A study investigated the nature of a sixth-grade community of readers from the emic perspective (participants' point of view). A qualitative interpretive case study was conducted in one sixth-grade language arts classroom with the researcher acting as participant-observer. Data in the form of fieldnotes, interviews, and written samples of…

Working with teachers and artists from Florida to Maine, a drama educator has discovered that creative power and insight can emerge when using drama in the language arts classroom. One seventh-grade class began with simple warm-ups to loosen inhibitions and then moved into a unit that dealt with improvising using movement. A student who had hardly…

This manual presents a training methodology for use in changing pivotal behaviors of children with autism or other severe handicaps. Behaviors specifically addressed for their far ranging effects involve motivation and responsivity to multiple cues. Seven instructional points are detailed with both good and poor implementation examples. The manual…

Findings from a study of junior and high school students' views of Indiana school life are presented in this report. The Indiana Youth Poll was administered to a total of 1,560 students from 204 public and 293 private schools in two stages: (1) to individuals; and (2) to discussion groups of 3 to 6 students. Chapter 1 explores students' views…

Describes the application of the Keller Plan to an introductory physics course. Presents the organization of the course, faculty and student reaction to the course, and an assessment of the course on the basis of student grade distribution. (GS)

The article tabulates data and discusses a study exploring the effects of delays in returning students' assignments in Independent/Correspondence study courses. The hypothesis, that no basic differences would emerge in the students' final grade, was proven. (MW)

Liverpool's college-based literacy scheme offers a program that meets the needs of the non-literate adult who feels ambivalent about attending classes in a college. (MW)

Reports one student's reaction to an innovative course that presents concepts with a minimal amount of math, removes much scientific jargon, provides a historical perspective, and allows optional student involvement in research. (GS)

Two studies in southeastern Sweden examined rural children's conflicting attitudes toward environmental change in the local community. Following a yearlong curriculum in environmental studies, 14 fifth and sixth graders in Ramkvilla were presented with an imaginary scenario involving the construction of a new factory. Their small, somewhat idyllic…

There are several variables at work in any piece of writing and some combinations of these variables can cause serious problems for some students. The first area where two of these variables occur is in the notion of what a college education is. The subject matter to be learned is one variable in what education means, and the second variable is…

Proponents of writing across the curriculum are quick to clarify that writing to learn is not the same as learning to write; but as flip sides of a single coin, the two support one another. Across-the-curriculum writing finds its merit in removing students from their passivity. Cross-curricular writing activities fall into two groups--expressive…

A brief description is given of the Bellack System, which is used to analyze the content and structure of discussion. The system identifies who speaks, when they speak, and what they say. Four types of pedagogical "moves" were identified by Bellack: (1) a structuring move--beginning a new topic; (2) a soliciting move--a question; (3) a…

To determine college students' use of the mass media and the degree to which they encounter information about psychology in them, a questionnaire was developed and administered to a sample of 469 students enrolled in college psychology courses. The questionnaire broke the mass media down into 12 categories, such as local newspapers, general…