Fifteen learning-disabled students, aged 8-12 years, showed marked improvement in their story writing when they used a word processor as compared to handwritten stories. Children with severe spelling problems made fewer errors in their word-processed stories. Reluctant writers tended to write longer word-processed stories compared to handwritten…

Thirty-two studies, involving 47 discrete experiments, are reviewed on the application of overcorrection to management of self-injurious behavior in intellectually handicapped individuals. The literature supports short-term efficacy of overcorrection. Reservations include the intrusive and restrictive nature of the technique and limited data on…

Presents a model for information retrieval evaluation based on the notion of total relevance, a function derived from the traditional summation of relevance ratings over the documents in a collection. The model makes explicit the perceptual underpinnings of relevance assessments while allowing for consideration of interdocument dependencies. (37…

Discusses the problem of mastering terminology, the role of language, and the structure of terminology in biology education. Provides a checklist for the presentation of science terms. Describes complexity of biological terminology and the difficulties often encountered by students. (CW)

Presents the results of interviews with elementary teachers conducted to determine the relative importance of barriers in public schools. Indicates that lack of time, conceptual barriers, attitudinal barriers, and logistical barriers were all important. Makes recommendations for reducing these barriers and for future research. (CW)

Assessed the efficacy of four group evaluation methods used to examine change in high school students' attitudes after participation in a drug abuse prevention group counseling treatment, including pre- and posttreatment measurement with a Likert scale or an open-ended questionnaire, and a case study approach. Discusses the relative merits of…

Suggests teaching comparative languages and literature to minorities in ways which encourage cultural diversity and create a less Western ethnocentric world view. (MM)

Presents guidelines for teaching spelling, focusing on the issue of whether spelling instruction should be formal or informal, the use of word lists, efficient instructional procedures, effective methods for studying words, the need for systematic improvement of retention, and integration of spelling and writing. (RAE)

Discusses strategic teaching, a process for organizing and representing subject content, for helping students think about their own learning processes, for organizing skills instruction, and for managing classroom instruction. Provides an example of strategic instructional planning and a graphic that shows step-by-step procedures for the planning…

Researchers who compared Nebraska high school curricula between 1953 and 1983 have developed a model readily adaptable to individual districts desiring a more informed basis for decision making. (Author)

Shows that reading and writing are closely related. Suggests techniques for integrating these studies in the classroom by writing on open and closed topics, such as readers writing ghost chapters, constructing possible worlds, keeping a reader-response journal, and students teaching punctuation, grammar, and syntax to each other. (RAE)

The study examined the communicative competence of 30 learning disabled and 30 non-learning disabled children (ages 9 to 13) in both referential and semistructured dyadic communication tasks. The use of both instructional strategies influenced the quality of subjects' verbal communicative interactions. (Author/DB)

Ten mentally retarded clients in a small work activity center were effectively trained to use social amenities during work-related communications. Training consisted of prework review of the rules of social amenities, frequent reminders during work by supervisors, client repetition of the reminders, and focused practice. (Author/DB)

An experimental study designed to study a teaching system to help students develop and understand the meaning of mathematics is described. Debates, a key aspect of this method, were viewed favorably by a majority of the students. (MNS)

Ways to combine the strengths of teacher and computer are suggested. Multiplication concepts and an algorithm for multiplication are taught in the same lessons. The computer is used as an electronic chalkboard to teach at a semiconcrete level. The computer program is included. (MNS)