This article reports on an exploratory qualitative study on 37 students' acquisition of language and literacy. The study closely analyzes a linguistics assignment written in English, the dominant language, given to students at University of the Western Cape belonging to groups speaking English, Afrikaans, or an African language. The study…

In this article results from an examination of beliefs about teaching and learning primary mathematics are reported. Commencing and graduating pre-service teachers completed written surveys and interviews. Common to many pre-service teachers were memories of mathematics lessons with teacher demonstrations, completing set exercises, using…

Synchronous communication has a great potential to increase individual participation and group collaboration. Despite increasing use, scant research has been conducted on variables impacting successful synchronous learning. This study focuses on learner experiences in a real-time communication mediated by the Breeze web-based collaboration system.…

The Student as Learner Inventory, which was developed at Alverno College (Wisconsin), is described. Alverno College is a private, 4-year liberal arts college for women with an enrollment of 2,500 students. The inventory, which is completed by entering and second semester students in an undergraduate program, is integral to the curriculum. The…

The 16 chapters of this book explore, from a British perspective, a range of strategies, both institutional and individual, developed to foster an environment conducive to learning for university students. Section 1 concentrates on systems and structures to assist student learning while Section 2 offers applications at both the undergraduate and…

This updated and expanded edition provides a number of new concepts and techniques that should prove valuable to the trainer who is interested in involving his/her learners experientially. It primarily cover methods that relate to the delivery of the training. The book's organization reflects group-in-action bias--the more participative,…

This paper chronicles the transition and adjustments of a teacher educator and a group of preservice teachers from the application of the case study method in their university classrooms, to their preparation for and participation in a national team case competition, to the impact of this experience on their subsequent personal and professional…

This study examined the relative importance of curricular, classroom, and out-of-class experiences on learning related attitudes and values of freshman college students after taking into account certain precollege characteristics of new students, including initial levels of interest in learning. Specifically, the study looked at students' formal…

A survey of Alaska high school seniors was conducted in fall 1982 to determine students' opinions of their overall high school experience, their need for additional assistance in selected academic and career planning areas, general demographic information, their plans after high school graduation, and specific postsecondary plans. A total of 3,505…

High school social studies students (n=448) were each assigned to one of 16 groups defined by possible combinations of two teacher uncertainty conditions (uncertainty vs. no uncertainty), two teacher "bluffing" conditions (bluffing vs. no bluffing), two lesson discontinuity conditions (discontinuity vs. no discontinuity), and two lecture notes…

A high quality reading readiness program should be available for each student beginning reading. Such a program should be sequential and should emphasize (1) securing the students' interest in reading, and in achieving reading skills, (2) attaching meaning to content being studied in a reading readiness program, (3) providing for each student's…

Proceedings of three regional conferences on the quality of American higher education are presented. Sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, these conferences consisted of round-table discussions concerning recommendations from the national report "Involvement in Learning," as well as strategies needed to…

A college-level integrated study skills and orientation course is described. The unique aspect of the course is that learning/teaching occurs in the context of the university environment. Learning experiences generally utilized with this approach to reading and study skills instruction are illustrated by the following projects: an organized…

In this article the authors discuss the relationships in college classrooms from the perspective of feminist teaching. With attention to power dynamics, they analyzed 17 early childhood course syllabi in order to elucidate those relationships. The authors present examples from the syllabi of course content, class experiences, and syllabus language…

New graduates striving to become successful engineers must use communication to interact with superiors and colleagues. This paper reports the results of a four-year development program using the capstone design course as a driver for developing engineers? communication skills. Faculty assessment of the program, as well as post-graduation feedback…