The shift to alterable variables (those that can be changed before or during the teaching and learning processes) enables researchers to move from an emphasis on prediction and classification to a concern for causality and the relations between means and ends in teaching and learning. (Author/IRT)

Describes the science buddies program that pairs a 7th grade life science class with a 2nd or 3rd grade class in a yearlong partnership of science adventures. Includes sample activities and National Science Education Standards related to the activities. (Author/KHR)

Describes inadequacies of three policies intended to enhance child readiness for education: raising the age of school entry, retaining students in kindergarten, and extra-year programs. Argues that they are inconsistent with educational research and potentially harmful. Suggests the use of curriculum-based performance tests to help teachers and…

Teacher-Student Congruence was quantified by comparing 52-item descriptive profiles of 38 at-risk students, completed by both kindergarten teachers and receiving first-grade teachers, and reading achievement scores. Congruence in terms of student readiness, language, and perceptual/motor descriptors evidenced predictive validity. (Author/JDD)

This article describes the Montessori educational philosophy and method as it can be applied to preschool children at risk for learning disabilities. This approach to early intervention is designed to offer an individualized program which provides success and a conceptual preparation for later academic learning. (Author/DB)

Discussions conducted with people with visual impairments indicated that clients undergoing mobility training first need to overcome inhibitions, stress, and anxieties, which are influenced by the timing of and their readiness for mobility training, insufficient information about mobility, feelings of isolation and helplessness, and lack of…

Two authors weigh the evidence on starting to emphasize early literacy skills during preschool, discussing student-centered versus content-centered classrooms, looking at developmentally appropriate education, presenting their differing views on the subject, and responding to one another's opinions. Two sidebars discuss Project Headstart's…

This study tested the Adult Distance Study through Computer Conferencing (ADSCC) model to determine if learner readiness, online features, and computer mediated communication learning approaches are associated with learner satisfaction in an academic computer conference. All three variables were correlated with learner satisfaction, with online…

Compared the California State Framework and Head Start Performance Standards for common expectations for early childhood education curriculum. Explored relationship of curriculum and the learning styles of preschool children. Found that High/Scope and Emergent Curricula were most compatible with California framework's objective of meeting the…

Examined age and gender differences in verbal skills and visuomotor skills at kindergarten, in achievement in reading and mathematics at Grade four, and the link between skills at kindergarten and later achievement. Readiness in auditory memory and verbal associations predicted later reading achievement while readiness in number skills and visual…

The identification of academically gifted children from the perspective of aptitude theory is discussed. Aptitude refers to the degree of readiness to learn and to perform well in a particular situation or domain. The primary aptitudes for academic success are (a) prior achievement in a domain, (b) the ability to reason in the symbol systems used…

On the surface, it appears that it should be quite simple to identify the characteristics of a child who is ready for school and then to assess whether or not any given child has these characteristics. But readiness is a difficult construct and one that has been the topic of great debate. Assessment of readiness is even more challenging. Policies…

The purpose of this study was to investigate alternative methods for evaluating deaf students' readiness to meet the English language and literacy demands of postsecondary educational programs. In the first part of the study, scores obtained by a large sample of deaf students on the ACT Assessment (ACT Composite score and scores on the ACT English…

The structure and validity of Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) have been examined repeatedly. In 1979, Mourad and Torrance investigated the construct validity of the SDLRS in a study involving a random sample of 684 of the 1,500 students enrolled in the University of Georgia's Program on Gifted/Talented Education. In…

Many communication majors expect to do little written communication, since skill in oral communication is more developed if not preferred. Before a student writes or becomes engaged in the rational and logical process of evaluating writing, he or she is in the stage of clearing the mind for action. A non-rationalistic approach to writing seeks to…