Drawing from basic assumptions about learning and critical thinking skills, this paper suggests a teaching method for helping community college students to use their critical thinking capacity in their college courses. First, a series of assumptions commonly held by teachers about the nature of learning are presented, and contrasted with…

Freshman and sophomore composition students who are required to write in response to literature frequently find that they are not yet secure enough in their basic writing skills to discuss a literary work. In order to help these students, writing center tutors must be familiar with the assigned writing tasks and what instructors expect from an…

Student mobility is a phenomena that negatively affects performance on tests. In New Jersey this is a problem because test scores on statewide proficiency tests are used as criteria for graduation and as one of the criteria for state certification of the school district. A study done in Perth Amboy was designed to collect data on student mobility…

This preliminary investigation explored a means of maximizing the use of standardized test results. In addition to the usual package of alpha and ranked norm-referenced test reports, a special series of reports by the California Test Bureau/McGraw-Hill was generated for remedial reading and mathematics teachers. These reports displayed primarily…

Reducing math anxiety and building basic mathematical skills should not be treated as separate processes, but can and should be undertaken simultaneously. To do so requires a positive attitude on the part of the instructor; the establishment of an atmosphere in the classroom that encourages learning; and the instructor's awareness of different…

The process of applying Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to developmental math classes is described in this paper. The first section provides background and identifies the six steps in the cognitive domain, arranged from the lowest to the most complex level of learning, as knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and…

A study was conducted to determine whether DeKalb Technical School's developmental studies students were as successful as other students who took more conventional routes of matriculation. The study was limited to 449 students who posted grades in developmental studies and/or in specified common content courses in Reading, English and Mathematics…

In spring 1984, a study was conducted at Sacramento City College (SCC) to explore whether students' reading and study skills improved after participation in an "adjunct" skills course (i.e., a team-taught course which presents reading, writing, and study skills education within the context of a regular college course). The study focused on 38…

Focusing on schools in southern California, Arizona, and Nevada, this report uses information from several sources, including surveys of school personnel and analyses of instructional and assessment materials, to document the common practices and effects of junior high and high school remedial reading and English instruction. The first two parts…

An assessment study was conducted on the effectiveness of a cognitive education program, Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment, in meeting the needs of a class of low achieving adolescents at a vocational school in Calgary, Canada. Fifteen students participated in an Instrumental Enrichment class for one 45 minute period five days a week over two…

The importance of including an occupational therapist in an interdisciplinary team to assess learning disabilities is demonstrated with the case of an 8-year-old boy who was evaluated and diagnosed as having severe reading disabilities and perceptual dysfunction. (MC)

Colleges and universities are now dealing with certain students through a new component in their instructional environment. These emerging Learning Centers are typically designed to assist and guide capable but fundamentally ill-prepared handicapped students in acquiring needed background. In some cases, such components not only help dispense…

Basic writing teachers can make use of the Learning Cycle teaching technique to design exploration and invention activities with which their students can practice analytical writing. The Learning Cycle approach is based on Piagetian theory and involves a three-phase process of exploration, invention, and discovery. In the exploration phase…

Designed as a forum for the exchange and dissemination of ideas and viewpoints of California community college faculty, this journal offers six brief articles on various aspects of 2-year college education. In "Academic Standards and the Open Door," Leon Baradat asserts that community colleges must reverse the trend toward decreased…