Reports the effects on student classroom behavior of a performance teaching strategy in which teacher trainees of English as a second language "perform" to better engage students. Students paid attention more immediately and sustained attention longer, engaged more willingly in subsequent tasks, and appeared to enjoy the lesson more.…

The Code for Instructional Structure and Student Academic Response--Special Education (CISSAR-SPED) is an observation system which assesses the ecobehavioral processes within learning environments. Use of CISSAR-SPED with 12 students with autism or developmental disabilities provided both molar and molecular descriptions of special education…

Examined are the kinds of questions teachers asked and the kinds of revisions 22 deaf high-school seniors made in the process of revising drafts of narratives. Asking students to provide more information and to rephrase specific language resulted in revised drafts which were rated better than their first drafts. (Author/JDD)

Discusses the effectiveness of teacher comments on student compositions. Asserts that establishing a written dialogue between teacher and student, including reactions to the student's composition and the student's reactions to teacher's comments, helps students develop their ideas further and provides more experience in expressing those ideas in…

Study found differential effects for five types of teacher directions (verbal instruction, nonverbal instruction, verbal instruction with physical assistance, nonverbal instruction with physical assistance, and physical assistance) with 24 severely behaviorally disordered students, aged 9-16. Nonverbal commands resulted in the most appropriate…

Observation of the different instructional grouping arrangements used with mildly handicapped students revealed that the different arrangements produced diverse student responses, such as higher participation during individual instruction, compared with entire- and small-group instruction in mainstream or special education classes. (Author/CB)

An Arizona high school district chose to stop the National School Lunch Program in order to eliminate the unpopular components of the required meal pattern. Menu selections were narrowed down to the most requested items; nutritious food was offered at low prices; and fewer students left the campus at lunchtime. (MLF)

Provides words and pictures to help understand how the concept of the artists' workshop can enhance writers' workshops in the elementary or middle school classroom. (RS)

Compares results of giving undergraduate students actual instructor feedback, computer-simulated instructor feedback, or no feedback. There were advantages to giving actual instructor-supplied feedback for exam performance, in-class responsiveness, and attitudes toward the instructor and other students. (JMV)

Assessed traditional and nontraditional women's and men's perceptions of ideal people in terms of personality traits and physiques. Findings from 80 male and 80 female undergraduates show that both traditional and nontraditional males and females favored a mesomorphic body type for males, androgynous for females. Nontraditionalists preferred…

Presents preliminary thoughts on the testing of video language-learning courses, including a review of the literature and an examination of the research on the subject. The paper lists subtest types and gives an example of a test. Guidelines are offered regarding the creation of appropriate tests, and a direction for future research is suggested.…

Compares the effectiveness of two methods for teaching project management issues: written case studies and information technology (IT)-based case studies. Both methods were evaluated on the constructs of usefulness, challenge, clarity, and attractiveness. Results indicate that the IT-based method was more useful, attractive, and challenging than…

Seventeen children ages 9-11 participated in reviewing or debriefing techniques for use in outdoor activities, including active (drama), written, and graphical (pictorial) reviews, then answered a questionnaire evaluating the techniques. The children enjoyed and understood active reviewing the best, disliked written reviews, and found pictorial…

Seven peer tutoring interventions involving 14 elementary grade children with special needs were conducted to improve reading accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Interventions were conducted in four settings. Results showed that children's academic responding was greater during peer tutoring than during routine classroom instruction.…

The perceptions of high school students in response to a year-long small-group advisory program were collected, and high and low satisfaction groups compared. Drawing together all student perceptions, reactions were mixed since students were doubtful about its possible benefits, modestly satisfied, and divided in their desire to continue the…