Observed English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing classes in Canada in order to document what the ESL instructors do when they teach. Findings reveal that the instructors gave more attention to collectively constructing language paradigms and to guiding individual development than other routines, and attracted student's attention in one way or…

Discusses research on phonological instruction that indicates that improvement in pronunciation for adult foreign language learners is possible via a multimodal methodology designed to accommodate individual learning styles. An extension of this research examines experimental subjects' improvement in pronunciation accuracy and pinpoints areas…

Most identity development models are unidimensional and mutually independent. They rarely acknowledge multiple cultural identifications or their relationship to diversity-awareness training. This article discusses this relationship in a four-stage conceptual model for diversity identity development and its implications for the design, structuring,…

Describes the development of a 3-D virtual environment for secondary school and college physics and chemistry. Discusses individual learning styles; the effectiveness of visual stimuli in science education; implications of visual learning in designing instruction for differences in learning styles; and conceptual understanding. (LRW)

This study made three comparisons: (1) online searching on a native command language vs. searching with a commercial front end system; (2) end user searching vs. mediated searching; and (3) searching an education database vs. an engineering database. The results show end user searching to be as satisfactory as mediated searching. (93 references)…

Summarizes the following differences between adult learners and more "traditional" college age students: (1) chronology; (2) developmental progression; (3) motivation; (4) learning style; and (5) intellectual development. Discusses the debate concerning general education. Discusses the necessity of accommodating the needs of the students and ways…

The article presents an instrument to help identify teachers' current teaching styles to encourage teachers to utilize teaching styles responsive to individual students' learning styles. The inventory assesses instructional planning; teaching methods; teaching environment (student groupings, room design, and learning environment); and evaluation…

Familial/individual predictor variables related to reading disability were assessed, using 66 lower-to-upper-middle-class second graders. Subjects were evaluated as preschoolers, at age 60 months, and at the end of grade 2. Familial reading problems and individual differences in vocabulary, phonological awareness, and early literacy skills were…

Argues that the best alternative to assigning children to grades on the basis of birth date alone is to implement a child-centered and process-oriented curriculum for younger children and push back the academic curriculum to the upper grades. Suggests this allows children to develop at their own pace. (RS)

Discussion of library instruction for teaching the use of computer-based searching techniques focuses on a study conducted at Evergreen State College to determine novice and experienced users' information seeking habits, and to create a multicultural teaching model for researchers that acknowledges the users' conceptual frameworks. (15 references)…

Those who indiscriminately advise all teens to pursue baccalaureate degrees mistakenly assume that most high school graduates are ready for college-level work, will graduate, will find better jobs, and won't be harmed if they fail. Postsecondary education at the certificate or associate's degree level can lead to rewarding, high-wage occupations…

Discusses the merit in having every English-as-a-Second-Language learner speak during every session to practice English as opposed to the value of allowing a period of silence until the student is ready to speak. It is crucial to provide a stimulus for meaningful interaction and to follow up with opportunities for each learner to use an individual…

Reviews current literature about personal, demographic, situational, and cognitive attributes that affect computer-aided decision making. The effectiveness of computer-aided decision making is explored in relation to decision quality, effectiveness, and confidence. Studies of the effects of age, anxiety, cognitive type, attitude, gender, and prior…

Summarizes the conduct and results of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, an investigation that has assessed mental abilities in more than 5,000 adults and has followed some for as long as 35 years. Integrative findings are presented on age changes, cohort differences, factor structure, individual differences, and interventions. (SLD)

Advocates that language anxiety can play a significant causal role in creating individual differences in both language learning and communication. This paper studies the role of anxiety in the language learning process and concludes that the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis errs in assigning epiphenomenal status to language anxiety. (57…