Describes a circulation model for academic research libraries which uses the mixed Poisson model, incorporating ageing of library materials, to predict future use of monographs and to suggest weeding procedures based on frequency of circulation. Longitudinal studies are examined and statistical details are appended. (Author/LRW)

Develops several lessons that integrate reading and writing for the purpose of understanding and retaining knowledge. Illustrates the use of a feature matrix, as well as webs, outlines, and timelines as organizational devices to engage the students in active comprehension of text. (NKA)

This report evaluates the evidence on how migration may promote or hinder development in countries of origin, and explores possible win-win solutions for both sending and receiving countries. The analysis of recent OECD data of foreign-born nationals into Europe documents the presence of multiple migration patterns and reveals that the EU lags…

Classroom techniques are suggested for teaching English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students cognitive and academic skills needed for academic success, using the reading and analysis of folk tales. Skills targeted include comparing and contrasting, evaluating ideas, supporting claims with facts and evidence, organizing and grouping ideas, and using…

Examines four groups of readers: second-language (L2) intermediate; L2 advanced; first-language (L1) Japanese; and L1 English) when they processed and recalled two passages varying in degree of causal coherence. Findings indicate that L1 readers used much of their attention for higher level processes, whereas L2 readers paid more attention to…

Describes a teaching activity that improves students' scientific reasoning by focusing attention on the causal, explanatory nature of psychological theories. Students learn and use an argument form called Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE). Includes examples of this technique and student responses to the course. (MJP)

Describes a study of 120 grade-6 students in Montreal that compared "Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia" on CD-ROM with its print version to determine students' ability to recall information and to draw inferences from it. Presentation conditions, retrieval conditions, text characteristics, and future research plans are discussed.…

Four main approaches to customized testing are described, and their resulting scores' valid uses and interpretations are discussed. Customized testing can yield valid normative and curriculum-specific information, although cautious application is needed to avoid misleading inferences about student achievement. (SLD)

Two experiments investigated the role of text coherence in junior high school students' comprehension of science texts. Found that text coherence improved readers' comprehension, but also that giving readers with sufficient background knowledge an incoherent text that forced them to infer unstated relations engaged them in compensatory processing,…

An experiment exploring Zimbabwean bilingual readers' use of background knowledge in reading comprehension is reported. In contrast to previous results, the bilingual participants of these experiments do use context to improve comprehension on some passages. (15 references) (Author/LB)

Practices identified by experts as critical variables in eliciting writing samples were checked against 12 randomly selected studies using holistic ratings to derive descriptions of inferential statistical results for described samples. The studies often lacked precise information about these variables, limiting understanding of writing evaluation…

Principles of W. Kintsch's reading comprehension model (1978, 1980) were used to revise an expository text. Two experiments with 170 undergraduates and 125 Air Force recruits indicated that the principled revision conveyed the author's intentions better than the original text, suggesting the model's use for text improvement. (SLD)

Compared the English and French reading comprehension and inferencing skills of U.S. college students enrolled in an introductory French literature course. Participants each read two different texts--one in English and the other in French--by the same 18th century author, recalled them in writing, and did a multiple choice task on selected…

This study had two purposes: (a) to investigate the developmental relationship between students' uses of fractions notation and their understandings of part-whole relations; and (b) to produce an analysis of the role of fractions instruction in students' use of notation to represent parts of an area. Elementary students (n = 384) in 19 classes…

Drawing on Charles Peirce's descriptions of his correspondence course on the "Art of Reasoning," I argue that Peirce believed that the study of logic stands at the center of a liberal arts education. However, Peirce's notion of logic included much more than the traditional accounts of deduction and syllogistic reasoning. He believed that the art…