Examines the effects of three text signal types (headings, previews, logical connectives) on relatively sophisticated college age readers and their comprehension of technical expository prose. Concludes that all three types can enhance comprehension, but that facilitation depends on passage length and difficulty. (FL)

As measured by responses to a main-idea essay question and by written summaries of two passages, students' ability to abstract the macrostructure of problem/solution text read independently was improved by the use of structure training. (FL)

The article discusses likeability and utility dimensions of the purpose elements of the Purpose Process Curriculum Framework (PPCF), with emphasis on the perspective of the student as participant. It is suggested that further research on personal motivation of participants may enhance the value of PPCF as a framework for designing programs and…

A review is presented of studies regarding the construct validity of the individual purposes concepts of the Purpose Process Curriculum Framework. Aspects considered include: body awareness in space; spatial relationships; teamwork; and physiological fitness. (CB)

Offers a psychoanalytically based reading of Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" and points out the similarities between analysis of a text and analysis of a patient in a psychoanalysis session. (JC)

Offers a strategy for having composition students write a clear, complete set of instructions for performing some task, while eliminating the possibility for plagiarism and collaboration. (JC)

Kindergarten practices should reflect the best of what we know about how young children learn and develop. Discusses the following aspects of kindergarten: (1) learning knowledge, skills, dispositions, and feelings; (2) risks of academic pressures on young children; (3) development of interest, communicative competence, and social competence; (4)…

Study of kindergarten retention in Colorado reveals the following: (1) kindergarten retention does nothing to boost subsequent academic achievement; (2) regardless of what it is called, kindergarten retention creates a social stigma; and (3) kindergarten retention feeds the escalation of inappropriate academic demand in first grade. Policy…

This article introduces a mini-series on research methods in school psychology. A conceptual overview of research methods is presented, emphasizing the degree to which each method allows the inference that treatment affects outcome. Experimental and nonexperimental, psychometric, descriptive, and meta-analysis research methods are outlined. (SLD)

The psychological and methodological bases of the Agassi teaching method are described to provide a context for evaluating the theory. A brief history of Selzian psychology and Popper's methodology is given. The Agassi method, which stresses learning through questioning, is detailed. (JL)

The impact of ICAI systems on teacher role, classroom structure, educational goals and preservice teacher training are discussed. The artificial intelligence research community is urged to consider the societal impact of its work. (Author/JL)

Whole language learning, which is often defined in abstract terms, is discussed in terms of its rationale, its practical applications, its implications for how communication skills are taught, and its classroom implementation. (JL)

Reviews five composition textbooks, assessing their attempts to integrate the reading and writing processes through literature and composition. Examines the textbooks' theoretical instantiation and notes their lack of success in achieving the reading/writing connection. (MM)

In response to Kenneth Kavale's theoretical objections to the model of severe discrepancy in determining the existence of learning disabilities, this article describes advantages of discrepancy considerations and presents a model that emphasizes the role of the learning disabilities teacher in diagnosing and remediating specific learning…

This critique of H. Lee Swanson's "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities" comments on Swanson's concept of learning disabilities, cognitive science, and information processing theory. A different research and theory-building agenda is proposed, focusing on society's definition of learning disabilities and instructional issues and…