Creative activities can enliven math classes and enhance student learning. Several suggestions are given for creating amusing word problems and lively drills. Included is a reproducible word problem sheet. (IAH)

Three studies investigated the influence of cognitive style on teaching practices of 114 teachers. Field-dependent teachers were more likely to use small group instructional techniques, while field-independent teachers were more likely to use group instruction, lectures, and direct teaching. (RJC)

Focuses upon three current issues in educational evaluation. Looks at the limitations of examinations and the interpretation of results in considering reliability and validity. Discusses grading and context of learning relative to formative and summative assessment. Deals with cultural background when exploring uniformity of testing versus…

Tested a two-step infant preventive intervention model. Subjects were 147 multiproblem mothers and their infants. Data partially supported the model. Additional analyses explored factors associated with individual differences in delivery of services and response to treatment. (RH)

Tested model proposing that importance of work for individual depends on individual's perception of possibilities for attainment of personal salient work values through working. Responses from 1,872 high school students, 348 university students, and 344 adults to measures on importance of 20 work values, perceptions of their attainment…

An extension of the multidimensional Rasch model for learning and change is presented that permits theories of processes and knowledge structures to be incorporated into the item response model. The extension resolves basic problems in measuring change and permits adaptive testing. The method is illustrated in a study of mathematical problem…

Explains many well-known problems associated with trying to correlate "intelligence" measures with measures of "race," such as reification, circular arguments, biological definitions of race, comparison of individual and group differences, correlation versus causation, intelligence quotient heritability, and ideology/social…

Provides a conceptual foundation for the development of hypermedia as an instructional tool for addressing individual differences in learning styles. Highlights include a literature review; computers and instruction; individual differences, computers, and instruction; cognitive controls; cognitive styles and learning; personality types; and future…

Six children were visited in their homes every 2 weeks for 18 months from the age of 6 months to observe their developing comprehension and production of words. Results showed both similarities and individual differences in patterns of early comprehension. A close relationship was noted between early production and comprehension of words;…

The relationship between cognitive style, achievement motives, and problem solving performance was investigated in two studies involving a total of 362 Norwegian high school students solving insight problems. Findings support the hypothesis of optimal motivation of Atkinson (1980). (SLD)

"The Bell Curve" claims that most human differences and almost all social injustices can be traced to intelligence, and that distribution of intelligence should influence distribution of educational resources to allow students to find their proper and inevitable place in society. Applied to educational policy, this vision of the world…

Notes that fear has the potential to interfere with the young child's quality of life, and offers some understanding of the nature and normal developmental course of early childhood fears. Discusses reasons for fearful behavior and different temperament types. Offers suggestions on how adults can help children cope with fear and how teachers can…

This essay discusses the evaluation of the relationship between the nervous system and emotion regulation, introducing vagal tone as a measurable organismic variable that contributes to individual and developmental differences in the expression and regulation of emotion. (MDM)

This paper argues for considering the uniqueness of each student with serious emotional/behavioral disorders when deciding on placement. A full continuum of alternatives should be considered, including the possibility that a self-contained class with a low student/teacher ratio may be the least restrictive setting needed to produce successful…

This article outlines principles of support services for families of children with disabilities. It then considers characteristics of parents of young children who are deaf/hard of hearing (e.g., gender, hearing status, socioeconomic status, and cultural/linguistic status) and child characteristics (age at diagnosis, hearing level, and additional…