A study examined the effects of using heuristics, a problem-solving approach, to respond to drafts written by six university students of advanced composition in English as a second language (ESL). The students had varied language backgrounds. The teacher responded to first drafts of each of three writing assignments by writing heuristic questions…

Designed to work with and be integrated into the existing curriculum, this learning packet contains activities that encourage discussion and critical thinking by students about the U.S. Constitution. The first activity teaches fundamental principles of government while the second asks students to explain how the Constitution was written through…

An earlier study found virtually no relationship between college students' reported studying practices and various tests of reading comprehension, so a second study investigated whether different results would be obtained with an instrument based on study strategies college students actually reported using. Scores on this instrument were to be…

Intended for teachers and parents, this book focuses on demolishing widely held myths about poor spellers and about the process of spelling. "Dear Professor Henderson" (chapter 1) is a dedication to a favorite college professor who remonstrated with the author about his "lazy" spelling. "Kneeling on Rice" (chapter 2)…

There is a risk of second language teachers becoming emotionally overcharged about innovative methods and techniques. Innovators promoting particular methods often claim comprehensive answers to instructional problems, and in spite of an apparent concern for scientific respectability, new approaches take on some characteristics of religious…

Designed to investigate the significance of the relationship between science education and social issues, this study presents a rationale and suggestions for incorporating elements of social responsibility into the elementary science curriculum. A review of the literature consists of annotations which focus on: (1) the importance of social issues…

This study aimed at finding the optimal condition of written instruction and online practice for learning a new computer application. Subjects were 44 undergraduate and graduate students and university staff members. Those in the experimental group learned commands for an electronic spreadsheet by reading user-manual descriptions and working…

A study of the acquisition of Swedish vocabulary by adult immigrants examined both the kinds and contexts of words learned. It found that simple and common words form the bulk of the vocabulary learned, and that frequency of input, complexity of input, and communicative need guide the learning process. Frequency refers to the frequency of both…

Both the broad field of educational technology and research activities in the more limited area of instructional technology in Latin America are examined. Research studies, the current situation, and/or research needs are reviewed briefly for each of the following areas: distance education; microcomputers; educational radio; learning strategies…

Designed to support the premise that many important clues to the solution of the problem of teaching thinking skills in science are contained in the science process skill literature, this paper synthesizes research related to the teaching of science process skills. Studies which evaluate the effect of the new science curricula are described.…

As an extension of an earlier investigation that examined the effects of mnemonic strategy application on children's memory for abstract prose passages, a study compared the benefits accrued by students taught two different variations of the mnemonic keyword method for learning abstract prose information, via tasks of associative recognition and…

This five-chapter document (part of a series on biology and human welfare) focuses on biological systems as energy sources and on the teaching of this subject area. Chapter 1 discusses various topics related to energy and ecology, including biomass, photosynthesis and world energy balances, energy flow through ecosystems, and others. Chapter 2…

This study was conducted to determine the accuracy of learners' comprehension monitoring during computer-based instruction and to assess the relationship between enroute monitoring and different levels of learning. Participants were 50 university undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory educational psychology class. All students received…

The central objective of this study was to determine the effects of formal training in the use and types of questions and in the nature and use of algorithms on middle school students' achievement in economic geography. Subjects were 190 eighth grade students in a large metropolitan school district. Three experimental groups received either: (1)…

Research and descriptive studies of the active reader (one who starts reading early in life with a broad range of interests and continues this behavior) are of particular interest, because they identify salient characteristics and acquired traits of people who like to read. For example, the mature reader has been characterized as being able to…