This paper reports on two studies, one quantitative and the other qualitative, on the effectiveness and influence of Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs) at the University of Washington. A quantitative panel study compared 442 freshmen participating in 21 FIGs with 1818 non-participating freshmen. Findings indicated that the FIG program provided a…

Traditional methods of both first and second language teaching have commonly relied on simplification, restricting the range of language forms and functions to be learned and then practicing those forms to achieve mastery. These methods, however, fail to consider seriously the questions of how language develops in natural contexts, what language…

This paper identifies the bases and rationale for the concept of cooperative learning; describes the dynamics of the cooperative learning approach; and proposes methods that college faculty can use to enhance student motivation and learning. Cooperative learning is defined and is reported to have positive effects on student achievement, human…

Reciprocal teaching is an instructional procedure designed to teach heterogeneous groups of learners, including the educationally disadvantaged, how to approach text in a thoughtful manner. In reciprocal teaching, teachers and students take turns leading discussions about shared text to achieve joint understanding through the application of the…

New analytic procedures are presented for determining the relationship between students' experience in classrooms and learning curriculum content. Based on data obtained from two studies in the Understanding Learning and Teaching Project (ULTP) conducted at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), an analysis of the multi-layered nature of…

Two studies compared the effectiveness of the bilingual-dichotic method with conventional diotic methods for teaching Russian vocabulary to English-speakers. Subjects were 101 college students. In the bilingual-dichotic method, the foreign word is presented to the right ear and simultaneously, the equivalent native word is presented to the left…

Proactive teachers do not simply react to student behavior but use their thorough understanding of classroom communication to shape the pattern of class interaction. Proactive teachers are characterized by their recognition of the mutual influence of teachers and students in the learning process, their participation in social perspective taking,…

The final report consists of three studies on aspects of a common theme, that a hearing impaired (HI) person's performance on information processing tasks depends on interactions of that person's cognitive structure and strategies with properties of materials to be processed and task demands. The first study, "Recall of Temporal/Spatial…

A learning cycle consists of three phases: exploration; conceptual invention; and expansion of an idea. These phases parallel Piaget's functioning model of assimilation, disequilibrium and accommodation, and organization respectively. The learning cycle perceives students as actors rather than reactors to the environment. Inherent in that…

Well-known questioning strategies, built on question classification systems, are examined. Types of question classification systems are identified as: "hierarchical," which are sequential and cumulative; "non-hierarchical," which are based on elements which should not be rank ordered; systems which are "context-bound" to specifics; and…

Intended for elementary school language arts teachers, this paper outlines some recent work in the area of cognitive functioning and shows how this highlights the necessity for great care in fostering a child's language competence at two different stages: very early childhood and early to middle primary school. Following an introduction, the paper…

This second volume of the final report contains the statistical tables, coding key, and the rating manual for the coding key. Data on interrater reliability, factor analyses, and discriminant analyses are included and described. The manual for the coding key includes the data base and/or criteria for each item to be coded. (MNS)

This study aims to report the effort on teaching vector algebra using free open source software (FOSS). Recent studies showed that students have difficulties in learning basic physics concepts. Constructivist learning theories suggest the use of visual and hands-on activities in learning. We will report on the software used for this purpose. The…

To prepare teachers who will be able to draw on caring to build a strong foundation for their professional practices, teacher education programs must be created specifically focused toward this goal. This article discusses the use of dialogue journals in a course designed to enrich preservice elementary teachers' understandings of caring. Quite…

There is substantial evidence that prose-relevant pictures contribute to increased recall of prose materials, particularly if the subjects are young children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of prose-relevant pictures to immediate and delayed recall of written prose including science content when the subjects were…