An analysis of a 10-minute episode in which 7-year-old students (n=3) engage in collaborative small group activity is presented to explore the relationship between individual learning and group development. Students learned as they interactively constituted situations for justification or validation, yielding an institutionalized solution method.…

Reports a study to examine careless errors fifth-grade students (n=58) make while solving mathematical word problems and explores the type of student who frequently makes such errors. Results indicated that frequency of these errors was significantly related to the noncognitive variables of the study. Discusses implications for remediation. (20…

Performance of 156 undergraduate and 48 graduate students on a self-adapted test (SFAT)--students choose the difficulty level of their test items--was compared with performance on a computer-adapted test (CAT). Those taking the SFAT obtained higher ability scores and reported lower posttest state anxiety than did CAT takers. (SLD)

A University of Toronto pharmaceutics course which organizes information about physical chemistry around real problems, presented as case studies or laboratory projects, is described. Problems were addressed in class discussions or by unsupervised eight-student groups using self- and group evaluation procedures. Results are discussed, and three…

Examines the emergence and early implementation stages of Queensland (Australia) Education Department's policy for devolving responsibility to state schools. Clarifies the department's rhetoric in developing and promoting its decentralization policy; examines policy efficacy at the "school face" level; explores possible policy outcomes,…

This study of six mainstreamed students (in grades six and eight) with learning disabilities, their parents, and their teachers found considerable confusion and ambiguity concerning the impact of letter grades on students with learning disabilities. Students tended to feel helpless to achieve high grades yet blamed themselves for low grades.…

A model for assessing the interactive sources of communication development in young children is proposed, focusing on the reciprocal behaviors of both adults and children. The model integrates theoretical and empirical findings and is designed for parallel diagnostic and treatment purposes in five areas: social play, turn taking, nonverbal…

Children in grades 6-7 in a progressive school and a traditional school viewed a role-play video involving a positive or neutral teacher and a confident or nonconfident child with mild intellectual disability. Viewers' responses highlight the importance of school factors and teacher attitudes on regular class peers' attributions of children with…

Reports on a study of the nature of higher order thinking skills employed by high school students as they use information for writing a research paper. The study's objectives, theoretical frameworks, methodology, analysis and findings, and the implications for teaching and librarianship are discussed. (seven references) (KRN)

Reviews the literature on subgroup norming in testing and examines several types of score-adjustment methods. The authors discuss social and policy perspectives as well as the scientific and theoretical underpinnings of score adjustment. (GLR)

Determines how academic ability, music experience, and musical aptitude contribute to grade prediction in the written-work, ear-training, sight-singing, and keyboard-harmonics portions of two college freshman music theory courses. Finds Scholastic Aptitude Test mathematics scores the best predictor of grades in written work and ear training.…

Examines how cognitive modeling and self-efficacy affected preservice teachers' learning of teaching strategies. Two groups of students viewed videotaped training sessions with direct instruction or cognitive modeling. They then viewed either self-efficacy or task-oriented commentaries. Results indicated significant effects favoring cognitive…

Presents the conclusion of chapter 6 ("The Mental Development of Younger Schoolchildren in the Process of Learning Activity") from V. V. Davydov's "Problems of Developmental Teaching." Examines experimental teaching methods for elementary art education. Reviews research on effects of Davydov's developmental teaching, concluding…

Third graders (94 girls and 100 boys) and junior high school students (143 girls and 136 boys) completed questionnaires about mathematics achievement-related beliefs. Girls rated their own abilities more negatively, had lower expectations, and were more likely to attribute failure to low ability compared to boys. (SLD)

Provides a framework for observing and supporting the development of students as constructivist teachers, especially during their field placements as student teachers. The instructional shift to a constructivist approach is described, and guiding principles and possible indicators of the constructivist model are presented. (SLD)