Second language researchers and trainers have met with some success in teaching language learners the skill of inferring meaning from context while reading, using a variety of teaching methods. This paper describes a study that attempts to compare the effectiveness of three teaching methods, on ESL learners' ability to infer from context and…

In this article we show how management faculty have successfully incorporated teaching and research to better acquaint their students in organizational behavior classes with how groupware actually works in organizations and how to think through the ramifications of the groupware process in organizational decision making. The exercise is conducted…

This paper describes an empirical study that investigated the knowledge that Computer Science students have about the extent of their own previous learning. The study compared self-generated estimates of performance with actual performance on a data structures quiz taken by undergraduate students in courses requiring data structures as a…

In this article we report a 3-yr study of a large-enrollment Cell Biology course focused on developing student skill in scientific reasoning and data interpretation. Specifically, the study tested the hypothesis that converting the role of exams from summative grading devices to formative tools would increase student success in acquiring those…

This paper describes a student essay competition with the title "What makes a good engineering lecturer?" run by the Engineering Subject Centre of the UK Higher Education Academy. The competition was intended primarily to provide engineering lecturers with general feedback. The aim of the paper is to make the outcomes of the competition…

When social critiques of a book outweigh its own social critiques, should professors still require students to read it? In this article, the author shares how he responds to a student's critiques of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," a text in a course he was teaching on obsession. The author has been teaching "Heart of Darkness" for nearly 30…

Insight into the construct of countertransference may be gained by studying the relationships among its constituents. Toward that end, a single therapy dyad was analyzed for 13 sessions. Client verbalizations predicted to trigger countertransference reactions were studied in relation to their possible consequences, and the potential mitigating…

This paper explores the potential for using narrative to foster children's spiritual growth. It discusses the nature, origin and appeal of story and presents theoretical perspectives which form a rationale for using non-sectarian children's, adolescent and young adult literature for spiritual development. Such books avoid church-and-state…

The purpose of the present study was to examine European American and Mainland Chinese mothers' responses to preschoolers' social behaviours (aggression and social withdrawal) within a cultural framework. Participants were 103 European American mothers from Washington DC, and 100 Mainland Chinese mothers from Beijing and Baoding cities, China. The…

Researchers have explored the impact of computer-assisted feedback and electronic mail on students' writing, but most of the work to date seems to have focused on second language writers, peer response, or response as part of an online composition course. Although research has documented the importance of certain generic features of word…

The educational "pipeline" that provides tomorrow's scientists and engineers leaks far more females than males, particularly in the junior high age range. The reasons for this are complex and still being studied. However, by college age, the gender differences seen at earlier ages seem to narrow or disappear when one considers only those students…

In American Sign Language (ASL), a receiver watches the signer and receives language visually. In contrast, when using tactile ASL, a variety of ASL, the deaf-blind receiver receives language by placing a hand on top of the signer's hand. In the study described in this article we compared the functions and frequency of the signs YES and #NO in…

Reports on the Sixth Annual Conference of the Learning and Skills Research Network (Learning and Skills Development Agency) held at the University of Warwick, UK, in December 2002. Presents an overview of keynote speeches and reviews selected conference papers reporting on current research in the learning and skills sector.

The analysis of compliment responses in a number of languages has attracted a growing research interest and information is already available on how native speakers of English and Arabic respond. This allows for the prediction of certain cross-linguistic pragmatic differences that might characterise compliment responses in the case of…

Although a large number of children are directly abused, an even larger number may indirectly experience the effects of abuse as witnesses of family violence. However, the effects on children who witness such violence have long been unaddressed, although a growing body of research indicates that these children are affected in various domains,…