This paper reviews literature on metacognitive (learning strategies) approaches to teaching gifted students with learning disabilities and on self-assessment as a component of those approaches. Two case examples illustrate application of the strategies at various levels of self-assessment ability, including task assessing, preassessing,…

This study of two preschoolers having difficulty with on-task behavior during independent tasks found that the children could respond to self-monitoring training and that on-task behavior increased when they used the strategy. (Author/DB)

Conducts a naturalistic study in a first grade remediation classroom to study language in use and to consider the transactive nature of spelling. Finds that spelling is a social/transactive process in which the learner makes meaning through interpretations of transactions among themselves, others, and the environment. (MG)

Reviews research conducted on adult populations dealing with correlates or predictors of proficiency in a second language. Four classes of individual difference variables are considered, including (1) attitudes and motivation; (2) language aptitude and intelligence; (3) language learning strategies; and (4) personality variables. (83 references)…

In November 1990, President Bush signed into law the National and Community Service Act. This article briefly reviews three arguments for the role of service in an educational program (to stimulate learning and social development, to reform society and preserve democracy, and to halt separation of youth from the wider society). (36 references)…

Educators in Springfield, Massachusetts, see connections between the current school reform agenda and their own program of Community Service Learning. Staff see the program as a way to increase student learning, enrich the curriculum, and foster the spirit of caring and lifetime service. (MLH)

The article reviews what is known about memory strategy development and recommends that teachers of children with learning problems provide intensive training, offer feedback about the strategy, and suggest other situations in which the strategy could be used. (DB)

Researchers investigated the effects of an instructional game and supplemental reading on undergraduate students' motivation and performance. Two groups used either a worksheet or a board game to practice materials learned via lecture. The game significantly affected four motivational components (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction)…

Assessed was the level of thinking of 140 students who had been placed in developmental algebra as entering college freshmen. Scores on the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking, Scholastic Aptitude Tests, college placement tests; high school grade point average, and developmental algebra final grade were analyzed. Group characteristics are…

In two parallel one-year studies, solution strategies for subtraction number facts and achievement patterns of matched groups of first graders in two different instructional programs were examined. Significant differences between groups were found favoring the strategy approach. (Author/CW)

Investigated was the learning of the mathematical uses of "more,""fewer," and "less" at a very early stage in the development of ideas. (CW)

Critiques current models of problem solving for children, maintaining that there is a chasm between the experiences of real-life problem solving and the idealized frameworks that are presented to children. Suggests the use of children's literature as a means to teaching problem solving. Includes suggested readings, and a list of questions for…

Delineates the integration of the topic of suicide prevention into the introductory sociology course, and outlines the teaching methods. Argues that this approach makes social science research relevant and interesting to students by giving them usable information and potentially life-saving skills. (Author/DB)

The effect of test expectancy on preferred strategy use and test performance on factual and higher-level questions in learning from expository text was studied, using 42 undergraduates who reported their study strategies and completed a multiple-choice test. Test expectancy affected neither preferred strategy use nor test performance. (SLD)

This article introduces the papers in this theme issue on special education teachers' use of strategies. The article notes competencies that teachers need to master to become effective teachers of strategies, such as creating strategic environments and embracing a philosophy that facilitates independence in students. (JDD)