Commitment to science during the sophomore year and availability of minority support systems were among several important…