In an attempt to better organize supportive environments for teachers, teacher educators are examining specific environments which best influence teachers. Teacher behavior is produced as a result of the interactive effects of teacher characteristics, teacher educational environments, and the tasks in which teachers engage. (JN)

Discusses specialization vs general education, stating that a good general education is needed now more than ever. For better general education, teachers must be adequately prepared and outstanding teachers rewarded. Teachers and parents must participate in developing a curriculum adapted to individual pupil needs and abilities. (MF)

Reports the results of a study that compared teacher rankings of seven business letters written by students. (RL)

No correlation was found between test scores and time to test completion in a study of psychology and chemistry students taking multiple-choice tests with no time restrictions. (Editor)

Reviews research on notetaking in terms of encoding and external storage hypotheses, test mode expectancy, and individual differences. (JEG)

Discusses adult individuality and the need to recognize and consider individual differences in adult education. States that the effects of differences experienced over time determine adult value systems. Presents data from author's dissertation study to show one group's value ranges and how no one person can represent the composite data. (MF)

Cognitive Flexibility (availability in the individual's repertoire of various strategies and ability to select those most effective to the required task) is suggested as an important individual-difference variable. Some methodological problems in the assessment of cognitive flexibility as related to human memory are discussed. (Editor/SJL)

Finds significant correlations between scores on vocabulary tests and tests of syntax and morphology, suggesting two major second language learning factors (grammar and vocabulary/phonological ability). Relates these results to hypotheses concerning individual differences in strategies of first and second language learning. (Author/RL)

Differential responding for males and females on individual items from the Adult Self Expression Scale was investigated using four samples. Men report themselves as more assertive in dealing with bosses and supervisors. Women report themselves as more assertive in expressing love, affection, compliments, and anger to one's parents. (Author)

Reviewing literature on the psychological impact of spinal cord injury suggests: (a) depression may not be a precondition for injury adjustment; (b) many persons sustaining cord injury may have experienced psychological disruption prior to injury; and (c) indexes of rehabilitation success need to be developed for the spinal cord injured. (Author)

Longitudinal analyses were performed on changes in life satisfaction among a sample of 378 community residents, aged 46-70. There were no significant changes in the mean life satisfaction scores for any age-sex cohort and no significant differences between the sexes, although there were some individual changes. (Author)

Problems in measuring change abound. For many purposes, a pretest score is best treated as any other measure obtained at the time of the pretest. Where appropriate, regression analyses that treat the pretest no differently from other independent variables, and the posttest as the dependent variable avoid many difficulties introduced by gain…

Open meetings are regularly scheduled times when all class members and the teacher sit together in a closed circle to discuss important topics, such as name-calling. Such meetings are structured, moving from reviewing ground rules to posing a warmup question, encouraging numerous perspectives, personalizing the topic, and challenging students to…

Focuses on the question of how language rights can be subjected to legal provisions. Argues that, because language has social and individual aspects, working out solutions for specific situations is more important than universal principles. Argues against the idea that languages are objects deserving of legal protection. (14 references) (Author/CK)

Used growth curve analysis to describe the development of 186 preschoolers with vision impairments. Found that mental retardation and developmental delay were associated with lower developmental ages and slower growth rates. Visual function of 20/800 or worse was associated with lower developmental ages and slower growth rates in personal-social…