To create a supportive environment for the slow and reluctant learner teachers must solicit student responses, provide proximity, positively reinforce answers, provide time to respond, and give corrective feedback. This document describes inservice training designed to help teachers improve their ability to maintain a supportive learning…

Within the field of early childhood education, there is a strong tradition of integrated, emergent, and arts-oriented curriculum that must now respond to a growing and competing emphasis on literacy-based experiences. Considerably less priority (or teacher expertise) has been or currently is demonstrated in the areas of science, math, engineering,…

This paper offers a way to adapt foreign language instruction to individual learner needs and difficulties. The approach consists of two parts: (1) various sources of learner problems are identified and discussed briefly; and (2) over 50 remedial classroom activities are presented and described. These activities are designed to treat specific…

This study is an effort to assess both the internal and external conditions of learning. The sample included 99 first graders in four classrooms of one inner city school in a large midwestern city. The assessment measure was a battery of tests selected from frequently used tests of visual perception, auditory discrimination, language, memory,…

An input output model for individualizing learning in computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is analyzed, specifying a stimulus array, cognitive processes, and response requirements. These three components are discussed as keys to both instructional and curricular development processes; the appropriate use and control of instructional strategies are…

Language, considered as a liberal art, is examined in the light of other philosophical viewpoints concerning the nature of language in relation to second language instruction in this paper. Critical of an earlier mechanistic audio-lingual learning theory, translation approaches to language learning, vocabulary list-oriented courses, graduate…

More than 20 groups of commentaries and articles which focus on the needs and interests of the second-language learner are presented in this work. The wide scope of the study ranges from curriculum planning to theoretical aspects of second-language acquisition. Topics covered include: (1) textbook writing, (2) teacher education, (3) career…

Communicative competence can be defined as the ability to function in a truly communicative setting, that is, in a dynamic exchange in which linguistic competence must adapt itself to the total informational input, both linguistic and paralinguistic, of one or more interlocutors. The research described in this book focuses on the development of…

An observer's views of open-informal education and its central issues are presented in view of increasing interest in opening up classroom procedures and activities. The problems in defining Open Education are noted, but, in general, the events, relationships, activities and materials in the classroom are seen as being neither standardized nor…

Describes the preoccupation of U.S. schools with "list logic": a conception of educational improvement that relies on the identification and prescription of a myriad of characteristics of effective schools, administrators, and teachers. Suggests reasons for this phenomenon and advocates the alternative of "communities of…

The percentage of adults aged 65 years or older is expected to increase from 12 percent of the population in 1980 to more than 21 percent by the year 2030. Since many adults stay involved with learning activities well into their 80s and 90s, educational organizations have a great opportunity to supply learning activities to this population. To…

Yakima Valley Community College (Washignton) developed "A Living-Learning Community" in the Student Residence Center to create an intellectually stimulating and socially exciting environment for both resident and commuting students. The project strived to enhance the students' collegiate experience by providing them with a learning…

Informal learning by Canadian seniors was examined through semi-structured interviews with a purposefully selected group of 51 older Canadians (28 women and 23) who ranged in age from 58 to 95 years (average age, 73.7). All were retired or semi-retired, and all had engaged in several learning projects over the previous year in topics such as the…

This project evaluated a program for enhancing student motivation as evidenced by improved academic growth and increased work completion. The targeted population consisted of fifth graders in a small school in a medium-sized rural community in the Midwest. The problem of lack of achievement motivation and lack of student concern about academic…

This study tested a causal model of student college predisposition that incorporated traditional measures of influences (parents' education, income, gender, parents' expectations, grades, school activities), as well as two additional influences (first-generation status and mentoring) identified in qualitative studies of pre-college through early…