Older learners have special needs. They prefer instrumental activities, but current learning opportunities are expressive. Older adults prefer to engage in self-directed planning if given the opportunity. A better scheme for assessing needs and reaching the self-fulfillment desires of older persons is required of program administrators. (Author/RD)

The adult learner can profit from instruction and novel experience. A number of educational delivery models were discussed. Aids in learning coupled with teaching strategies were suggested for inclusion in the design of learning environments. The emphasis is on maximization of capacity through recognition of individual differences. (Author/RD)

The author's theory of adult learning and teaching uses proficiency as a unifying concept to relate acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes to improved performance, which motivates adult learning. An interest in enhanced proficiency, the capability to perform, given the opportunity encourages adults to persist in learning activities.…

Field-independent and dependent students read or took notes on a logically organized or scrambed article. Field-independent students scored better than field-dependent students on items of high structural importance to the meaning of the passage. Cognitive style effects on material of low structural importance were not significant. (Author/RD)

Adoptive parents and their adoptive and natural children took IQ tests. Speed of solution correlated with verbal IQ and .51 with performance IQ among the parents. Mothers' speed correlated negligibly with scores of adoptive and natural children. Fathers' speed correlated more with their natural than adopted children's performance scores.…

Two studies related content coverage to pupil achievement. With ability and socioeconomic status controlled, a correlation of .40 was obtained between content and coverage and achievement. Significant correlations were also obtained between teacher coverage and achievement for two groups of teachers covering two units two months apart. (Author/RD)

Students rated photographs of teachers on seven factors of teacher performance. Across all developmental levels and all factors, ratings of unattractive teachers were lower. At all developmental levels, older teachers received lower ratings than younger teachers. Sex of teacher was a more influential factor at grades 11 and 13. (Author/RD)

Results of two studies using the Esper paradigm to determine development of rule application and discovery are reported. Subjects learned and generalized when rule and structure were provided, but there was little evidence of rule discovery. Manipulations of memory and attention facilitated learning, but only attention facilitated rule discovery.…

Observations were conducted in desegregated elementary school classes to determine the relationship between classroom conditions and pupils' interracial behaviors. Diffuse positive intergroup contacts were more likely to occur when teachers emphasized interpersonal concerns. Purposeful intergroup contacts were facilitated by teacher patience and…

Aptitude-treatment interactions in large- and small-group learning situations were investigated. Students who initially preferred small groups did worse in that approach than in the large-group approach. High- and low-ability students did better and had more positive attitudes in the small- and large-group approaches, respectively. (Author/RD)

Undergraduates rated their affective reactions to hypothetical test performances under four success conditions. Then, in the role of teachers, they administered rewards to hypothetical students under identical conditions. Both positive self-evaluation and teacher praise were greatest when success followed effort. Perceptions of ability also…

In conjunction with oral instruction in social studies, students were assigned to one of five organizer treatment conditions. Treatment conditions consisted of an advance or a post organizer presented visually or orally. Results indicated that nonwritten cognitive organizers facilitated both the learning and the retention of oral instruction.…

The self-esteem and ethnocentric attitudes and behavior of Black, White, and Mexican-American elementary school children were investigated. Results indicated that Blacks are not lower in self-esteem than Whites or Mexican Americans, and that all three groups are ethnocentric in attitudes and behavior. (Author/RD)

Productivity, novelty, figures of speech, flexibility, and elaboration were hypothesized to represent teachers' judgments of creativity of essay compositions. Essays were scored on the five dimensions and teachers judged essay creativity independently. Teachers' judgments were reliable, and four of the five dimensions correlated with rated…

College seniors graded lecturers on teaching and course effectiveness. After the students had graduated and been working for a year, they rated teaching effectiveness for former lecturers and nominated the best and worst teachers. Increasing maturity and job experience did not significantly alter student evaluations of relative teaching…