Analyses of 10 raters' reasoning during think-aloud interviews provided evidence to support a model of the fundamental processes involved in rating standards-based, nonprescriptive portfolios. This process model provides a framework within which to conceptualize sound-rater reasoning and to identify reasoning that distorts the meaning of scores.…

Investigates factors influencing language-switching behavior in the thinking processes of a bilingual person engaged in second-language writing, based on review of literature and a case study in which an individual performs three tasks using think-aloud protocols: text composition in English (second language); written translation from Chinese…

This cross sectional study used verbal protocol analysis to compare the temporal distribution of formulation processes of Spanish English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writers composing first and second language (L1, L2) argumentative texts. Studied three groups at different levels of second language proficiency. Results showed the same total…

In this study we examined how good and weak students of literature interact with short literary stories. We focused on differences in the use of cognitive and affective reading activities, and in the extent to which good and weak students adapt their activities to (parts of) the story they are reading. 19 Dutch tenth-grade students from 8 classes…

This paper describes the task analysis of performance-based science tasks that were designed for the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment, now postponed until 1996, and field tested in 1993. A brief description of the science performance tasks is followed by a description of the task analyses performed and a…

A study investigated the effect of explicit instruction in reading and writing strategies on student performance in a college-level Japanese partial immersion course. Subjects were five students, four of whom had been subjects of an earlier study of reading and writing strategies and all of whom were training to be Japanese teachers. In class,…

To evaluate the efficacy of faculty seminars for writing across the curriculum given for the instructors at Robert Morris College (Pennsylvania), an examination of the instructors' verbal protocols was conducted. Eleven faculty members from a variety of disciplines who participated in the 45 hour-long seminars and eight who did not participate…

Discusses recognition of cognates used in teaching materials prepared by the English for Specific Purposes Project for academic courses. Presents suggestions based on theoretical considerations of cognate recognition. Examines, by way of protocol studies, how foreign students of English make use of cognate recognition. Suggests that strategies for…

The recall protocol procedure can be used as an alternative measure of foreign language reading comprehension and as a diagnostic tool. Protocol use encourages students to attend to the meaning of a foreign language passage and helps teachers to instruct students in the complex art of meaning construction. (CB)

Working on an open-ended task such as designing an engineering artifact is a rich learning experience for students, although they generally receive little direct guidance and instruction from their professors. In order to be successful on such a task, students need to set reasonable goals for themselves and adopt intrinsic standards for success so…

Parents (n=148) and their children, ages 9 and 10, were brought together to participate in a Family Math program in Ontario. This program helped promote positive attitudes toward mathematics in parents and children and increased parents' understanding of current methods of teaching mathematics. (MKR)

This article analyzes the self-correction of spelling by learners of intermediate Japanese. Participants in this study consisted of 20 students with "kanji" (Chinese characters) background and 43 without. This study investigates (1) types of spelling errors made; (2) the success rate of corrections made when codes for types of errors…

In order to probe the relationship between reading strategies and comprehension monitoring strategies and how they function to help readers in comprehension process, the present study utilizes think-aloud and retrospective verbal reports to examine 20 EFL readers' performances in reading texts. The results reveal that the engagement of reading…

A study at Purdue University (Indiana) investigated three English-as-a-Second-Language students' understanding of and attitudes toward teachers' written feedback on compositions. All were enrolled in an expository prose class for non-native speakers of English, and all were freshmen of varied ages and backgrounds. Data were gathered in videotaped…

This study investigated the kinds of knowledge and strategies beginning second-language readers used when reading texts to build their own consistent patterns of meaning and experience. Specifically, it looked at how readers' knowledge grew, where their ideas originated, and when and how their ideas were used. Subjects were five college students…