The gap between the university's promise and its delivery is seen as not just a failure of teaching technique, or of the general fallibility of tutors and students alike. Rather than try and devise new teaching methods and new curricula, the university needs to recognize that it has failed. (MLW)

A global survey of new technologies providing opportunities for delivery of the world's knowledge directly to the home and office is presented, along with the organizations now using them, including the French and British videotext systems, the U.S. electronic newspapers, and the computer-assisted video disc. (Author/MLW)

Ninety-five families who had completed a 20-week behavioral training program for parents of retarded children (ages 3 to 14) were recontacted 14 months later. Parents had retained their knowledge of programing principles, and the children had retained their original skill gains. (Author/PHR)

Presents evidence revealing the complexity of young children's language understandings with regard to spelling patterns, parts of speech, and vocabulary; points out that teachers must build upon the language knowledge that children bring to school. (GT)

The influence of student task interest and of usable performance feedback on the effectiveness of verbal reinforcement was investigated in fifth graders who received approval, disapproval, or neutral reinforcement. Neither reinforcement nor reinforcement-task variable interaction provided enough motivation to improve accuracy of task performance.…

A study of 40 medical students assessing the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) determined that cognitive measures associated with expert performance can be used to distinguish students who have participated in PBL from their counterparts in terms of knowledge, reasoning, and learning strategies. Includes a case study of an 11-year-old…

The impact of a 19-year-old leadership training program on participants was studied through qualitative and quantitative measures. Data from 234 participants show that they perceived that their knowledge and skills increased and that their attitudes changed as a result of the training workshop. Implications for organizational training programs are…

A study compared performance on the Area Concentration Achievement Test in Social Work (ACAT) of 32 undergraduates who had nearly completed a field practicum and 38 who had not begun it. Results showed no difference in the groups' knowledge of social work professional foundation overall or in individual content areas. Other variables that could…

Ninety-five rural eighth graders completed the Idiom Comprehension Test in three contexts: idioms in a short story, in isolation, and in a verification task. Performance in the story condition and on high-familiarity idioms showed the greatest accuracy. Associations existed between performance and reading ability for the story and verification…

A study examined 61 examples of advocacy from 34 states and selected six sites for case studies. Factors that supported positive outcomes include advocates who are persistent, knowledgeable about both best practices in gifted education and local state political processes, and more often collaborative than adversarial. (Contains references.)…

Examines the role of prior intention and knowledge in the comprehension of "forget" by young children. Results reveal that children initially have two interpretations of "forget": an unfilled desire and a state of not knowing. Discusses explanations for the late comprehension of "forget" in terms of representation of knowledge and intention,…

Preservice teachers' (N=200) ideas about links between vehicle emissions and global environmental issues were studied using a graphic questionnaire. Results indicated that most students understood that cars contributed to global warming, though many had misconceptions about certain specifics. It is recommended that environmental education be given…

Investigates the knowledge of elementary school teacher candidates on rock-cycle processes. Three different instructional interventions were used to improve their knowledge: (1) conceptual-change teaching; (2) traditional didactic teaching; and (3) microteaching. The conceptual-change group showed the most growth in understanding, supporting…

This study examined child care providers' use of different HIV/AIDS information sources in relationship to their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and their response to common childhood behaviors and classroom situations involving an HIV-infected child. Results suggest that different types of information sources were associated with different aspects of…

Interviews with 36 high school and college students with hearing impairments and 36 teachers indicated variable use of study strategies with notes among students and a lack of knowledge among teachers about the use of notes for studying. Results suggest the need for instruction on note usage and study skills. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)