This paper describes a survey that assessed the attitudes toward English among university students in Macao five years after it reunited with the People's Republic of China and ceased to be a Portuguese colony. A group of 144 Macao-born and 197 Mainland-born Chinese students studying in a university in Macao were surveyed using a 22-item…

Schools across the country are investing millions of dollars every year in technology, and statistics show that technology in schools has grown at an exponential rate (Dirksen and Tharp 2000; Heath et al. 2000). But are schools getting the most from their technology investment? In this article, the author cites research literature to support his…

Background: Two main approaches to studying have been distinguished by several researchers, the deep approach and the surface approach. In addition, an achieving or strategic approach employs either deep or surface strategies, depending on the demands of the task. Aims: The present study investigated factors contributing to the choice of…

The study examined an ESL writing class, which consisted of 36 students, at a community college of Hong Kong. The students took part in three online collaborative writing tasks by sending drafts to peers who gave them suggestions and comments for improvement and working together on the completion of the writing tasks via email. The 36 students…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

The present research investigated the effects of an interdisciplinary program on Chinese music and culture, based on a sociocultural approach to multicultural music education. The program was introduced to 250 fifth- and sixth-grade children in three schools in New York, USA. Reports and questionnaires were collected from the teachers, students,…

This study examined the educational situation of prisoners enrolled in courses at the FernUniversitat (the German distance teaching university). A survey questionnaire, developed with the help of imprisoned students, was administered to approximately 200 student prisoners. Of the 99 returns, 95 were found usable to base the results of this study.…

Designed for teachers of kindergarten through grade 6, this book contains practical and innovative ideas on fostering literacy generated from discussions with teachers from the United States and Canada, visits to their classrooms, and observations of their interactions with students. The book addresses all levels of learner-centered literacy…

As the baby boomer generation moves into its late 30's and early 40's, the number of students returning to college older than 35 has increased, and is, in fact, one of the fastest growing student populations in higher education. Most adult students return to school for job-related reasons. Adult students participating in forensic programs do so…

The literature and prior research findings support the belief that motivation-related strategies must be developed to support at-risk learners in postsecondary vocational programs. Essentially, two fundamental approaches have been used to conceptualize motivation. Mechanistic approaches ignore the thinking processes of humans and stress the…

A classroom technique for helping elementary and secondary school students of English as a second language (ESL) integrate language skills into the language arts curriculum is described. The activity, shadow play, is used as a culminating experience in a unit on the solar system, and consists of the development of dramatic scripts based on folk…

A computer-based attention reduction model of training is presented, and associated issues related to instructional systems design are outlined. Attention reduction training (ART) is based on the dual task assessment procedure developed by researchers in the area of memory. The technique involves having subjects respond to two tasks…

A study investigated the effects of the motivational variables of attribution and self-efficacy on the continued use of successfully learned strategies which promote independent learning from text. The subjects consisted of 11 freshmen and sophomore students participating in a two-week workshop on learning strategies which included a study project…

Interest or motivation, intelligence and experience, and psychosocial access are inextricably bound together in successful educational programs, and none can explain or predict performance by itself. In the realm of interest and motivation, it has been found that youth want to learn how to be effective, like to do the things their parents value,…