Previous research has examined whether manipulation of one environmental element, such as sound, significantly affected group norms for achievement. This investigation examined the relation of preferred and actual acoustic environment on reading performance. Subjects were 32 male and 32 female sixth-graders from a suburban school in New York State…

This four-part guide is designed to help community college instructors understand and respond to individual differences in their students. First, the preface lays out a framework for an in-depth examination of individual learning differences by posing the following questions: (1) Is learning a single function or a composite of different types of…

According to Jack Blaney, there are three basic learning modes, each with their own characteristics, requirements, and implications. While each is appropriate within the proper parameters, there is wide support in the adult education literature for the use of the collaborative mode in facilitating adult learning. An analysis of the works of…

Possible impacts of changing information technology on the role of the institutional researcher, who serves as a decision support intermediary, are examined. Attention is directed to measurement, human information processing, and decision support technology. It is noted that management information systems are dependent on measurement for data…

A series of studies that investigated the validity of abilities learned in college for later career and professional work are summarized. After describing the rationale for validating outcome-centered higher education curricula, the following types of measures for program evaluation and outcome validation are discussed: performance measures of…

This book describes the Missouri Mathematics Effectiveness Project, a major systematic research program supported by the National Institute for Education. The report is based on a decade of naturalistic and experimental study of mathematics classrooms in intermediate elementary grades and junior high school classrooms. A rationale for the…

An editorial comment on the computer and the mathematics educator is included first. Then, abstracts and comments are presented for 11 articles. Studies included focus on mental addition, problem solving by sixth graders, mathematics anxiety, tutoring, direct instruction, a bilingual program, thinking strategies for multiplication basic facts,…

This speech presents a case for "joining hands" as the educational theme of the 1980s. In "joining hands" with their students, schools need to abandon assembly-line models of instruction in order to adopt learning and teaching styles that nurture students' inner potential and provide for individual differences of both teachers…

Volume 13 of the journal of the Movement for Canadian Literacy is presented. The volume consists of 4 issues containing articles on the following literacy education topics: (1) putting literacy on the Canadian public agenda; (2) efforts to animate learner participation; (3) building networks for literacy workers; (4) literacy research activity;…

This study investigated the speed of encoding and rotation of images during simple spatial rotational operations to discover any similarities or differences in groups of differing spatial ability. This project was subdivided into five basic subproblems. First, research was done to arrive at a simple, easily testable information processing model…

This study investigated the grouping effect on student achievement in a chemistry laboratory when homogeneous and heterogeneous formal reasoning ability, high and low levels of formal reasoning ability, group sizes of two and four, and homogeneous and heterogeneous gender were used for grouping factors. The sample consisted of all eight intact…

To improve students' self-concept and vocabulary scores, a practicum unit based in Graeco/Latin derivatives studies in varied learning styles strategies was developed for use in an eleventh grade English class (18 students). After the language analysis and preferred modalities of the target class were identified, students were assigned a target…

An ethnographic study of a writing class learning to use the computer as a writing tool indicated that learning word processing while learning how to write was a highly stressful experience for some students, and that a word processing course taught by writing teachers who attend to the special needs of writers should be available separate from…

Child care instructors and their aides at the Good Shepherd Day Care Center, Punta Gorda, Florida, were taught skills needed to develop classroom activities matching the cognitive development of 3- and 4-year-old children. Through a program of in-service activity in child growth and development, instruction was provided to enable teachers to more…

Current issues in educational communications and technology are addressed in this collection of 47 papers, in which research reports dominate. Topics discussed include factors related to the learner, e.g., problem-solving skills, motivation, comparison of instructional design strategies, effects of organizational cues and text layouts, and…