Two experiments demonstrate that individual differences among normal adult readers, including lexical quality, are expressed in silent reading at the word level. In the first of two studies we identified major dimensions of variability among college readers and among words using factor analysis. We then examined the effects of these dimensions of…

It is common for freshmen students to enter Calculus I with a wide range of levels of preparation and mastery of background material. In addition, many of the students struggle with the adjustment from high school to college. In an effort to help the students to solidify their understanding of concepts as they progress through the course, as well…

Background: Prior to high-stakes examinations, teachers may use value-promoting messages (VPMs) to communicate to students the value and importance of their forthcoming examinations in the hope that they will adopt adaptive learning and study behaviours. These messages can focus on achieving success (gain-framed) or avoiding failure (loss-framed).…

Practice tests and spaced study are both highly potent for enhancing learning and memory. Combining these two methods under the conditions in which they are most effective (i.e., practice tests that invoke successful retrieval from long-term memory and spacing study across days) yields a promising learning technique referred to as "successive…

The purpose of this teaching tip is to share a new tool for identifying high-utility academic words from instructional texts. The Word and Phrase Tool, when paired with teacher knowledge about students and objectives, can help teachers promote the academic vocabulary development of their students.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare approaches to learning by a longitudinal cohort of undergraduate students as they progressed from their first to third years of study in anatomy and physiology. "The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students" (ASSIST) was completed at the beginning and end of their first year of…

Two studies examined the effectiveness of a flashcard-based study strategy, "Flashcards-Plus," in an ecologically valid context. The strategy requires students to create flashcards designed to increase their ability to retain, comprehend, and apply textbook material to exams. In Studies 1a (n = 73) and 1b (n = 62), we introduced all…

The material in this article is a compilation of the results of an National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA) study conducted by Dr. Marcia Toms under the auspices of NC State University which came from 211 unique institutions during the Spring of 2014. Invitations to complete the survey were sent to all past and present NCLCA members as…

The present study examined the types of orthographic knowledge that are important in learning to read and spell Chinese words in a 2-year longitudinal study following 289 Hong Kong Chinese children from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Multiple regression results showed that radical knowledge significantly predicted children's word reading and spelling…

The focus of this research was on examining a play-based, child-centered instructional technique known as story telling/story acting (ST/SA) within a Canadian preschool setting. The goal was to examine the changes that occurred in the narrative features of preschool children's stories, and to investigate whether ST/SA fostered emerging literacy…

To help students who traditionally underperform in general chemistry, we created a supplementary instruction (SI) course and called it the STEM-Dawgs Workshops. These workshops are an extension of the Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) SI. In addition to peer-facilitated problem-solving, we incorporated two components inspired by learning sciences: (1)…

This study examines high school students' levels of burnout and school engagement with respect to academic success, study habits, and self-efficacy beliefs. The data were gathered during the 2011-2012 school year from 633 students attending six high schools located in Ankara, Turkey. The analyses were conducted on responses from 605 students. The…

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of blended teaching, based on the e-learning management system "Blackboard," in the development of academic achievement, study skills and self-confidence among the students of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU). The study sample consisted of (38) female students who…

Decision-making is essential for the work of teaching. Preservice teachers must learn to leverage knowledge about young readers' strengths, needs, and interests in order to plan and teach guided reading lessons skillfully. However, limited research examines preservice teachers' decision-making based on what they know about individual children. In…

The teaching approach described in this article was originally designed for kindergarten students who are at risk for reading disorders. In a 30-minute session, students practiced attending to and identifying the spelling patterns, pronunciations, and meanings of common morphological suffixes through listening activities, interactive book reading,…