Tests three hypotheses regarding the use of object relative pronouns by native (NS) and non-native (NNS) speakers of Standard American English: (1) pronoun choice by NNSs differs from that of NSs; (2) "wh", "that," and "zero" are used variably by both groups; and (3) increased exposure to native speaking environments…

This report results from studies that tested two variations of Bloom's decreasing variability hypothesis using performance on successive units of achievement in four graduate classrooms that used mastery learning procedures. Data do not support the decreasing variability hypothesis; rather, they show no change over time. (SM)

Explains the design and implementation of a student research project called Project SunSHINE. Explores the relationships between ultraviolet light and humidity, temperature, cloud type, and cloud cover. (SOE)

Presents an inquiry-based research model for high school students to engage in inquiry learning. Provides students and teachers with a better understanding of inquiry and greater confidence in their critical thinking skills. (Author/SOE)

To enhance the study of abstract knowledge and to make it a central concern in the study of cognition, and to explore the nature of abstractions and the function of abstraction, the seven chapters in this special issue formulate researchable hypotheses, propose working hypotheses, identify major phenomena, and outline possible educational…

Describes study of undergraduates in business communication classes at Arizona State University that was designed to investigate how attitudes affect students' use of microcomputers. Results indicate that students with more computer experience are more likely to have positive attitudes toward computers than those with less experience. (15…

Describes study that investigated the effects of progressive phases of computer literacy on undergraduate students' attitudes, values, and opinions toward information technology (IT) and its applications. The Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) model is explained, and the implications of the findings of this study for changing negative attitudes…

Describes a game used in a graduate course dealing with interviewing skills. When following game rules, students are required to generate hypotheses and to engage in decision making techniques. Indicates student reaction to this exercise is positive. Notes that the activity brings about disinhibition in students while providing them with pertinent…

Thirty-five studies on the efficacy of special class versus regular class placement for mildly handicapped students were reviewed for the power of their statistical tests. Twenty-one studies had adequate power to detect a large effect size but the power to detect a medium effect size was no better than chance. (Author/DB)

Investigates the processes involved in the learning of Arabic subject-verb agreement by Australians. It is hypothesized that the amount and direction of information encoding motivated by certain semantic categories as well as the availability of discourse cues would influence the learners' performance in subject-verb agreement tasks. (27…

Presents a model that suggests the cognitive style and personality traits that are likely to affect programming stages and empirically investigates 1 portion of that model with 192 college students. Correlations between results from the Group Embedded Figures Test and design and coding tasks are discussed. (LRW)

Comments on the ideas espoused by Smedslund (PS 522 552) in this issue. Agrees to the idea of spending more intellectual energy in distinguishing between a priori and empirical hypotheses but emphasizes that concepts are not always accurate reflections of reality and that even empirical disconfirmation of an a priori hypothesis sometimes can…

The use of statistical methods to combine the results of independent empirical research studies (metanalysis) has a long history, with work mainly divided into tests of the statistical significance of combined results and methods for combining estimates across studies. Methods of metanalysis and their applications are reviewed. (SLD)

Using S. J. Messick's theoretical work concerning construct validity as a guide, underlying hypotheses for investigation when validating placement test decisions are assessed. Guidelines on validating placement decisions are offered, and the hypotheses and guidelines are applied in a validation study of the Written English Expression Placement…

Discusses semantic communication networks, methods of content analysis, and voice mail as a communication system. A study that examined conceptual distinctions between voice mail answering and voice mail messaging in a large insurance organization is described, and semantic network analysis is compared to traditional content analysis. (28…