The psychological mechanisms that underlie human question asking and answering during comprehension and complex learning were studied. The transcripts of 83 tutoring sessions on research methods for college students and 22 algebra tutoring sessions for seventh graders were collected and analyzed. It was estimated that student questions were about…

This set of curriculum-based assessment instruments is designed to measure the career education knowledge and skills of regular and special education students, as part of the Life Centered Career Education Program, a field-tested curriculum to develop competencies in daily living skills, personal-social skills, and occupational guidance and…

Elementary preservice teachers in institutions certified by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in the southern U.S. completed the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory. Results indicated that subjects exhibited cultural sensitivity in the areas of the culturally diverse family, cross-cultural communication,…

A practicum was developed to address deficiencies in students' writing skills. The program goals were to assess the students' abilities to use prewriting strategies, to use supportive elements in writing, and to evaluate students' progress using pre- and post-attitude surveys and writing samples. The target group was 20 eighth-grade journalism…

This paper reviews research on preservice teachers' need for a multicultural education program, finding that preservice teachers who have not developed their awareness, knowledge, and skills for working with diverse populations will be inadequately prepared to meet the classrooms of a diverse society. A survey was conducted concerning students'…

In this study Dutch subjects with four different levels of expertise (24 second-year, 24 fourth-year, 24 sixth-year medical students, and 24 internists with at least 4 years of experience) studied, diagnosed, and explained four clinical cases. Diagnostic accuracy increased with the increasing level of expertise. The number of concepts used and the…

This study investigated whether there were differences in science teachers' efficacy, perceptions of support and knowledge of developmentally appropriate curriculum and instruction in the two organizationally different settings of the junior high and the middle school. Teacher questionnaires were used as a source of data. From 127 returned…

External representations have a great impact on what and how students learn. One key manner in which environments can operate upon novices' knowledge is through helping them ground their problem solving in an understanding of the situation embodied by the problem. In this paper, students' difficulties in microeconomics problem solving were…

This practicum was designed to train eight adolescents with specific learning disabilities (SLD) about their legal rights and responsibilities, through a scenario-based program presented in the classroom as part of a transition program. The practicum involved the development of 22 scenarios, a pretest and posttest, and discussions and role-playing…

The effects of closed-captioned educational video as an instructional tool for improving reading comprehension and learning retention for students in college developmental studies programs were studied. Subjects were 168 students in Developmental Studies English and reading classes at a regional university in the Southeast and 168 first-year…

This study investigates how informed New York State middle school teachers (N=190) in public schools are about school law and case law which impacts on them in their professional roles. The study focuses on four areas: teacher rights and responsibilities, student rights, instruction, and health and safety. In addition to assessing subjects'…

The conference reported in this document, jointly sponsored by the Queensland Board of Teacher Registration and the Centre for Research in Literacy, arose out of public concern about literacy standards and claims that higher literacy levels will be needed in an increasingly technological society--concerns that make it necessary for educators to…

Several leaders in education have concluded that the United States should have some form of national achievement testing. Such tests are proposed as part of the "America 2000" education strategy. Believing that the experience of other countries will be useful to educators, policymakers, and concerned citizens, the National Endowment for…

This practicum was designed to: improve the skills of personnel working with students with severe and/or profound handicaps in junior high school; to improve staff development; and to increase the consistency of services offered in a community-based instruction program for K-12. A needs assessment survey of 10 staff members determined the level of…

The purpose of this study was to gauge the need for teaching preservice teachers about sex stereotyping and to determine whether a general or specific teaching approach would be more effective. The sample consisted of 50 students from two sections of a core teacher-training course at the University of Utah. Information about stereotyping was…