Thanks to recent court interpretations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, parents of handicapped students (under 21) may request not only a different placement, provision of related services, or tuition reimbursement, but also compensatory or remedial education services as a form of relief for alleged district violations. (51…

Relates a classroom teacher's observations of how students, working in pairs consisting of one English-as-a-Second-Language student and one remedial student, help each other to move forward in the writing process. (PRA)

Attempts to find new ways of seeing the writing and reading and talking of students who are "underprepared." Argues that, if educators are going to develop new ways of understanding students' literacy performances, they have to critically examine their assumptions about students' abilities. (MG)

Argues for teaching students to write leads that stress unusual story features and can be used as a peg to hang the rest of the story on. Recommends the use of student writing models, accounts by professional writers about lead writing, and instruction in the rhetorical strategy of contrast/dissonance. (PAA)

Urges developmental educators to undertake classroom research. Offers guidance on the formulation of research questions. Compares four research methodologies: correlational, experimental, descriptive, and ethnographic research. Reviews potential problems. (DMM)

A study provided specially designed hemisphere-specific stimulation (HSS) and hemisphere-alluding stimulation to 21 children categorized as P-type dyslexics (showing accurate but slow and fragmented reading) and 19 children categorized as L-type dyslexics (fast but inaccurate readers). Participants made gains on all reading measures, regardless of…

A study contrasted two instructional approaches for teaching decimals to 44 junior high school remedial students and students with learning disabilities. Findings indicate significant effects on conceptual tasks for students who were taught decimals with an emphasis on conceptual understanding; however, low-achieving students required considerable…

Discusses some of the realities of language remediation using examples drawn from the career of one English-as-a-Second- Language teacher within the City University of New York system. The purpose of the description is to encourage readers to think, talk, and write about their own views of language teaching--why it is so important and how it can…

Focuses on how and why the systematic incorporation of the arts into the language-arts curriculum improves special needs children's learning and encourages them to become confident, creative, and enthusiastic learners. Discusses visual arts, creative drama, and movement and music. Suggests enriching remedial programs with the arts develops…

Discusses possible effects of California's new remediation policy on disadvantaged students attending the state's public universities. The policy requires freshmen to successfully complete remediation courses within a year of enrollment and is intended to blend compassion with tough standards. Although more freshmen are completing remedial…

Presents a case study of two "at-risk" students who started college with seemingly equal academic aptitudes but who achieved very different levels of success by the end of the first year. Questions the reasons for scholastic success or failure and prompts educators to explore the implications for developmental education. (RS)

Responds to a case study in this issue that discussed the differing academic achievement of two at-risk college students. Explores reasons for one student's achievement and the other's failure using a simple but thorough six-part framework outlining the characteristics of successful students. (RS)

Describes a study that sought to identify which remedial programs are most effective in community colleges. Reports that five college classrooms were visited at various times to observe teaching methods and class attendance. Concludes that one mode of instruction is not a panacea for all students and that colleges should offer at least two modes…

Describes the whole language "way of being" from the perspective of a department chair teaching remedial 9th-grade and honors 12th-grade students. Considers how whole language fits into standardized testing programs, what students take away from whole language, what its general characteristics are, and how it fits with student learning patterns…

Compares the efficacy of a combination of phonological and strategy-based remedial approaches for reading disability with that of each approach separately. Study was based on interventions with 85 children with severe reading disability. Results indicate that a combination of Phonological Analysis and Blending/Direct Instruction and Word…