The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to examine the phenomenon of living through struggle while learning mathematics on the part of pre-service elementary teachers. We elicited lived-experience descriptions and interviews from 46 participants enrolled in an elementary teacher education program over the course of two years. We…

Over-reliance on prescriptive pedagogies, such as explicit instruction, could hamper students with learning difficulties from sense-making and thus limit their acquisition of conceptual understanding. To help them in constructing mathematical knowledge, manipulative and drawing could be used to solve problems in a meaningful context. Using a case…

The central purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of distractions in nonverbal problems on the problem solving behavior and performance of young children (grades 1-3) in 6 schools (N=360). Results indicated 66 percent of the subjects were distracted by irrelevant spatial-numerical or color attribute uses. (JC)

Examines 109 children from grades 3 through 6 for computational facility and the relationship between automaticity, or efficient processing of addition facts, and success in more complex tasks. Indicates that most errors on the multidigit sums were due to fact inaccuracy, not algorithmic errors. Discusses instructional implications for students…

Examines research concerning the relationship of nutrition and learning and concludes that poorly nourished children are less likely than their well-nourished peers to achieve their academic potential. Outlines a course of action teachers can take to improve child nutrition. (FL)

Standardized tests are merely a place to begin evaluation. As an alternative, criterion-referenced measures offer more specific information. The end point of assessment must involve diagnostic teaching and continuous evaluation of real-life task and setting modifications. (Author/CP)

An approach to foreign language instruction that emphasizes language acquisition rather than learning will emphasize the development of listening comprehension even at the expense of oral production, since research has shown that the latter does not suffer where the former is fostered. This approach tends to reduce the restrictive workings of the…

Semantic elaboration, a language-based mnemonic strategy, was taught to 15 students (aged five to nine years) with moderate learning difficulties over a six-month period, using pictures as stimuli. Among reported results was an improvement in overall performance on memorization of pairs of pictures. Generalization to items not used during teaching…

Examined patterns of variance for sex and grade level using the Nelson Reading Test, the Gates-MacGintie Reading Test, and the Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales for first to eighth grade students referred for possible reading disabilities. Females outscored males significantly on all measures. Found differences among grades in regard to both…

Suggests that learning comes about by recognizing anomalies, experiencing doubt, and making subsequent changes, and uses a study undertaken in a classroom for learning disabled students to illustrate. (JC)