This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 9 titles discuss the following topics: (1) a comparison of the effects of three methods of vocabulary instruction on vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension; (2) the use of an elaboration strategy combined with classroom…

This volume includes the tests, questionnaires, letters, manuals, findings, and analyses associated with the field evaluation of "ThinkAbout," a series of 60 15-minute programs organized in 13 clusters and designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders, and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and…

This paper discusses behavior modification principles designed and implemented to increase the on-task performance of 22 first-graders during study and class time for two daily reading periods. Acceptable behavior in class included listening and participation in activities and, during study time, included keeping busy with reading activities and…

System Development Corporation conducted an extensive project of conceptualization and planning of models for compensatory educational intervention for disadvantaged students in secondary and postsecondary education. The present report focuses on the procedures used to identify and evaluate as available student performance measures that can be…

A program based on the personalized system of instruction (PSI) was written and used in a developmental reading-study skills course for college freshmen. The following principles characterize the PSI: emphasis on the use of written materials--textbook references, questions, and teacher-developed worksheets; the required passing of a mastery test…

The materials in this teaching unit are designed to improve the skills of second grade students in following directions, understanding and following a sequence of actions, and recognizing common word structures (compound words, prefixes, and suffixes). Each section of the unit contains a brief overview of the skill area, a list of performance…

The rationale, development, and implementation of a reading program designed to teach disadvantaged children the skills prerequisite to learning to read are discussed in this paper. Of particular importance are skills in the recognition and manipulation of basic speech sounds, phonemes. The first of the program's three parts takes two and one-half…

Second semester freshmen living in dormitories at York College (Pennsylvania) were administered the Organization Survey and Study Techniques Survey, and these results were compared with the students' overall grade-point averages (GPAs). The results indicated a clear positive correlation between study organization and GPA, and a significant…

University counseling centers are being asked to demonstrate their effectiveness and, at the same time, to meet the needs of a growing number of students desiring their services. To help centers meet these demands, researchers have begun to examine student needs and to evaluate counseling services. University freshmen (N=2180) interested in…

Opinions of 162 University of Pittsburgh faculty concerning the basic academic skill levels of undergraduates now attending the university were surveyed in 1981. A majority of the respondents felt that the 1980 undergraduates possess basic skills levels that are lower than the comparable cohort of 1970. They felt the greatest losses were in…

This paper addresses the problem of student retention faced by colleges and universities through the presentation of a university course, the University Life Seminar. The seminar is described as a program designed to help entering students cope with various aspects of the academic environment, specifically human relations, academic…

A study explored the relation between Piagetian conservation tasks, IQ scores, and reading test scores. A series of 16 items involving conservation tasks for area, length, weight, and volume were presented to 516 students in grades four through nine. The scores on these conservation items were correlated with students' scores on achievement and IQ…

Produced in response to a school board's directive to develop a plan for implementing a standardized curriculum in the basic subjects on a district-wide basis, this guide contains instructional objectives for the area of ninth grade English. Included in the guide are (1) an overview of objectives for eighth, ninth, and tenth grade English; (2) an…

The catalog contains information on curriculum guides submitted by 18 schools for the deaf. Entries include information on title, age/grade level, ordering, and topics available for the following subject areas: art; career education; communications; foreign language; home economics; independent living, guidance, and health; language; mathematics;…

The applicability of phonics generalizations, particularly the rule "When two vowels go walking the first one does the talking and the second one is silent," is examined in this paper. The first section reports on a study of the applicability of the two vowel rule to words in first- and second-grade basal readers and on a core vocabulary list; the…