Discusses how teachers can help students learn to read with a sense of the author--who wrote the book, how, and why. Argues that building a schema for various genres and more sophisticated writing techniques strengthens comprehension and enables students to enjoy books on their own. (RS)

Describes a study that examined the concepts of power, influence, and issues as they related to establishing a new school district. The decision to break away from an existing school district and to establish a new one provided a unique opportunity to study community action in support of and in opposition to public school reform. (MLH)

Data were collected from 54 learning-disabled college students and 54 peers, concerning perceptions of cognitive attributes, achievement, motivation, organizational and decision-making skills, career goals, resources, and interpersonal relationships. Subjects perceived themselves to have greater problems in reading, written expression, visual…

The hypothesis that student groups working under conditions of intergroup competition will adopt different motivational orientation than will groups not in competition was studied using 89 Israeli fourth graders (50 males and 39 females). The impact of prior socialization on group behaviors and implications for cooperative learning are discussed.…

A department chairperson who is a transformational leader creates a shared commitment to the quality of college teaching. Improving the overall teaching effectiveness in the department, improving the quality of performance of those who are poor teachers, motivating alienated tenured faculty, and motivating burned-out faculty members are discussed.…

A study investigated quantitative and qualitative factors in the attainment of a bachelor's degree among students who began in two year colleges. More research on the nature of the community college experience among particular subgroups and efforts to strengthen the experience for those planning to transfer are recommended. (MSE)

Implications of Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory for teacher reward programs were tested by comparing changes in teachers' (N=38) job-enrichment opportunities and recognition after the teachers had chosen one of two rewards (travel to professional training conferences or cash). Results were consistent with the motivation-hygiene theory. (IAH)

An examination found no significant differences between timed- and untimed-essay test scores of adolescent students of English as a Second Language. Results suggest that there is a need for more expansive research regarding sample size and age, different time limits, students' educational backgrounds, writing skill training, communicative aims,…

Describes two studies that examined how chronic loneliness influenced local news and soap opera viewing by nontraditional and traditional college students. The relationships between loneliness, media use, and interpersonal interaction are discussed, and discriminant analyses are presented that examined viewers' motives, attitudes, and activities…

Describes how students selected a famous artist for every letter of the alphabet. Using Gothic style letters, each student drew or painted in the style of their artists within the outlines of their letter. (KM)

A study involving 697 male and 765 female ninth and twelfth graders was undertaken to assess learned helplessness in attribution patterns associated with personal failure. Although significant gender differences were identified, little evidence was obtained supporting the learned helplessness model for adolescent female achievement motivation.…

Presented are lessons which bridge the gap between concrete and abstract ideas by introducing students to the valuable idea of scale as it relates to space science. Included are information and activities on relative size, position, and orbital patterns of planets using mathematics to construct models. (RT)

Discusses the diversity of rain forest life, the adaptations of rain forest plants and animals, and ways these organisms interact. Includes activities on canopy critters with a copyable sheet, rain forest revue, design a plant, and jungle sleuths. (RT)

Makes use of natural language of the beginning reader to teach a unit on dinosaurs. Outlines steps in the approach, strategies to heighten awareness and application, questions for encouraging further study, and a webbing technique. (RT)

The challenges faced by deaf students learning English are very different from those of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. These differences include the amount of linguistic input, motivation, language attitudes, and the use of a visual-spatial language. (38 references) (Author/CB)