Individual vs class ratings of college instruction were compared. Class effects were stronger than individual effects, and the statistical manipulation involved in changing units of analysis did not account for this difference. Grades-rating relationships may be attributable to different elements in the rating process. (Author/RD)

The effects of self-instructional use of programed creativity materials for gifted and regular students were investigated. Pre- and post-tests of creative thinking were administered. Students in the creativity training group attained significantly greater gains on verbal fluency. Creative thinking abilities were improved for both gifted and…

High school students studied a passage to achieve prememorized goals in three experiments. Inspection times and eye movements were recorded in goal-relevant and nonrelevant text neighborhoods. Goal-relevant sentences resulted in twice as many fixations. Qualitative differences were observed in style of subjects' responses to task demands.…

Essays were rewritten to be stronger or weaker in content, organization, sentence structure, and mechanics. Twelve evaluators first used a four-point holistic rating scale and then rated whether each of the four categories was strong or weak. Analyses of variance revealed content and organization affected ratings most. (Author/RD)

The extent to which the student's perception of the purpose for evaluating an instructor, the instructor's expressiveness, and the density of content influences student ratings and achievement was investigated. Perceived purpose for evaluating the instructor had no effect on ratings. Scores were significantly higher for expressive than for…

Personality, personal space, and attitudinal measures were administered to high school students. Comparisons of extreme sections of the classroom revealed a significant polarization of student traits on three categories of variables dominated by self-concept and class participation. Differential participation and physical isolation were closely…

The effectiveness of an experimental mathematics teaching program was investigated. Observational measures revealed that teachers implemented the treatment. Analyses of product data showed that students of treatment teachers outperformed those of controls. Thus, teachers and/or teaching methods exerted a significant difference on student progress…

Changes in attitude were examined over a one-year period in pre-, early, and later adolescent samples. Self-esteem, locus of control, and achievement motivation were examined. The amount of attitudinal change evidenced by subjects at each age level varied with the kind of attitude being assessed. (Author/RD)

The effects of questions on attention and achievement were studied. Children were exposed to the same lesson and questions. Control subjects were called upon randomly, and experimental subjects were asked to indicate responses to every question with a nonverbal gesture. Questions addressed to individuals were less effective than questions used as…

The effects of record-card-type information on performance expectations were examined. Expectations based solely on preobservational information (standardized tests, previous teachers, family, physical characteristics) were positively related to the quality of the reported performance. Implications for the public concern over record card…

Biracial learning teams and cross-racial friendships were studied in desegregated junior high schools. Biracial teams received recognition based on the sum of members' scores. Control students studied alone and received individual scores. Experimental students increased more than control students in the number and percentage of cross-racial…

The effects of videotape exposure to a punished model on children's toy play were studied. Three levels of prohibition were used. Children who saw the videotape maintained their inhibitions over time and generalized them to an unfamiliar adult, while kindergartners who only received strong prohibitions did not. (Author/RD)

This study assessed the effects of portraying a female main character in a traditionally male role on male and female children's sex role perceptions and story evaluations. Exposure to nontraditional female characters increased children's perceptions of the number of girls who could engage in activities presented in the stories only. (Author/RD)

The research literature indicates that recording notes is less crucial than students' review of notes for performance on a variety of learning tasks. Future research on notetaking should include factors such as length of presentation, interest in material, format of information delivery, and student use of notes. (Author/RD)

The responses of 322 beginning first graders to the six subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Test were factor analyzed. A single General Readiness factor appeared to best describe the instrument. Implications for use of the Metropolitan Readiness Test are briefly discussed. (Author)