Explored children's perceptions of play in a prekindergarten and a K-1 classroom. Found a category of classroom activities that combined elements of play and work. These blended learning activities showed: blurred lines between work and play; shared control of classroom activities; and spontaneity in learning experiences. (Author/DLH)

Demonstrates how "academic ethic" (a student world view that emphasizes diligent, daily, and sober study) can be operationalized and measured. Provides evidence for its existence among students at Illinois State University. Finds a relationship between methodical, disciplined study and academic performance. (Contains references.) (CMK)

Presents and evaluates a pilot program to reduce test anxiety and related social-evaluative concerns. The Testbusters program teaches effective study habits, study skills, and test-taking strategies for children in grades 4 through 7. Results indicate that Testbusters decreased general levels of test anxiety and improved overall grade point…

Presents specific strategic and organizational advice to parents on helping children with nightly homework. (WRM)

Describes a study of 260 academically at-risk college freshmen, profiling their perceptions of study demands and study skills appropriate for college. Discusses student perceptions related to degree goals, academic strengths and weaknesses, tutoring services, remediation needs, peer versus expert tutoring, group versus individual studying, and…

Discusses the limitations of "The Academic Ethic and College Grades: Does Hard Work Help Students to 'Make the Grade'?" by William Rau and Ann Durand. States that it is partly a replication of the author's research, performed with three colleagues, on the association between the amount of studying by students and their grades. (CMK)

Responds to the article "Students' Effort and Reward in College Settings" by Howard Schuman. States that there were two reasons why the author and Ann Durand did not copy Schuman et al.'s research design: (1) key questions on study hours contains serious flaws; and (2) the research lacks a theory. (CMK)

Models of self-regulated learning hypothesize that learners selectively match study tactics to varying tasks and diverse goals. In this study, students rated the frequency with which they applied 26 study tactics, used 20 textbook features and other resources, and adopted 30 goals for studying. Findings indicate students' reports of…

The authors extend the standard education production function and student time allocation analysis to focus on the interactions between student effort and performance over the semester. The purged instrumental variable technique is used to obtain consistent estimators of the structural parameters of the model using data from intermediate…

The potential value of a multiple-choice question-construction instructional strategy for the support of students' learning of physics experiments was examined in the study. Forty-two university freshmen participated in the study for a whole semester. A constant comparison method adopted to categorize students' qualitative data indicated that the…

Recently, research into gender differences in achievement has mainly concentrated on the underperformance of boys in comparison with girls. Qualitative research in particular points to the importance of the gender-specific cultures adolescents experience. The purpose of this article is to test quantitatively the explanatory value of academic…

Studying law in Finland requires a great deal of independent studying for extensive examinations. To succeed, students have to have good self-regulation and study skills and be aware of their conceptions of learning and knowledge as well as of their approaches to study. Experiences from study counselling at the Faculty of Law, University of…

In the spring of 2003, a survey was conducted to examine the differences in perceptions of academic rigor and engagement between faculty and undergraduate students at a small, liberal arts university in the Midwest. Although a sample bias in the student responses (students with higher GPAs had a higher tendency to respond) precluded a number of…

The term self-regulated is used to describe learners who have highly effective learning and work habits. They are successful in and beyond school. This investigation examines whether and how teachers, who are masters at supporting young students' development of self-regulated learning (SRL), can mentor student teachers to design tasks and develop…

In educational contexts, understanding the student's learning must take account of the student's construction of reality. Reality as experienced by the student has an important additional value. This assumption also applies to a student's perception of evaluation and assessment. Students' study behaviour is not only determined by the examination…