Identifies factors that influence the English reading test performance of Hispanic children as compared with Anglo children in the same fifth and sixth grade classrooms. Suggests that Hispanic students' reading test scores seriously underestimate their reading comprehension potential. Discusses factors that adversely affect their test performance.…

Interviews with children and a review of the research identified critical factors in teaching reading comprehension to special needs learners in regular classrooms. These include (1) knowing one's students; (2) consideration of the socialization skills being taught in the classroom; (3) linking learning to the real world; and (4) using an…

This article discusses the importance of questions as a means for hearing-impaired students to acquire and clarify information and develop independent learning processes. The article also discusses the difficulties faced by hearing-impaired students in comprehending question forms (especially WH-question forms) and offers strategies for diagnosing…

Explains how the ear and the brain work together to make music listening possible. Argues good hearing does not ensure skilled listening, stressing that listening is a mental process. Examines the aural process and properties of sound, and describes listening behaviors within the basic levels of auditory processing. Provides a guide for teaching…

Suggests that reading students be taught to write symbolic codes alongside the text to identify new terms, similarities in ideas, cause-effect relationships, important or difficult ideas, etc.; and to use mnemonics to record their responses to the text (e.g., whether they were bored, confused, surprised, or in agreement). (PAA)

A dozen exercises designed to enhance the understanding and appreciation of literature in a second language are described, including dictation, reading, playing with intonation, choosing a cover picture, selection of significant extracts, comparative analyses, an author interview, production of a sketch or play, simulation, or planning a film…

Contrasts the author's experiences teaching mathematics in Russia and as an immigrant to the United States. The author is particularly critical of the emphasis on grades and formal records in American higher education. American education is often guilty of confusing good grades or a degree with competence. (SLD)

A first-grade teacher investigated the use of daily poetry readings to help students develop certain characteristics of skilled readers, including fluency and comprehension. Students in a class receiving poetry-reading instruction had higher comprehension scores and reading levels than students in a control class receiving basal-reader…

Finds that a strategy-instruction approach helped second-grade students to find needed information in the nonfiction texts they read and eliminate the copying of text. Discusses how students learned to search for information, take notes, organize notes, and use those notes to compose a report in their own words. (SR)

Discusses research conducted to develop Japanese multimedia teaching materials for use on the Internet. The research verified the effects of different types of images used in multimedia teaching materials on the story understanding and reproduction ability of Japanese language learners based on a Japanese fairy tale. (Author/VWL)

Explains the relevance of reading-comprehension research for classroom teachers, discussing how knowledge of the world and active engagement with ideas in the text influence comprehension and looking at how to develop both these capabilities. Four sections discuss the power of background knowledge, reading aloud and discussing literature with…

Describes three experiments that examined college students' self-determination, problem-solving, and reading comprehension when using a linear, navigational, or generative computerized system to solve a problem or to prepare for a reading-comprehension test. Suggests that understanding students' goals explains outcomes of instruction, effects of…

Describes an extraordinary experience teaching comprehension strategies to fourth-grade reluctant readers through literature study. Notes how the experience was a fusion of three critical elements: an extraordinary group experience, a text that taught itself, and an instructional model that met the students' needs. (SR)

Explores whether listeners can discern if melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic parameters and pairings of these parameters are abstracted from the ongoing flow of a musical event. Reports that students in grades 3, 6, and 9 identified phrases as being the same as the initial phrase; grade 12 students identified different phrases more often. (CMK)

Gathers information from students and faculty in order to find ways to help community college students overcome their difficulties learning new concepts from content area readings. Research findings indicate that students' and instructors' responses indicated some agreement and some discrepancy between the students' perceptions of themselves as…