Forming the intention to complete an activity later is the standard definition of a prospective memory task. Recently, a debate has arisen concerning the degree to which near-term intentions usurp resources away from other ongoing activities. In four experiments the authors tested how much interference was caused by holding a variety of different…

In this study, students' use of a new educational Web portal was evaluated with particular emphasis on searching and browsing strategies. The effects and implications of a federated search system are also discussed. Fifty-four students, ranging from 5th to 12th grade, were given five tasks to complete using the SchoolRooms interface. The tasks…

This study examined the utility of a brief assessment approach for identifying a potentially effective intervention to improve math performance and on-task behavior. Participants included four elementary students referred for intervention services in the general education classroom. A brief individual assessment was conducted with each participant…

College students' success in a course depends on many factors, including their ability and previous knowledge of the subject, the effectiveness of the instruction, and their motivation to work hard enough to succeed. Introductory courses, including many that satisfy general-education requirements, often pose a particular problem for students who…

This study aims to determine the relationships between key student behaviors and the institutional practices and conditions that foster student success. To do so, student-level records from different types of colleges and universities are merged to examine the links between student engagement and two key outcomes of college: academic achievement…

Although engagement and learning appear linked, quantitatively measuring this relationship is challenging. New technologies offer a window into studying the interactions among classroom activity, student engagement, and positive learning outcomes in computer-equipped classrooms. A Classroom Behavioral Analysis System (CBAS) was developed to…

The purpose of the experiments was to determine the automatic use of large or small word reading units in young readers in the absence of word decoding strategies. Picture-word Stroop interference was examined from four types of conflicting labels: (a) words containing both highly predictable grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) units and highly…

Two studies examined the validity and factor structure of the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist, an instrument used to evaluate school-based programs. The checklist is a cost-effective alternative to the original interview format, and the factor structure is consistent across gender, race, age, and time of administration.…

Starting from difficulties that students display when they deal with correlation analysis, an e-learning environment ("Koralle") was developed. The design was inspired by principles of situated and example-based learning. In order to facilitate reflective processes and thus enhance learning outcomes, reflection prompts were integrated into the…

This article examines the qualitative findings from a mixed-methods comparison study of the use of an online multi-user virtual environment called Anytown which supplemented face-to-face writing instruction in a fourth grade classroom to determine implications for the design of such environments and the reported impact of this design on students…

Eight students were observed during classroom instruction. Comparisons were made of how they spent their time in resource and regular classrooms. In general, opportunities for differentiated instruction were available in resource rooms. However, no practical differences were noted in the amount of time students were actively engaged in instruction…

A structured reinforcement system, in which learning disabled students earn tokens for on-task activities, is an effective way of managing classroom behavior. An 11-step process of initiating such a program is described. (CL)

Systematic observation of four elementary students at time of referral and one and two months after special education placement revealed considerable variability among students in amount of academic time allocated and engaged in. Changes in instruction and student responding as a function of special education intervention were inconsistent across…

Goal-directed persistence of 44 mentally retarded young children on tasks used to assess mastery motivation among nonretarded infants was examined to determine whether retarded children were motivated to solve or work on tasks that were slightly challenging to them. Results indicated significant age-related increases in children's goal-directed…

An environmental modification involving a portable partition designed as a distractor shield was found to increase the mean level of on-task performance of four profoundly retarded adults in the classroom. Additionally, the increase in on-task behavior was accompanied by increases in student task productivity. (Author/CL)