A study explored middle school students' (N=54) perceptions of problem difficulty, persistence, and knowledge, and use of problem-solving strategies in solving mathematical word problems. Students with learning disabilities rated problems as significantly more difficult and had a significantly lower total word problem score than both average and…

Prereferral teams have been found to reduce special education referrals. A followup study of 10 prereferral teams in a rural northwestern school district found that strategies for successful team maintenance included training and rotating members, utilizing various skills of multidisciplinary members, administrative support, and implementing a…

Offers a classroom vignette that describes how the author invites students to collect pearls of wisdom (memorable quotations in books) as a source of inspiration. Offers an example of such a quote that stimulated rich discussion in a sixth-grade classroom. (SR)

Offers reflections from two English teachers (one a long-time teacher and the other in her fourth year of teaching) on their careers, their relationship with each other (their mentor-mentee relationship), and their role in the English classroom. Explores many significant issues in English teaching, including the induction of new teachers into the…

Describes implementation of concepts of collaborative learning, learning communities, and interdisciplinary learning to help students integrate into college life and improve retention at Portland Community College (Oregon). Also summarizes implementation of these concepts at six other institutions. (DB)

Explores the nature of indigenous extended family relationships and determines its potential for designing new classroom structures in bicultural schools. Reports supporting views from the work of several educators in bicultural schools. Shows that children in family-based schools had fewer late, absent, and dropout incidents than those in…

Examined the moderating role of individual differences in negative emotionality in the relations of behavioral and attentional regulation to externalizing problem behaviors. Found that at two ages behavioral dysregulation predicted externalizing behavior problems for children both high and low in negative emotionality, whereas prediction of…

A study found that college freshmen (n=29) housed in a living and learning residence hall had higher grade point averages in all four semesters of their first 2 years of college, compared with those of a matched control group (n=55). The experimental group did not, however, have a higher retention rate. (MSE)

A model encompassing high school grades and rank and college admissions test scores predicted first-year grade point average and academic progress for 225 Mexican American and 83 white college freshmen (but was a better predictor for whites). Mexican American achievement was also related to academic self-concept in college and to being a social…

Provides examples of research, nearly all published exclusively by "The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education," that directly and firmly refute what whites believe about blacks. Examples present findings in such areas as academic achievement, employment rates, and drinking habits of blacks. (GR)

Examined how and why African American students remain and persist at white institutions, focusing on successful students. Results with 86 students confirmed earlier studies that recognized the influence of intrapsychic factors such as aspiration and motivation and interpsychic factors such as faculty relations and sociocultural environment. (SLD)

An in-depth study of the experiences of Mexican American women at three Texas universities found that precollege factors such as early education and familial support had more impact on the students' experiences and success than did the ethnic or gender composition of the university. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/SV)

Though diversity is essential on college campuses, recruiting and retaining faculty of color remains an extremely difficult challenge. Research shows that encouraging diversity among faculty and students promotes better teaching and learning and encourages better scholarship. Since the 1970s, new courses have proliferated in many disciplines, and…

Describes a study that compares the performance of community college and technical students who transferred to four-year universities. Indicates that technical college students had higher grade point averages but community college students had higher persistence rates. Contains 8 data tables and 17 references. (JDI)

Compares grade point average (GPA) and graduation rates of transfer students and native students at a large university. Reports that: (1) transfer students suffer from transfer shock, but that they recover and graduate at rates comparable with native students; and (2) there was not a significant difference in the cumulative GPAs of the transfers…