In order to satisfy the needs of the many adults without a high school diploma, the New York State External High School Diploma Program was developed in 1972 as an alternative high school credentialing program for adults who have acquired skills through their life experiences and can demonstrate these skills in applied performance tests. The…

Based on the premise that what students know before they read an assignment will strongly influence what they learn by reading that assignment, this booklet provides strategies that teachers can use to evoke and enhance students' background knowledge in relation to content area reading. Following a foreword and preface, the first major section of…

Part of a research project designed to develop a theory of the cognitive processes involved in skilled reading by the analysis of the location and duration of eye fixations, this paper concentrates on how eye fixations can be used to determine when encoding, lexical access, parsing, and integration processes are executed and how they are affected…

A study was conducted to examine the effects of prescribing the use of some specific reading strategies on comprehension. The effects of such prescription on the interactions among instructional method and a number of individual difference variables were also investigated. Subjects were 140 high school students randomly assigned to read a text…

The first of a series providing reviews, syntheses (empirical and rhetorical), and reports of reading research, the chapters in this volume treat the question, "What does a child have to know (or be able to do) in order to learn to read?" The book begins with an in-depth logical analysis in historical perspective of the concept of reading…

Directed reading activities found in commercially produced instructional materials usually contain information that is aimed at helping children understand the story as well as helping them to develop other skills. To test the effectiveness of both establishing background knowledge and directing children toward central story content, two…

The purpose of a project at the University of Oregon was to explore principles and procedures for experiential learning programs. Experiential learning in this instance refers to both prior learning and field experience. Considerable attention is paid to the Lila Acheson Wallace School of Community Service and Public Affairs within the university.…

A study investigated the effectiveness of using thematic organizers to increase the reading comprehension of poor readers. The thematic organizer was used to expand the readers' prior knowledge by defining the implied thematic concept and presenting relevant examples of that concept. Twenty-four fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who had been…

The University College of Saint Joseph's University (Pennsylvania) has developed the Experiential Learning Assessment Program (ELAP) which is designed for University College students who wish to apply to and be assessed for college credits gained through experiential learning. The need for such a program was recognized when Archdiocesan teachers,…

Focusing on how teachers can devise instructional routines to help students learn to learn, this paper discusses mechanisms for training students to devise their own strategies for learning. Because of the dominance of deliberate memory strategies in training research, the paper begins with a brief consideration of such literature, then proceeds…

VARIOUS WAYS WERE EXPLORED BY WHICH PRIOR OR PREREQUISITE LEARNING AFFECTS THE LEARNING OF HIGHER ORDER (CRITERION) MATERIAL WHICH BUILDS ON PREVIOUS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS. THE INVESTIGATION WAS CONCERNED WITH THREE INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES (PACING, PRACTICE, AND NUMBER OF STAGES IN A LEARNING HIERARCHY) AND THEIR EFFECTS ON LEARNING RETENTION…

A functional typology of verbal instructional tasks for advanced classroom instruction and inservice training is described and illustrated in this paper. The described typology is based upon functional definitions of elementary and conceptual behavior and incorporates the kinds of goals and objectives that surveys and research have shown to be…

This guide is an attempt to inventory undergraduate level, degree-granting external degree programs (EPDs), defined as those emphasizing minimal classroom coursework and minimal residence requirements. There are 134 accredited or approved organizations listed that sponsor among them 244 external degree programs (66 associate and 178 bachelor).…

Results of a 13-item questionnaire mailed to Iona College graduates who had received "life experience" credits as part of their undergraduate degree are presented. The purpose of the study was to determine the acceptability of life-experience credits by graduate schools to improve advising and advocacy activities. (Author/LBH)

Discusses the gender differences revealed on the science content items of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Science Assessment. Examines explanations for the differences, including differential prior instruction, differential response to uncertainty, differential response to figurally presented items, and different attitudes toward…