Reports on a study designed to assess the kinds of learning opportunities students had as they dealt with science content and the problems teachers faced in managing different kinds of assignments. Management strategies associated with these assignments are described and the effects of these strategies are considered. (Author/TW)

This publication features reports by eight Carnegie Scholars who are working to develop a scholarship of teaching and learning that will advance the profession of teaching and improve student learning. Following the Introduction, "Approaching the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning" (Pat Hutchings), the papers are: "Investigating Student Learning…

An analysis and assessment of the Course Redesign Project, which used technology to improve student learning and course satisfaction in large lecture courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Six disciplinary-diverse departments participated in the project. Technology was selected for the purpose of introducing active learning into…

A study was undertaken to determine if there was a difference in verbal responses in classrooms of teachers who scored high and who scored low on the complexity scale of the Omnibus Personality Inventory (OPI), which measures teacher tolerance of ambiguity and preference for complexity. Forty college English teachers were tested and ranked…

Reciprocal teaching, a method of teaching first language reading comprehension, is explained and three distinct applications of the method and materials in second language instruction are described. Reciprocal teaching is viewed as a three-level hierarchy of components and strategies, reflected in the organization of materials and activities. The…

The University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka) developed two courses in English for engineering students, one for technician-level diploma students and one for bachelor's degree-level students. The first step was a needs analysis, conducted through questionnaires and informal meetings with students and faculty, observation of subject lectures and…

New information and communications technologies and research in cognitive science have led to new ways to think about and implement learning environments. Among these new approaches to instruction and new methods to support learning and performance is an interest in and emphasis on complex subject matter (e.g., complex and dynamic systems…

This study documents the transformation of a graduate-level course for teachers that had traditionally been taught in a face-to-face (f2f) model, in multiple sections, at a large university. By designing the course for online delivery and developing various interactive multimedia modules, the university was able to offer the course at a…

To examine how classroom conditions such as students' mean aptitude, materials used, and instructional time influence the amount of reading material covered, 12 first grade classrooms were each observed for 12 days over a 36-week period. Students' reading readiness and word recognition skills were tested prior to observation while group mean…

A study was designed to examine relationships of aptitude level to training performance on tasks of varying complexity and to determine if differential job training might be required. A complexity rated training battery with eight tasks (simple/choice monitoring, rifle assembly/disassembly, equipment preparation, map symbols, phonetic alphabet,…

The purpose of this publication is to help teachers identify the levels which children have attained in their thinking as they express their attitudes, values, and behaviors through oral language. Provided are (1) sample questions applicable to various maturity levels to enable teachers to gauge the level of difficulty of their classroom…

Three major studies on English and native language use in the classrooms of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students are reviewed for the insights they provide on effective teaching practices and special services for this population. The bilingual education profession misunderstands and misuses what the literature says about instruction for LEP…

Six experienced teachers of fourth and fifth grades read and made judgments about the appropriateness, attractiveness, usefulness, and effectiveness of each of 32 short descriptions of language-arts activities. The activity descriptions had been edited to vary systematically on five features: amount of student involvement; difficulty for students;…

The effects of response mode and complexity level of instructional materials, and the effects of student ability (as indicated by grade point average) on learning performance were studied. Four programmed instructional units on an unfamiliar subject, physiological psychology, were presented to 159 college students. Three of the units required the…

This study presents preliminary findings from research developing an instructional quality assessment (IQA) toolkit that could be used to monitor the influence of reform initiatives on students' learning environments and to guide professional development efforts within a school or district. This report focuses specifically on the portion of the…