Includes a 23-item bibliography. (JES)

Herman T. Epstein's hypothesis that the brain grows in five stages contradicts the conventional theory that growth is constant until approximately age 18. Epstein argues that the curriculum should be adapted to students' cognitive skills and that special attention should be given to the plateau stages in brain development. (WD)

As educators, we must do more than present information and test for its accumulation. We must prepare each mind to learn--to receive and organize information for later application. This requires both an awareness of the learner's capacities and specific action to build a "cognitive set" to receive new material. (Author/SJL)

Miller Assessment for Preschoolers scores for 19 preschool children who had been full-term low birth weight babies indicated they had adequate preacademic skills. However, 47% were below the 25th percentile for coordination and 21.2% were at risk on the verbal index. (SK)

Australian business students (n=200) completed the Student's Orientation Questionnaire and Learning Preference Assessment (LPA). Results from correlation analysis supported the LPA's construct validity. The LPA is an effective measure of self-directed learning readiness in students over 20, but doubts exist about its use with those under 20. (SK)

Overviews progress in the interconnected realms of early childhood policy, management of local agencies, front-line practice in classrooms and communities, and experiences of young children and their families. The nation lacks a coherent system to fund, manage, govern, and support quality in local early childhood education agencies. (MLH)

A comparison of 753 U.S. telecommunications workers with 655 in Hong Kong found a positive relationship between readiness for self-directed learning and job performance. U.S. respondents generally scored higher than did Hong Kong subjects on the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale. (SK)

Child development theorists, researchers, and educators have long known that play is one of children's most valuable resources, vital to their social, emotional, and cognitive growth. Through play children make sense of the world around them and work through new experiences, ideas, and feelings. But in recent years, a host of social forces and…

Results suggest that the STAR or MRT, coupled with teacher observations and the BGT, can provide a school system with an adequate screening readiness battery. Of the several skills measured by readiness tests, letter knowledge is the most predictive of actual first grade achievement. (Author)

Described is the rationale and methodology of the Flying Start program, a conditioning program designed to teach good learning skills to 5- to 7-year-old children and the older retarded. It is explained that in playing games with the program's materials the children learn the value of close attention, of taking time to reflect and to draw on their…

Student readiness to learn applied typing (arranging copy efficiently) must be considered when planning typing tasks following basic keyboard learning. A sequential plan of instruction is suggested. (MF)

Data were collected from 117 college students to examine the validity of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale. Two assumptions were generated from the results: (1) most items on the scale are correlated with the subject's total score and (2) most items are not correlated with the subject's age. (CH)

Defines self-efficacy as personal judgments of performance capabilities in a given domain of activity and discusses the role of self-efficacy during classroom learning of cognitive skills. Research findings are presented showing how different educational practices affect self-efficacy. (NRB)

The impact which standardized mathematics tests have upon classroom instruction--content, sequence, pacing--is explored, and harmful consequences are discussed. Four suggestions are offered for enabling teachers to minimize "teaching for the tests" and to present a mathematics curriculum appropriate for their particular students. (DG)