In three experiments investigating both the features of cooperative learning in pairs that lead to improved mastery and retention of information and transfer of learning strategies to individual situations and the individual characteristics that contribute to cooperative learning outcomes, 126 college students studied excerpts from expository…

Recent research in metacognition suggests that efficient studying reflects the ability to employ deliberately planful or self-regulative study strategies. An instructional program based on this approach was developed to teach eighth graders how to study text. The sample of 50 eighth graders was divided into experimental (N=24) and control (N=26)…

Studies have shown that students, after having studied physics concepts and being familiar with them for an appreciable time, may nevertheless lack the ancillary knowledge needed to use such concepts reliably; correspondingly, they exhibit major misconceptions and errors. Provided in this paper is an analysis of the ancillary knowledge required to…

Grade 3 and grade 4 classrooms in a California bilingual Spanish/English environment were studied. In the first study, reading lessons were observed and analyzed in a bilingual classroom. Using the analysis of this experience, in the second study a series of theory-driven experimental interventions were initiated. It was found that the achievement…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on the concepts of "living" held by 32 students in four different…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' thinking regarding their views on friction. Students (N=47) were…

To determine the effect of training in reciprocal teaching on collaborative learning, a study of six middle school remedial reading classes was undertaken. Reciprocal teaching is a method in which the teacher participates both as a leader and as respondent. Before the experiment began, the teachers were trained for a day in reciprocal teaching and…

A practicum study was conducted to raise the reading comprehension level of students at least one grade level by using Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI), and to determine the kind of student who would most benefit by the use of CAI. A control group of 35 students and three experimental groups of 19 computer students, all in fourth or fifth…

This program was developed and implemented to help students in the secondary school vocational area raise their reading test scores and reading comprehension through the use of the Individualized Manpower Training Systems (IMTS) lab. The program's aims were to increase the reading comprehension percentage scores on major tests and to assist the…

This profile describes "Teaching Reading Comprehension," a series of 14 30-minute video programs designed to expand K-8 reading teachers' understanding of the new view of reading as a constructive process and strategic behavior. Each video features at least one nationally recognized reading researcher and educator presenting the findings of his or…

A guide for teachers of second language reading offers ideas for using authentic texts as instructional materials. The guide focuses on how to teach students to become strategic readers and use their background knowledge to enhance comprehension. Schema theory is proposed as a framework for approaching reading tasks, by providing relevant pre- and…

A study was conducted to increase students' passing rates on the reading subtest of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) by increasing their ability to answer reading items correctly, increasing their comprehension speed, and increasing their confidence in their test-taking abilities. Subjects were 27 students at Southwest Texas State…

Evidence from existing literature suggests that the decoding and reading comprehension skills of poor readers can be improved by assisting them to read material that is too difficult for them to read by themselves--especially when the reading experiences are focused on the content of the material rather than on the words. A study examined the…

This study examined how instruction that encourages critical thinking about what has been read can lead to incorporated knowledge that can be retrieved and applied to other related settings. Case-based learning (an instructional method long used with graduate business, law, and medical students) is one method that can be used to foster critical…

A study explored how writers with extensive experience and learning in an academic discipline used both topical and rhetorical knowledge to construct synthesis essays. Subjects, 20 psychology graduate students and 20 business graduate students, wrote synthesis essays on either the topics of "supply-side economics" or "rehearsal in…