A brief structural analysis of instructional variables assessed levels of task engagement and self-aggression behavior in a seven-year- old child with multiple disabilities. Results indicated increased levels of task-engagement and reduced levels of self-aggression as stepwise changes in treatment components occurred, validating use of structural…

Seven educational states or processes which are popularly deemed vices are discussed, and the argument is presented that, when properly qualified, they are valuable educational goods to be wisely promoted or exploited by the sensitive teacher. These seven are: ignorance, negativity, forgetting, guesswork, irrelevance, procrastination, and…

Findings from a study which examined the relationship between study time and test scores indicate that time spent organizing had a stronger relationship with course test scores than did total study time or time spent reading and reviewing. Subjects were 113 undergraduates who kept daily self-monitoring logs of study activities. (IAH)

This review of research examines the contributions of American and European researchers to understanding how classrooms work and what "frame" or format factors exert their influence and supply the foundation that underlies academic achievement. (IAH)

The authors review current practices in writing instruction in adult literacy classes. They observe that students spend little time writing. Innovative teaching activities are mentioned. They discuss goals of writing instruction and how to adapt present practices to meet the writing requirements of the General Educational Development Test. (CH)

A successful reading instruction program requires ample time for actual text reading; teacher-directed comprehension strategy instruction; opportunities for peer and collaborative learning; and time for discussing what has been read. To develop independent, motivated, lifelong readers, a substantial part of children's reading instructional time…

Describes an experimental test conducted with high school students to determine the effect of posting explicit goal structures on problem-solving performance in an intelligent tutoring system for calculus. Related rates word problems are discussed, and student performance in terms of speed and accuracy is analyzed. (Contains 29 references.) (LRW)

Evaluation of peer-mediated reading instruction with three fifth-grade and sixth-grade boys with behavior disorders found that marked improvement in on-task behavior and positive peer-to-peer comments corresponded to the implementation of peer-mediated instruction. (Author/DB)

Students' class participation can be increased by having each child display a response to each of the teacher's questions. Suggestions are given for evaluating and using pre-printed response cards and write-on response cards. Evidence for the effectiveness of response cards in increasing learning and on-task behavior is offered. (DB)

Twenty-eight students (ages 9-12) with learning disabilities were taught a spelling study procedure (SSP), followed by instruction in self-monitoring of performance (SMP) and self-monitoring of attention (SMA). On-task behavior was significantly higher in both SMA and SMP than in SSP. Neither SMP nor SMA were inherently superior across subjects,…

Effects of self-monitoring on-task behavior, academic productivity, and academic accuracy were assessed with six elementary school students with learning disabilities. Although all three interventions yielded arithmetic improvements, self-monitoring academic productivity or accuracy was generally superior. Differential results were obtained across…

Computed and compared the accumulation rate of math-time capital through eighth grade in a sample of countries including Japan and the United States. The 1982 IEA exam administered to 13-year olds shows a U.S. score substantially below Japan (the highest math-time country). The United States could lengthen the school year by three weeks and…

The Houston Teaching Academy, sponsored by the University of Houston College of Education and the Houston Independent School District, prepares student teachers for inner-city classrooms while simultaneously giving practicing teachers access to new research and instructional strategies. One survey showed that academy student teachers learned to…

Measures of learning appropriate to museums are explored, including the following: (1) time on task; (2) knowledge gain; (3) thinking and problem solving; (4) motivation; and (5) creativity or intellectual provocation. Museums promote different kinds of learning, but all are interested in knowledge gain and thinking. (SLD)

Two studies with 50 students (ages 1 to 21) with severe, profound, and multiply handicapping conditions examined similarities and differences in behavior state conditions. Among findings were that profile groups could be identified by behavior state patterns and that students spent an average of 42 percent of classroom time in state conditions not…