High and low level questions as determined by a panel of evaluators were combined with corrective feedback and attribute isolation feedback to form four versions of a computer-based science lesson. The sample consisted of 154 high school chemistry students in a suburban high school. The primary hypothesis was that students who received high level…

Several years ago, a coalition of Chicago civic groups met to determine the scope of the urban dropout problem and develop strategies for dealing with it. The resulting research program rejected both attrition and survey analysis approaches in favor of direct examination of all student records for three graduating classes (1982, 1983, and 1984)…

Cognitive research of the 1970s has shown that both content factors (topical world knowledge and knowledge about textual organization) and process factors (attention, encoding, inference, retrieval, and executive monitoring) influence comprehension. Classroom research during the same decade has shown that the greater the proportion of time…

The relationship between teachers' statements about classroom tasks and the degree of subsequent student engagement were studied to test the influence of teachers' expectations. Task presentation statements made by teachers in 6 reading and mathematics classes for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades were classified according to 18 categories of…

Methods and procedures were developed for monitoring and evaluating classrooms on critical dimensions derived from process-product research. The evaluation process for each of these student behaviors, related to improving academic achievement, is described. The dimensions include student engaged time, which is a product of allocated time and…

Arguments for lengthening the school day and/or school year are predicated on the notion that more time devoted to learning will yield proportionally higher achievement scores. Research reveals, however, that the correlation between time and achievement is far slighter than expected. The quality of instructional time is more important than…

Three studies were made of the implementation of the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) materials in secondary classes in Victoria, Australia. The materials were designed to facilitate a more individualized approach to the learning of science. The first implementation study sought the perceptions of teachers, the second analyzed student…

A model of the teaching-learning process identifies and describes varied behavioral dimensions of the classroom and how they relate to pupil achievement. The model is based on the assumption that the total amount of engaged time on a particular topic is the most important determinant of achievement and has the components of: (1) quantity of…

A study was conducted to replicate earlier findings regarding the relationships between letter, word, and text reading times and measures of reading achievement and to establish the stability of reading times measures and their relationships over a one-year period. Subjects included 150 children in eight age cohorts between grades one and six. The…

Noting that American elementary schools over the years have emphasized reading to the detriment of writing, a study examined the efficacy of a writing program that places the student and the teacher in direct contact with the writing process by (1) requiring daily student writing and suggesting the teacher frequently write with the students, (2)…

When mildly-disabled high school students (9 learning-disabled, 2 educable mentally retarded, and 1 emotionally handicapped) were taught techniques to self-monitor and record on-task performance with audible cues and later independently, a functional relationship was observed between the intervention and increased on-task behavior, wherein changes…

A brief inservice program followed by supervisory prompts and feedback provided to 39 education staff in 21 classrooms serving 152 severely handicapped students was consistently accompanied by increased student involvement in functional educational tasks. Improved services continued throughout a two-year follow-up period. (Author/JW)

Outlined are behavior management strategies for emotionally disturbed students who are partially mainstreamed. Appropriate behavior outside the classroom earns the child stamps. Inappropriate behavior inside the classroom results in warnings, penalty points, and time-out. On-task behavior is also rewarded with stamps, which may be accumulated for…

Naturalistic observation techniques were used with 24 9- to 12-year-old learning disabled students to investigate two sets of variables that might influence achievement differences between computer-assisted instruction and seatwork: engagement rate and interactions with teachers and peers. Implications for research and microcomputer implementation…

Examines the engaged rates of children in kindergarten to fourth grade for differences and makes some assessment of attention span as it relates to engaged rate and achievement. (HOD)