Three empirical studies concerning reflective and rote learning in Finnish schools are described. In the first, a questionnaire given to school beginners reveals that during their first 12 weeks of school the children's estimates of the excitement and pleasure of learning and their conception of the role of understanding in learning decrease. The…

The Cognitive Education Project conducted a 3-year longitudinal evaluation of two cognitive education programs that were aimed at teaching thinking skills. The critical difference between the two experimental programs was that one, Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment (IE) method, was taught out of curricular content, while the other, the…

A joint enterprise by Sanford Public Schools of Sanford, Maine, and five partners established and operated a program of literacy, math, and reasoning/problem-solving skills instruction and support services at five work sites. The business partners were Sprague Electric Company; The Baker Company; Jagger Brothers, Inc.; Greenwood Center; and…

"Effective Reading" (ER) is a community college course designed to help developmental readers succeed in college reading through improved reading comprehension. The course is based on current research which indicates that successful comprehension can take place if students follow three steps: predicting (pre-reading strategies such as surveying…

Originally developed for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on developing thinking skills through literature is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a lecture giving an overview on the topic; the…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on the role of vocabulary in reading and learning is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC…

This paper highlights measurement issues faced when attempting to assess and interpret results of a school improvement project. Based on the assumption that to measure effectiveness, one must measure a wide variety of school factors, the paper presents a broad perspective on measurement problems and dilemmas in analyzing norm-referenced test data…

To determine the factors accounting for children's growth in decoding skill, a study examined school entering characteristics--age, sex, ethnicity, and developmental abilities--and school-influenced skills and characteristics--phonemic awareness, letter-name knowledge, basal text, and place in series--of approximately 100 grade one students.…

To determine the relationship of reading ability to age, sex, Hispanic ethnicity, and majors in economics, political science, history, and psychology, 141 students who completed summer social science courses at a California community college were given the Nelson Denny Reading Test, which scores for vocabulary and comprehension. Of the 141…

Intended for elementary and secondary school teachers, supervisors, curriculum specialists, and researchers, this report presents the proceedings of an institute on the Learning from Text Project sponsored by the University of California and the California State University systems. After an introduction by institute chairperson Deborah Hancock,…

Since an author does not provide all critical information, a text is never fully explicit; it demands that the reader/listener supply missing elements in order to form a coherent and logical whole. A study was conducted to explore both the types of responses urban first grade students made when asked to predict a narrative ending and differences…

A study examined classroom practices in English, social studies, and science classrooms, seeking information on the purposes for which teachers assign reading within their specific disciplines, the reading activities that might be associated with such assignments, and the assistance or guidance that teachers might give their students to help them…

Intended for students taking the English 33 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this writing test booklet contains the composition component of the June 1989 tests. During 2.5 hours, students are required to perform the following writing tasks: (1) a personal response to an excerpt from Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth…

Intended for students taking English 30 Grade Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this writing test booklet contains the composition component of the June 1989 tests. During 2.5 hours, students are required to complete a minor writing assignment in which they give a personal response to William Butler Yeats'"The Fascination of What's…

A study investigated the effects of using daily newspapers to supplement normal classroom instruction with at-risk secondary school students. Subjects, 627 at-risk 8th- through 12th-grade students in 41 intact classes, were assigned to one of three conditions of newspaper usage over an 18-week period. The first group received newspapers three…