Using both the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) and the Purdue University Scales, 727 undergraduates rated 32 instructors. The BARS had less halo effect, more leniency error, and lower interrater reliability. Both formats were valid. The two tests did not differ in rate discrimination or susceptibility to rating bias. (Author/GDC)

Presents major outcomes of a 2-year trial of the Open University's Cyclops shared-screen telewriting tutorial system. Impact of the system is considered in terms of human factors of the technology; tutors' and students' experience with Cyclops; and tutorial activities and their acceptability to participants. (Author)

Investigated the effects of immediate instructor feedback, via a video display system (ComET system), on the performance of group discussion participants. Found that receivers of immediate feedback were more satisfied with their performances, participated in discussions of higher quality, and were no more anxious than individuals not receiving…

Describes research demonstrating how a group of urban Black elementary school students were denied full access to literacy based on teacher assessments of their attitudinal displays as inappropriate, although they demonstrated literacy skills in peer and nonschool contexts. Argues that admission to literacy not acquisition of literacy was the…

Concludes that young people are reading less and are less influenced by reading than their counterparts of almost a decade ago. (EL)

Studied one aspect of communication competency: how people express emotions through verbal behavior. Found, among other conclusions, that references to unpleasant emotions outnumber references to pleasant emotions almost two to one. (PD)

Shows the unexpected consequences of being a part-time guidance counselor and a part-time English teacher at the same time. Shares two experiences, in literature and in composition, that show a greater understanding of students' reactions. (EL)

The multifaceted structure of sentence-completion test items was analyzed to explain verbal comprehension. The three stimulus constituents were technical, logical-semantic, and associative-contextual. Guttman's facet and order theories and smallest space analysis were used. Results confirmed the multiple skills involved in solving these tasks.…

Argues, in a discussion of the benefits of collaborative writing, that teaching writing as a solitary activity belies actual experience and research pointing to it as a collaborative effort. Shows how to use peer response groups to introduce students to collaborative writing. (EL)

Discusses methodology and results of a study which utilized Dolf Zillmann's annoyance reduction hypotheses to test the relationship between affective states of annoyance and praise and voluntary television selection and use. Results indicate annoyed individuals viewed television significantly less than praised individuals. (Author/MBR)

Gives results of a national survey of foreign language teachers, department chairpersons, and state coordinators and consultants to find out their most pressing questions about foreign language teaching and learning. Respondents' concerns included testing and evaluation, promoting interest in foreign language study, developing oral proficiency in…

Examines students' difficulties in reading literature and suggests methods for helping them to develop and improve skills necessary for the mature reading of literature. (MM)

Model checking is a crucial part of any statistical analysis. As educators tie models for testing to cognitive theory of the domains, there is a natural tendency to represent participant proficiencies with latent variables representing the presence or absence of the knowledge, skills, and proficiencies to be tested (Mislevy, Almond, Yan, &…

This book summarizes current brain research and shows how teachers can use this knowledge in the classroom every day. It explores how the brain works, how students' emotions and stress affect their ability to learn, how the physical classroom environment influences learning, and what forms of assessment work best. An introduction discusses the…

Item parameter estimates vary for a variety of reasons, including estimation error, characteristics of the examinee samples, and context effects (e.g., item location effects, section location effects, etc.). Although we expect variation based on theory, there is reason to believe that observed variation in item parameter estimates exceeds what…