Describes a study that asked undergraduates to list three personally memorable incidents concerning library use in order to understand the human experience of libraries and implications this understanding has for library use and service, education, and design. Discusses results of content analysis, phenomenological analysis, and grade levels at…

Presents an instructional strategy for teaching how to solve word problems and understand the operations involved. Describes the acquisition method of the part-whole relationships of problem situations. Provides some samples of the instructional strategy used and classroom test results. Lists nine references. (YP)

Investigated was the use of cognitive conflict to probe the misconceptions held by preservice elementary teachers that in a division problem the quotient must be less than the dividend. Explains how preservice teachers' reliance on information about the domain of whole numbers and their instrumental understanding support their misconceptions.…

Analyzed were 19 preservice teachers' understanding of division in 3 contexts. The teachers' knowledge was generally fragmented, and each case of division was held as a separate bit of knowledge. (Author/YP)

Investigated relationship between academic achievement and locus of control among 643 elementary school students. Found no main effects for gender or race. Observed significant main effect for condition (at-risk versus not-at-risk), with at-risk students being more externally oriented. Found significant effect for grade, trend being for grade…

Only 25% of fifth- and sixth-grade Chinese students (n=186) correctly solved a division-with-remainder computation task, about the same success rate as with American students, and only one-sixth of the students could interpret the result. (MKR)

Constructivism, which holds that knowledge is created out of each individual's own experience, is recapturing researchers' attention. To constructivists, teachers are not omniscient oracles, but nutritionists providing an environment for children to grow their own knowledge. Students might learn division by planning a field trip instead of…

Reports on a study of the transition effects of grade-level organization on student achievement as schools transitioned from self-contained to departmentalized classes. Reading, math, and social studies achievement scores of five equated rural school districts with K-4 through K-8 organization were compared. Results noted a decline in achievement…

Discusses how students at the end of the French primary school-cycle (10- to 11-year-old pupils) resolve multiplication and related division problems within an assessment perspective taking into account the 3 factors of the problem's representational structure, the numerical values used, and the context of the problem statement. (25 references)…

Describes a study of the characteristics of Texas elementary school teachers that was conducted to examine possible relationships between the number of times teachers voluntarily chose the library media specialist to cooperate with them on instructional problems and other teacher-related factors, including teacher competence, gender, and grade…

The criterion validity of the primary, elementary, and intermediate school forms of the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) in an Australian context was studied. Results with about 8,000 children in grades 1 through 8 support the criterion validity of the OLSAT for Australian samples. (SLD)

Discusses the outcomes of research on best practices in middle school education. Explores middle school grade configuration, interdisciplinary teaming, curricular standards, and teacher preparation and certification. (WRM)

Examines the relationship between attitude toward band participation, beginning instruction grade, and grade-level organization (split or unified) by surveying seventh-grade students from 45 schools. Finds significant interactions among the three variables as well as with the type of instrument played. Relates the findings to previous research on…

Presents initial results from research on structural changes in the school system of the Soviet Occupation Zone and East Germany from 1945 to 1989. Focuses on the development of three academic tracks introduced in 1946 as a form of internal differentiation in upper secondary schools, and subsequent moves toward standardization. (DSK)

A widely held argument is that organizations such as the European Community will only succeed if an identification with these organizations develops; and the EC creates this identification. This, in turn, is supposed to diminish identification with national and sub-national regions. Based on this argument, some testable propositions are suggested…