Groups of mentally retarded subjects matched for sex, chronological age, mental age, and length of institutionalization were observed on three reaction time tasks for which pre-response complexity varied. Down's Syndrome subjects did not differ from epileptic and undifferentiated retarded subjects in reaction time performance on any of the tasks.…

Degree of lesson complexity was examined and related to the type of approach used by eighth grade teachers. Results indicated that teachers adapt to the perceived complexity of class activities and to students' behavior cues, using direct instruction more frequently in mathematics and science than in the humanities and language arts. (Author/PP)

Summarizes the results from a questionnaire developed to reflect both local concerns and those of national studies in elementary science education in Kansas. The questionnaire included items concerning methods of science instruction, class time spent on science, teacher preparation, approach to metric system, science textual material, and…

Examines the effect of teacher expectations on differences in achievement between German-speaking and French-speaking ninth graders in English-speaking classrooms. Results suggest that teachers base their expectations on student intellectual abilities and previous performance rather than upon ethnicity or other characteristics. (AM)

Summarizes research regarding psychomotor skill development in technical education and offers suggestions for teaching machine use skills. Four tables display data from various researchers' studies under headings for models for classifying the psychomotor domain, knowledge of results, type of feedback, and type of video feedback. (MF)

Investigates spontaneous reasoning of 709 French, Belgian, and British students in elementary dynamics using the relations between force, energy and motion as the study topic. Students were selected from the last year at secondary school to the third year at university. (HM)

When Chinese adults tried to name the color of characters which represented conflicting color words, they showed greater interference than did English speaking readers of the same task in English. This effect cannot be attributed to bilingualism. There may be fundamental differences in the perceptual demands of reading Chinese and English.…

Reports on research concerning the impact of pupils' speech styles on teacher attitudes. Focuses on Australian research and the classroom implications for Australian teachers and students. (RL)

Discusses the results of an error analysis of 100 English compositions written by university students in Iran. It is suggested that mistakes are not primarily due to interference from the native language, but to developmental errors, similar to errors made in first language acquisition. (Author/AMH)

Different instructions accompanied faculty/course evaluation questionnaires distributed in university courses (stratified by level and size). Instructions differed in information conveyed about use and disposition of results. Instructions containing information about administrative or course improvement use produced higher ratings than those given…

Conditions under which confidence estimation facilitates problem solving were examined in a study assessing spelling, mathematics, and reasoning. Participants who used a confidence estimation procedure and whose teacher valued and nurtured warranted uncertainty performed better on spelling and improved more than did other participants. (Author/RD)

Presents the results of an investigation to determine if the position of a distractor in a multiple choice question influences the degree of difficulty of an item. The data support the hypothesis that the placement of the distractor immediately before the key alters the difficulty of the item significantly. (Authors/SA)

In Australia, Gardner's multiple-intelligences theory has strongly influenced primary, preschool, and special education. A survey of 30 schools revealed that teachers use two basic approaches: teaching to, and teaching through, multiple intelligences. The first approach might develop children's music skills via playing an instrument. The second…

Reports on the effects of six different primary inservice training courses aimed at teachers' motivation, anxieties, hands-on working skills, and support needs. Results showed that primary teachers felt they needed more continuous support in the area of improving their knowledge and understanding of the subject, especially in chemistry and…

Cites research on smiling and laughter to illustrate a dynamic systems approach to emotion communication. Maintains that emotion is relational and not individual; the nonreflexive aspects of emotion involve the connection between a person and a context taken as a whole. Presents findings regarding social processes involved in smiling and laughter…