Students in a large lecture course were asked to complete the Notetaking Perceptions Survey, an instrument that assesses students' perceptions of the worth or value of notetaking, their perceived level of notetaking activity, and their degree of confidence about their own notetaking skill. (Author/MLW)

Presents data from studies conducted on student self-discipline and attitude toward biology. Suggests reasons for the difficulties non-biology majors experience in college biology classes. Proposes several ways that biology instructors can help their students improve their performance and attitudes in non-major biology classes. (CW)

Discusses reasons for failure in open learning, describes areas that can adversely affect student performance, and suggests possible corrective actions. Highlights include validation, or developmental testing, of courseware; the climate for learning; the role of local instructors; consequences of success or failure; course design; learning style…

To increase students' academic success and retention rates, colleges and universities are increasingly implementing seminars that will equip students with academic survival skills such as note-taking and doing library research. UNCC's program was found to be effective, and possibilities for further investigation were offered. (BF)

This study examined the homework practices of 48 students (ages 11-15) with learning disabilities and 48 nondisabled students. Although there were some similarities in homework practices of both groups, the students with learning disabilities engaged to a significantly greater extent in practices that interfered with homework completion.…

R-WISE (Reading and Writing in a Supportive Environment), a computerized package for teaching critical literacy, is described, focusing on its use in developing reading comprehension. The program eases demands on short-term memory, highlights strategically important aspects of comprehending text, guides internalization and self-initiation of…

Discusses the use of students' lists of questions as a method of instructional evaluation and describes a project conducted at the Open University in Scotland that explored the feasibility of various strategies for formative evaluation of study skills workshops. The use of a diminishing list of questions for a workshop structure is described.…

High school teachers (n=89) rated the importance of 14 student skills and the reasonability of 35 intervention strategies related to mainstreaming. Student skills deemed most important were study skills useful in every class. Factor analysis of intervention strategy results revealed seven factors, and teachers' preferred intervention strategies…

The University of Missouri-Kansas City medical school, which offers a combined bachelor's-medical degree, created a first-year support program to help first-year students meet significant academic and developmental challenges. The program includes academic advising, learning skills assessment, peer and individual tutoring, career counseling, and…

A study examined the differential impacts on college persistence of preentry attributes, initial goal and institutional commitments, academic and social integration, and subsequent goal and institutional commitments for younger (17-24 years) and older (25+ years) students. Significant age-related differences were found on some factors. (Author/MSE)

Provides a model that maps out five stages of relating library and scientific research: (1) establish an interest; (2) narrow a topic; (3) clarify the variables; (4) refine the procedures; and (5) interpret the unexpected. Provides a student questionnaire for selecting a topic and a format for general note taking. (MDH)

At a two-week precollege program at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Minnesota, at-risk American Indian students, adult students, and staff address preparatory skills for life after high school. Students explore their individual learning styles, personal career interests, self-advocacy, problem solving, study strategies, cultural…

A study of 71 Michigan State University medical school students in their first semester of a problem-based curriculum found that students' initial dependence on tutors progressed to an emphasis on learning resources. This result was congruent with the theoretical model of the dynamics of problem-based learning. (Author/MSE)

A study investigated the usefulness of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory in predicting college students' academic performance, focusing on whether the scores enhance the accuracy of traditional predictors such as college entrance examinations and high school rank. Results indicate the scores produce a slight but not significant increase…

Interactions between levels of learner knowledge in a domain and levels of instructional guidance were investigated. Inexperienced trade apprentices were presented with either worked examples to study or problems to solve. On subsequent tests, inexperienced trainees benefited most from worked examples. With more experience in the domain, worked…