This study focuses on student response to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) after it was introduced into a college level physical geography course, "Introduction to Weather and Climate." PLATO, a University of Illinois mainframe network developed in the 1960s, was selected for its user friendliness, its large supply of courseware, its…

Project aims were to learn what college freshmen knew of the late 19th and 20th century presidents and to determine the students' writing level. During the first class of each of five semesters, students enrolled in an American History Since 1865 course were asked to write one paragraph about any president in the time period 1865-1981. Due to time…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of the direct and indirect influences that testing has on students. Subjects consisted of 12 male and 127 female kindergarten through grade 12 teachers in North Carolina--a state that mandates standardized testing. Districts may use only those test required by the state or they may use…

Student brinkmanship in residence halls, resident assistant (RA) leadership, and residence social climate are discussed. In "brinking" the system, students challenge authority in ways that provide scant grounds for the institution to apply punishment. The study looks at relationships between: the RA's leadership behavior and student…

The Queensland (Australia) Board of Secondary School Studies developed a geography syllabus for senior classrooms which was implemented in 1980. Revisions of the syllabus took place in 1982 and 1986. Based on the 1986 evaluation, this report provides an evaluation, a summary of the findings, and advice to principals and teachers. Twelve case…

To determine how useful a computerized text editor would be in helping students to revise their papers, an interactive text manipulation system (Wylbur) was made available to two classes of freshman composition students at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since the course received no advance publicity, students did not know when they…

Students have learned social and political responses to the power structure of the schools. A critical self-study by schools is one kind of democratic reaction to the challenge students are offering. (DW)

Responses to a three item questionnaire administered to 105 seventh grade students indicated that less than 40 percent favored greater individualization of their science classes. (PB)

This study investigates the question of whether or not exposure to televised professional sports affects the social behavior of young people who themselves actively engage in those sports. Lacrosse, hockey, baseball were monitored on television, with students questioned about the impact the behavior of the players (pro-social and anti-social) has…

From the monthly Saturday Review supplement, "Education in America, sponsored by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

This study investigated the efficacy of using inoculation theory in developing students' skills in resisting pressures involved with drinking and driving situations. Inoculation theory stems from psychosocial investigations that have demonstrated that resistance to specific opposing arguments can be increased if subjects are familiar with these…

To determine whether negative or positive criticisms written on children's creative writing would affect the mean number of words and sentences produced, a study was conducted with 31 fourth grade children. The children were divided into two groups: those whose creative writing would receive negative comments and those whose writing would receive…