This paper reviews selected findings from two traditions of educational research--process-product research and sociolinguistic research. The first research method generally focuses on the teacher and identifies teacher behaviors (processes) that correlate with student outcome measures (products). Sociolinguistic research focuses on communicative…

Two studies of integrated language instruction for students of English as a second language (ESL) are reported. The first had two objectives: to (1) investigate the effects of writing activities on the comprehension and retention of content area reading and (2) examine the relationship between the students' ability to select the main idea and…

The National School Recognition Program was established in 1982 to identify and call attention to a group of public secondary schools that are unusually effective in educating their students with available resources. This document presents 146 effective practices adopted by schools in various areas, including: (1) clear educational goals; (2)…

This newsletter issue concentrates on the topic of teaching written language skills to mildly handicapped elementary and secondary students, with emphasis on the communicative function of writing. The feature article discusses expository writing instruction, describing essential elements of the expository writing process and characteristics of…

The high achievement of students in the Johnson City School District (JCSD) in New York is attributed to three factors: (1) the mode of instruction from elementary through high school is grounded in a common theoretical base--Bloom's work on Mastery Learning and Glasser's work on Reality Therapy; (2) the teachers participate in staff development…

This paper describes the results of a study done as part of a research program investigating the use of computer-based laboratories to support self-paced discovery learning in related to microeconomics, electricity, and light refraction. Program objectives include maximizing the laboratories' effectiveness in helping students learn content…

Based on the concept that teachers can help students become better learners, mastery learning involves the identification of specific segments of learning and then mastery of them by individual students. Mastery learning provides a structure for teaching that includes class instruction followed by small group work. It is a group-based approach to…

Research is reported on the cognitive mediational paradigm which postulates that teachers influence students' learning by causing them to think and behave in particular ways during teaching. Four studies are reported. The first describes five teachers and their students and explores, in classroom lessons, the cognitive processes students used in…

To compare both the effect of and the student attitude toward instruction in outlining and graphic organization, 72 grade 10 world history students were divided into three treatment groups. Two groups, one of which had previously received 14 weeks of summarization training, were instructed in a three-step procedure for creating a graphic organizer…

Children are capable of good thinking, asking perceptive questions, ferreting out implications, making applications, formulating conclusions, and making valid predictions and evaluations. Evidence indicates that these capabilities can be improved by teaching children about questions and questioning. Before such questioning strategies have much…

The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--focused on science teaching/learning in New Zealand primary schools. Previous information about science teaching/learning was obtained from interviews with children, teachers, principals, science advisers, teachers' college lecturers, and inspectors. To gain…

This monograph presents 13 papers dealing with various aspects of elementary problem solving. They are: (1) "Training for Effective Problem Solving" (Gary A. Davis); (2) "Patterns of Problem Solving--A Campus-Wide Course at UCLA" (Moshe F. Rubinstein, L. Robin Keller, Edward A. Kazmarek); (3) "A Taxonomy of Problem-Solving Activities and Its…

One of the difficulties encountered by novice problem solvers in introductory physics is in the area of problem solving. It has been shown in other studies that poor problem solvers are affected by the surface aspects of the problem in contrast with more efficient problem solvers who are capable of constructing a mental model of the physical…

This paper on science instruction for learners with mental disabilities reviews the limited literature base in the field and provides practical information on teaching science in special settings. To assist in implementing best instructional practices in science education, the paper discusses the curricular make-up of science instruction; various…

The focus of this paper is the benefits and successes accruing from using cooperative learning in the classroom. The background of small group instruction as an effective learning strategy is discussed. Descriptions are given of several cooperative learning techniques--Student Teams-Achievement Divisions, Teams-Games-Tournaments, Jigsaw, and…