Technological advances in communications, transportation, and information processing have deepened and broadened connections on multiple levels, local through global, thickening the webs of interactivity that bind us to each other economically, politically, militarily, socially, culturally, environmentally, and ethically. As with most complex…

America's education system faces enormous challenges that need to be addressed urgently and systemically. Greater emphasis is now being placed on ensuring that every student, including low-income students and students of color, achieve their potential, but major challenges remain. Far too many public schools have not changed quickly enough to meet…

The examination of the development of students' epistemological beliefs is important. There is little empirical evidence for precisely how epistemological beliefs are altered. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of constructivist teaching on students' epistemological beliefs in physics. One-group pretest-posttest…

Stresses the importance of questioning as a key element in the art of learning. Defines three types of questions: (1) multisystem, which considers more than one relevant viewpoint in thinking through a problem, issue, or question; (2) one-system, which can be tested with a multiple-choice format; and (3) no-system, which are matters of sheer…

Over a 27-year teaching career in schools in North London and the Zambian bush I have relished the challenge of helping the disaffected or reluctant learner. Most of my teaching was in the area of business and vocational education, where learners have often been placed not through choice but because they were not seen as high enough achievers to…

Provides information on the definition, etiology, and incidence of dyslexia. Presents guidelines to help developmental educators identify and test dyslexic students. Suggests helping strategies and discusses the basics of language retraining in the areas of reading, spelling, and writing. Includes a 50-item bibliography. (DMM)

Compares the effects of explicit instruction of the Preread-Read-Organize-Review (PROR) textbook reading strategy in a course-based context (where students apply reading strategies to their own college textbooks) versus a content-based context (where students apply reading strategies only to texts provided in the reading class). Draws no…

Concludes that the keyword method is effective means of vocabulary learning in the college classroom. (FL)

This report describes the developmental education program at Jefferson Davis Community College (JDCC) (Alabama). Approximately 59% of JDCC's student population must take pre-college, or developmental, courses in math, reading, English, and study skills. JDCC's developmental program includes computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in reading, math, and…

Asserts that becoming adept at understanding the logic of subjects, issues, and questions is a competency that, once learned, becomes a foundation for highly skilled and practical teaching and learning. Promotes the model of teaching students to seek the logic of things through the logic of science. (VWC)

Implementing classroom strategies that demonstrate and encourage appropriate academic behaviors for at-risk students can improve their academic performance. Evaluates the implementation of four classroom strategies in developmental English, reading, and math classes at Schoolcraft College. Finds that student participation in the strategies was…

This report provides important criteria for the effective teaching of community college English. The following suggestions are presented to instructors in order to facilitate optimal student learning in college English courses: (1) present content in a meaningful manner, with emphasis on clarifying relevant facts, concepts, and generalizations;…

Offers seven suggestions academic assistance professionals can adopt in order to evaluate strategic models, such as study strategy courses or paired courses. Reports that a 1997 study found that only 25% of four-year institutions complete ongoing and systematic evaluation of their academic assistance programs. (Contains 32 references.) (NB)

Describes the development of the Academic Literacy Questionnaire and its use with faculty at the University of Georgia to determine their demands of students and the academic literacy tasks used in instruction. Finds that faculty generally expected students to think critically and be self-motivated, independent learners. (19 citations) (AJL)

Describes psychometric issues associated with three different learning styles models (visual, auditory, and haptic), and the instruments designed to assess those models. Presents some background to the learning styles idea along with suggestions for utilizing this information with developmental students. The learning styles instruments discussed…