Investigated school counselors' attitudes toward breaching confidentiality before and after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Surveys of demographically similar counselors indicated that the Columbine shootings affected counselors' predictions about their attitudes and behavior regarding confidentiality. Counselors were more reluctant to…

Explored the claim that performance assessments foster a more positive motivational orientation for students than supplied-response assessments when used in the classroom. Fifth graders in three science classrooms were exposed to three types of assessment. Surveys investigated students' attitudes toward science, goal orientation, and cognitive…

Investigated the effects of implementing an instructional system that automated application of evidence-based components of effective instruction on student mathematics achievement and on classroom behaviors related to student achievement. Analysis of fourth and fifth graders in intervention and traditional instruction groups indicated that the…

Surveyed African American high school students to determine psychosocial factors associated with high school achievement (e.g., community support, academic motivation, social support, and students' methods of handling unfair treatment). After controlling for gender and absenteeism, only the method of handling unfair treatment positively related to…

Explored changes in preservice teachers' multicultural attitudes and knowledge, as well as factors that contributed positively to those changes. Student teachers were followed throughout their preparation program. Data from questionnaires and interviews indicated that respondents' multicultural attitudes and knowledge change in a positive…

Examined the impact of creative drama activities on elementary students' self-concept, social skills, and problem behavior. Students were divided into intervention and control groups. Data from student surveys did not show any significant treatment effects for any of the dependent variables. Results did not differ by gender. The main and…

Investigated gender differences in the learning styles of high school boys and girls from Bermuda, Brunei, Hungary, Sweden, and New Zealand. Data from student surveys indicated that although boys' and girls' learning styles differed in numerous ways, individuals within each group were more unique then either group as a whole. Country-specific…

Examined the impact of choice on college students' cognitive task performance and affective engagement. Data from two studies supported the enhanced affective engagement hypothesis, which states that even short-term choice can increase positive affective response. Choice had no positive effect on cognitive engagement but a positive effect on…

Collected data from 2,720 Hong Kong junior high school students and obtained teachers' reports about students' academic achievement, ability grouping, and the classes' ability level. Results revealed no significant detrimental effect caused by the ability-grouped class and the ability level of the ability-grouped class. Students in classes that…

Synthesizes studies of the effects of modifying the academic calendar in grades K-12 to do away with the long summer break without increasing the length of the school year. Findings show that evidence on such modification is weak, but that modified calendars are associated with higher achievement for economically disadvantaged students. (SLD)

Reviews some of the conceptualizations of workplace learning and its cognitive bases and examines workplaces as learning environments. Also considers the special challenges involved in the flexible delivery of training to workplaces. (SLD)

Reviews studies that examine the relationships between student achievement gains and the characteristics of teachers. Describes determinate relationships for four categories of teacher characteristics: college ratings, test scores, degrees and coursework, and certification status. (SLD)

Studied the effects of four instructional methods on the mathematical reasoning and metacognitive knowledge of 384 eighth graders. Results show that cooperative learning plus metacognitive training outperformed other combinations of individual and cooperative learning and metacognitive instruction or learning without metacognitive instruction.…

In this study, we explore how high schools, through their structures and organization, may influence students' decisions to stay in school or drop out. Traditional explanations for dropout behavior have focused on students' social background and academic behaviors. What high schools might do to push out or hold students has received less empirical…

This study examines the relationships between student literacy performance and discussion-based approaches to the development of understanding in 64 middle and high school English classrooms. A series of hierarchical linear models indicated that discussion-based approaches were significantly related to spring performance, controlling for fall…