To assess the effects of discussion on vocabulary learning, 38 children in two intact fifth-grade classes were divided into three subgroups and taught science vocabulary on three successive days. The discussion subgroup outperformed a non-discussion subgroup and a subgroup that anticipated involvement in discussion but was instructed without…

A model of skills needed by a student to understand a mathematics lesson taught by a good teacher is presented. The model contains a variety of cognitive competencies. Functioning of the model during a two-day lesson sequence is described. (TJH)

Interviews were conducted with 40 teachers in an urban Southeast high school to assess teachers' perspectives on effective high school leadership. Application of grounded theory research to the data (collected over a two-point-five year period) assessed teachers' perceptions of principals and the major dimensions of high school leadership. (TJH)

The lessons of 11 seventh-grade life science teachers were observed to determine the extent to which they made linkages between science content and its societal, reasoning, historical, or attitudinal implications. Results indicate a gap between scientific literacy as a normative goal of science instruction and current teaching practice. (TJH)

A study involving 40 rote (high dogmatic) learners and 37 conceptual (low dogmatic) learners of college age was conducted to determine the optimal rhetorical structure of passages for each type of learner. The results indicate a significant interaction between dogmatism and rhetorical structure. (TJH)

Aspects of the organizational contexts of schools and classrooms and various teacher psychological states are examined to explain variations in individual outcomes of staff development intended to improve teacher performance. A path model--based on theories of individual behavior and change within organizations--is presented and tested. (TJH)

The effects of a package of instructional methods on the academic achievement, behavior, and social bonding of 77 experimental and 83 control students in grade seven who were low achievers in math are described. The potential for preventing discipline problems through promoting sound teaching practices in mainstream classrooms is reviewed. (TJH)

The effectiveness of computer simulation in enhancing learning of a health unit by 30 mildly learning-disabled high school students was investigated. Results indicate that computer simulation in combination with structured teaching was effective, particularly in the area of teaching problem-solving skills. (TJH)

Naturalistic observation was used to investigate the occurrence of behaviors reflecting social competence and information processing in problem solving within educational computing environments. Forty-eight first and third graders were observed working in pairs on the computer. Findings indicate that a LOGO programing environment is superior to…

Three experiments were conducted in which the "face-name" mnemonic was adapted for use in learning 30 painting/artist associations by a total of 183 university undergraduates. Subjects exposed to verbal and pictorial mnemonic aids were better able than were others to match artists and their paintings. (TJH)

Data from a study on silent classroom reading with 105 learning disabled students (aged 6-12 years) are reanalyzed using linear structural equation modeling. It appears that, when entry-level abilities are controlled, silent reading did not have a significant effect on posttest reading performance. (TJH)

The impact of the sex of a story's main character on boys' and girls' reading interest and comprehension was studied with 540 fifth graders. A strong sex-of-reader/sex-of-main-character correlation was observed on the interest measure, while it had no effect on reading comprehension. (TJH)

Factors influencing women's decisions to pursue undergraduate degrees in quantitative fields were studied, using a structural equation model. Significant factors in High School and Beyond study data included courses taken in high school, student socioeconomic status, parental attitudes, and choice of study field as a high school sophomore. (TJH)

The relationship of Spanish-language background to achievement among first-, second-, and third-generation Mexican American high school seniors was examined. Data from the national High School and Beyond study were used. Spanish-language variables were only intermittently related to achievement, with personal aspirations far more influential. (TJH)

D. Meichenbaum's cognitive behavior modification theory was applied in a study of 30 first graders and 25 third graders who exhibited mild classroom problem behaviors. Results of the controlled study indicate that the self-instructional training method derived from the theory is a viable classroom management option for regular education. (TJH)