A three-year evaluation of the Learning Research and Development Center's program of individualized instruction was conducted in seven Follow Through sites and three Pittsburgh area schools. To improve such empirical evaluation studies, researchers should gather data according to a theory, increase the number of classrooms surveyed, and gather…

Relationships between cognitive style, conceptual tempo, and problem solving strategies of 81 fifth-grade students were examined. While cognitive style was not related to strategies used in problem solving, conceptual tempo influenced time spent and quality and quantity of questions asked. Effective training techniques were also described.…

The effects of student effort exerted studying, and of written feedback from the instructor, were studied in undergraduate classrooms. Students received high or low-effort assignments, and high or low praise from their teacher. Those completing high-effort assignments and receiving high praise formed significantly more positive attitudes.…

Public school teachers were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the characteristics of open schooling. Features rated as most important to open schooling included: teacher preparation, student choice of what is studied, variety of spaces, and variety of group sizes. (Author/MV)

Sixth graders from a semirural midwestern community were randomly assigned to one of four different learning strategies--imagery, overt repetition, covert repetition, and control. Results showed that imagery instructions facilitated learning performance; overt repetition interfered with performance; and covert repetition was similar to the control…

Middle class, suburban adults responded to an opinion survey regarding competencies that high school students should be taught. The responses indicated that basic academic skills, certain practical skills, the ability to function in social, bureaucractic, and job situations, and respect for law and authority were most important. (MV)

The achievement gains of educationally handicapped (EH) and educable mentally retarded (EMR) classes using an experiential taxonomic-based curriculum were compared to the gains of similar classes using other curricula. Experimental EMR students demonstrated significant gains in reading and writing; experimental EH students achieved significant…

The expressed attitudes and reported behaviors of 130 teachers toward parent education and parent involvement in early childhood education programs are investigated. The data suggest that teachers in publicly funded programs hold more positive attitudes toward parent education and encourage more parent involvement than do teachers in privately…

Sixty urban and 57 rural elementary school classrooms were observed to document the effects of rural versus urban locale, grade level, and subject matter taught on instructional quality. Teachers' verbal behaviors were grouped into 16 process-by-substance categories. Results showed that all three main effects were significant. (Author/MV)

Forty-four home economics education majors participated in a study of the effects of (1) method of instruction in college courses and (2) student teaching experience on attitudes and cognitive achievements in nine competency areas. Neither variable--exposure to student teaching experience nor instructional method--resulted in cognitive or attitude…

Relationships between student attitudes toward Edward Keller plan psychology courses and student ratings of specific teacher behaviors and class characteristics were investigated in a study of 563 senior high school students enrolled in Keller plan courses. Practical course value and teacher enthusiasm were positively related to the students'…

The educational philosophy, attitudes, and values of student teachers and their supervising teachers were examined in both American Indian and Anglo schools, before and after the student teaching experience. Generally, all student teachers became more traditional, adopting their cooperating teachers' conservatism. Differences between the groups of…

The study assessed whether or not therapist trainees who received group counseling with experienced leaders would become more flexible, less authoritarian, and less dogmatic than trainees who had only didactic training. Participation in group counseling was shown to have some of these effects. Evaluation methods are also compared. (MV)

This survey of 11-, 12-, and 15-year-old English schoolchildren suggests that (1) at each level of family environment, increases in affective characteristics are associated with increments in cognitive scores, and (2) at each level of attitudes toward school and locus of control, increases in family environment scores are related to increments in…

Student self-pacing in a college-level, individualized political science course resulted in a significantly higher rate of student withdrawal as compared to the same course with instructor-pacing, a fact that the authors found attributable to failure to maintain a steady quiz-taking pace and to poor performance on quizzes. (MJB)