Three studies were made of the implementation of the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) materials in secondary classes in Victoria, Australia. The materials were designed to facilitate a more individualized approach to the learning of science. The first implementation study sought the perceptions of teachers, the second analyzed student…

Noting that American elementary schools over the years have emphasized reading to the detriment of writing, a study examined the efficacy of a writing program that places the student and the teacher in direct contact with the writing process by (1) requiring daily student writing and suggesting the teacher frequently write with the students, (2)…

This paper offers a variety of approaches to teaching the concept of time. Many social studies courses traditionally emphasize time as measured by clocks and as useful for recording when events occur in relation to each other. In addition to this approach, the author suggests that students should reflect upon four other modes of time. These are…

This study investigated the extent to which teachers teach more effectively as a result of practice. Each of 12 experienced teachers taught a three-lesson social studies unit to three successive classes of eight junior high school students. The classes were taught on different days during one week. At the end of the unit each student completed a…

The project sought to adapt a maternity nursing course and a series of pharmacology lessons for use on a computer-based teaching system (PLATO, Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation) and to study the relationships of process variables to student achievement in a self-directed learning situation. A combination of tutorial-inquiry…

Community college instructors have, of their own volition, isolated themselves from the academic disciplines in which they were trained, from the universities and the secondary schools, and from the broad currents of the two-year colleges. This reclusive complex stems from three phenomena, one relating to the teacher as human being and…

The adult basic education program of the Texas Extension Division of Texas University was organized to provide educational opportunities for at least 200 undereducated adults, evaluate materials and teaching techniques in actual classroom use, develop a student record and progress chart for reporting and evaluation in local projects, explore…

Results of 11 studies of classroom practices used with activity-based elementary science programs were combined quantitatively using a composite category system. One finding reported is that teachers trained in program use spent less time talking and more on activities than untrained teachers using the programs. (Author/JM)

After noting classroom techniques that made a difference in student learning, the authors focus on reducing the distractions of a school environment and providing principals a classroom observation instrument. They suggest a student observation form to be used by principals, analyzing six student behavior categories. (JW)

This research brief highlights findings from a qualitative study of the contextual factors that shape engagement in adult literacy education. Engagement is mental effort focused on learning and is a precondition to learning progress. Some researchers focus on engagement as a cognitive, or mental, process closely related to such things as…

In this book, three veteran teachers show how teachers can make real improvements in their classroom by concentrating on basic skills. There are 13 chapters in three sections. The first section, "Time and Classroom Space" (Joyce McLeod), focuses on (1) "Setting Up the Classroom"; (2) "Managing Instructional Time"; (3) "Managing Administrative…

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between elements that are important for the tutorial group process and the individual learning process in a problem-based curriculum. The variables under investigation were: (1) student-generated learning issues; (2) individual learning process; (3) reporting in the tutorial group; and (4)…

From our experience doing workshops and courses for teachers about cooperative learning, we have chosen ten of the most commonly asked nuts and bolts questions. The suggestions listed below come from our own ESL and EFL classes, ideas from colleagues and from the teacher participants in our cooperative learning workshops and courses, and from…

Examined interactive effects of direction source (teacher, student, or group direction), allocated time, reading ability, and study orientation on student achievement (N=1108) on three Individualized Science Instructional System (ISIS) minicourses. Results (among others) indicate superiority of student-directed approach over teacher/group-directed…

Senior high students who were given concepts simultaneously learned more than those who received concepts successively. A second variable, instructional control strategy, contrasted an adaptive (computer-assisted) control strategy with learner control. Performance was above the criterion level for the adaptive condition, but below it for learner…