Professional study groups have been a dominant feature of the Richmond County (Georgia) Schools' educational improvement efforts since 1987. Study groups offer a structure that turns all individuals into learners eager to assume responsibility for their own learning and that of colleagues and students. The principal's active participation is a key…

Asserts that educators must stop debating and arguing about the "right" way to accommodate diverse learners but instead should get on with the important task of designing and implementing sensible instructional programs for special-needs children. (RS)

Reconsiders and affirms the general model of factors that influence the portability potential of educational software by summarizing the articles in this special issue. Factors that received the most attention include software design and development; overall instructional approach; teacher training; and cultural assumptions. Areas for further…

Thirty studies that examined mathematics strategies for use with learning-disabled students are reviewed. The studies evaluated reinforcement and goal setting on seat work performance, specific strategies for computation and problem solving, mnemonic strategies, peer mediation, and computer-assisted instruction. Virtually all instructional…

Reports on the results of a descriptive study of the noun phrase agreement behavior exhibited by three first-year Spanish language students during a series of oral interviews conducted over six months (two academic quarters).(13 references) (JL)

Presents results of a study of 11-year-old children's learning mode preferences, reading attainment, and cognitive ability. Reports that holistic thinkers preferred modes corresponding to their verbal imagery style, whereas analytic thinkers were divided across the verbal imagery dimension. Predicts highest achievement for wholist verbalizers and…

Offers suggestions for students and teachers for learning jazz improvisation. Discusses listening, practicing scales, chords, phrasing, developing a sense of swing, and shaping creative ideas through structural features. Emphasizes the relationship between chords and scales as a critical key to improvisation. Recommends educational materials to…

Discussion of electronic study books focuses on individual learning styles. Highlights include turning electronic books into electronic study books; the management of information; book users and product adaptation; learner characteristics and the learning environment; learner motivation; learning strategies; and a Style Initiating Module, used to…

This paper suggests that Edwin Ellis' model for integrative strategy instruction, as applied to teaching adolescents with learning disabilities, requires further development in two areas: (1) the issue of what constitutes a thorough and valid educational model, and (2) the issue of how educational change can be successfully implemented. (JDD)

This article updates the integrative strategy instruction (ISI) model used with adolescents with learning disabilities; addresses motivation, evaluation, and implementation issues; reviews research concerning the impact of ISI on students, its social validity with teachers and students, and its relation to motivation; and clarifies differences…

External memory strategies were investigated in 45 children (age 11) with mild mental retardation and children (ages 7 and 11) without mental retardation. In contrast to expected deficiencies in the use of strategies, results showed areas of overlap in strategy capabilities among the groups. (Author/DB)

Research since 1980 on gender and learning styles of students over age 18 is reviewed for commonalities in theory and research methodology. In addition, a quantitative meta-analysis was undertaken on two measures of learning style and study behavior to determine the direction and magnitude of gender differences in various samples. (Author/MSE)

Discusses human resources maximization as a means for expanding employee selection criteria to include applicants' strengths and potential for growth, not just their history, then working to develop employees potential. Testing learning style as a means for recognizing potential and the relationship between testing and training are discussed. (KRN)

Thirty-six Australian students (grades 5-7) with reading difficulties were trained to cue themselves to the purpose of reading or to cue themselves in addition to underlining key words and phrases as they read. The combination of awareness of purpose and the employment of a self-regulated underlining strategy generated better reading…

A survey of 190 first- and second-year university students investigated the relationship between student orientation to learning (deep, surface, or achieving), perceptions of the skills and abilities being assessed by multiple-choice tests, and study strategies they intended to use for upcoming examinations. (Author/MSE)