A training module developed following the Instructional System Design model was implemented at Nassau Community College (NCC) to teach its administration, faculty, and staff members computer skills that would enable them to use the available computer equipment more efficiently. Using this module, each trainee designed a file to be used for the…

One teacher's experience with peer critique in a college-level composition course in English as a second language (ESL) suggests that it can be an effective classroom technique. If students are given very specific guidelines to follow, they often do a very credible job of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of their peers' writing. Indiana…

The purpose of this study is to present information that will help educators to gain a better understanding of microcomputer capabilities and limitations and to inform them as to the role of microcomputers in the classroom. Through examination of studies and articles six topics related to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) are addressed: (1) age…

Designed as a reference tool for use at state and local levels by administrators, teachers, and parent groups, the document consolidates research on special education, school and classroom effectiveness, and other indicators of effectiveness and quality into a consistent format. Introductory material orients users, and contextual factors…

In spring 1984, six English instructors at Clinton Community College (CCC), in New York State, were asked to incorporate an instructional unit on library skills into their freshman English classes. To assess the overall effectiveness of the unit, a study was conducted comparing the course grades and test scores of the students who received library…

This reaction paper presented at a conference on compensatory education begins with reviews of three studies prepared for the program and staffing session of the conference and dealing respectively with student-to-instructor ratios, instructional setting, and summer programs. The paper then presents the view that huge gains in achievement will not…

This study examines the effects of academic ability (in average and lower ability students), gender, and teaching methods on students' acquisition of computer skills. Subjects were 247 college students who had completed a computer course using intelligent workstations in any one of six consecutive semesters. A combination of lecture and hands-on…

This study investigated whether Chapter 1 middle school students showed more achievement gain when delivery of the pull-out supplementary reading or mathematics instruction was "massed" in time blocks or "distributed" weekly across the school year. All students in one Middle School Chapter 1 Learning Center program participated…

The School Within A School (SWAS) Program is designed to help low-achieving high school students improve their academic achievement. This evaluation examined five program aspects: implementation; achievement; self concept; perceptions of students, teachers, coordinators and principals; and student attendance. Student team learning and individual…

This study examined the effects of the type of adjunct questions (use-a-generality, remember-a-generality, and remember-an-instance) and the position of these questions either before the relevant text passage (pre-questions) or after it (post-questions) on the three corresponding performance levels of learning. The subjects were 74 eighth-grade…

The author, who is an award winning college professor, is often asked about her philosophy of teaching. She reflects upon her own undergraduate experiences when she considers what makes an effective course. In this article, the author shares and discusses five principles of teaching that define her teaching philosophy: (1) Be approachable; (2) Use…

The article highlights empirically validated instructional intervention programs for teaching independent living skills to moderately and severely retarded individuals in the areas of self-care, home management, consumer education, and community mobility as these skills relate to adaptive behavior in community settings. (Author/JW)

Language laboratories, VCRs, and microcomputers are not labor-saving devices for the teacher. Technology-mediated lessons demand as much, if not more, planning effort than does conventional instruction. Four points to consider in planning are (1) selection of medium; (2) selection of software; (3) amount of student control; and (4) amount of…

Offers perspectives of four different writing lab personnel, namely: (1) a new peer tutor with writing skills but no formal training in teaching; (2) a graduate teaching assistant in writing with no tutoring experience; (3) an experienced tutor reflecting on what he wished he had been taught; and (4) a director-tutor sharing her lab experience.…

In this review of the research on how current computer learning environments can foster the acquisition of complex cognitive skills, two issues emerge: (1) what cognitive accomplishments are likely in the computer environment; and (2) what factors predispose students to benefit from the environment. (MBR)