This study examined differences in time needed for learning for three types of learning tasks from Bloom's taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, and application. Seventh and eighth graders (N=88) were given five repeated trials to master three simulated classroom tasks. Large differences were found between tasks in mastery rates, information…

Seventy-four elementary school teachers rated five behavior problems portrayed in videotaped vignettes in terms of severity, manageability, tolerance, and contagion. Only contagion yielded significant differences (stronger within the disruptive context), suggesting that teachers held the target child responsible for the classroom disorder.…

Elementary school students (N=144) differing in classroom adjustment were presented with three written vignettes portraying inappropriate student behavior. Students' predictions of their teacher's motivation and responses to the vignette characters, as well as their own response and understanding, were analyzed for differences by grade, sex, and…

College students (N=121) viewed videotaped lectures by a male or female actor using either expressive or nonexpressive communication. The expressive teacher received the highest evaluation score. The nonexpressive male teacher's students had the poorest test performance, the nonexpressive female teacher's students the highest. (Author/BS)

These studies with sixth and fourth graders compared effects of different learning conditions on student relationships. Results indicated that intergroup cooperation promoted more positive cross-sex and cross-ethnic relationships than did intergroup competition. Relationships formed within cooperative learning situations did generalize into…

Second graders (N=75) were randomly assigned to three learning conditions stratified for sex and ability level: (1) cooperative learning with structured oral discussion; (2) cooperative learning with unstructured discussion; and (3) individualistic learning. Achievement results indicate group-to-individual transfer does take place within…

Using the Classroom Behavior Inventory, teachers rated the behaviors of 63 school-identified, learning-disabled first and second graders. Hierarchical cluster analysis techniques identified seven distinct behavioral subtypes. Internal validation techniques indicated that the subtypes were replicable and had profile patterns different from a sample…

Twenty fifth- and sixth-grade normal and disabled readers learned the meaning and pronunciation of unfamiliar words varying in length and in letter-sound regularity and complexity. Naming accuracy and latency were more strongly related to both regularity and complexity for disabled readers. (Author/BS)

Five- and nine-year olds' (N=80) television viewing and program recall in response to learning instructions were examined. Instructions affected visual-emphasis program segments only; visual orientation and cued recall increased in younger children; and free recall and cued recall were enhanced in older children. (Author/BS)

Using a time-sampling observation method, three experimental fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms were observed during discussion sessions with three desk arrangements: rows, clusters, and circles. Results indicated students seated in circles engage in significantly more on-task behavior. As expected, observed pupil behavior varied significantly…

Three conditions of self-monitoring of private study were compared for their effects on academic performance and intrinsic motivation. In end-of-year examinations, a group who self-monitored subgoals outperformed groups who self-monitored either time or study or distal goals on the target course of the investigation. (Author/LMO)

The relation of classroom experience to children's self-perceptions of ability, effort, and conduct was investigated in an observational study of 85 second and sixth graders. Findings suggest that children distinguish among different types of feedback and highlight the differential effects of feedback on achievement-related self-perceptions.…

Controversy, an aspect of small-group interactions, was investigated in 10 mixed-ability, mixed-sex, elementary math groups through analysis of dissension episodes. Results showed that boys and higher-ability students had significantly more prevailing answers and demonstrations. (Author/LMO)

The impacts of computer-assisted cooperative, competitive, and individualistic instruction were compared on student achievement and attitudes. Results indicated that computer-assisted cooperative instruction promoted greater quantity and quality of daily achievement; more successful problem solving; and higher performance on factual recognition,…

The impact of test anxiety on test performance and the cognitive appraisals of test-anxious students were explored. The pattern of students' anxiety and appraisals suggests that test-anxious students experience most doubt and concern in the term. (Author/LMO)