Includes three responses to David Lemire's article "Math Problem Solving and Mental Discipline." Contends that quality mathematics instruction should result in citizens capable of functioning productively in this highly technological, capitalistic, and democratic society. Proposes that mathematics is very relevant for real-life problem solving.…

Explains that the concern of learning style research is to identify student characteristics, which are related to instructional methods and learning outcomes in educationally significant ways. Demonstrates that styles as measured by the Ego Inventory Instrument have some desirable reliability and validity qualities. Proposes that in addition to…

Interviews 11 self-defined underachieving college freshmen. Synthesizes 13 definitions of achievement by students. Analyzes the interviews repeatedly to produce a list of the students' concepts of achievement, arranged from the most common to the least common. Finds each student held more than one definition of achieving, some definitions in the…

Investigates the relationship between total scores on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the time taken to complete it. Finds that slower test takers obtained significantly higher scores. Discusses implications of these findings for college instruction. (SG)

Examines the validity and reliability of a questionnaire developed to determine if college students in the America Reads Challenge who tutored elementary school children reported attitude changes. Finds significant positive attitude changes along the four dimensions of the questionnaire: attitude toward self, children, tutoring, and others. Notes…

Examines affective influences on male student attitudes toward peer tutoring. Indicates that gender-specific sociolinguistic characteristics as well as cultural pressures impacted male students' willingness to seek academic assistance. Finds that both male developmental mathematics tutors and male developmental mathematics students admitted to…

Determines whether postsecondary students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) experienced a differential increase in end-of-term grades when they used academic accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, with verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores serving as a baseline predictor.…

Conducts two studies that asked whether undergraduates who attended one-to-one conferences on rough drafts improved as writers. Notes the first year focused on peer tutors, so few changes remained for students to make, and results were inconclusive; but the second year focused on a professional tutor. Finds 65% of revisions made afterwards were in…

Presents an explanation of self-efficacy and differences between self-efficacy and other aspects of the self-system. Examines the self-efficacy for mathematical problem solving and verbal comprehension of a group of students, including developmental learners. Indicates that developmental students as a group lack the ability to monitor their own…

Explores the relationship between expectations of success or failure in community college students and the functions of writing. Considers if high, medium, and low self-efficacy writers differ in terms of the range of the possible functions and usage. Reveals a direct correlation between self-efficacy on each of three dimensions. Calls attention…

Explores the phenomenon of transition from secondary to postsecondary education for students with disabilities in order to enhance the understanding of this complex issue. Identifies several mechanisms that may contribute to the amelioration of some of the more detrimental effects of a quandary that could be the result of several competing…

Discusses the use of online teaching assistants or "course wizards," employed at Mercy College (New York) not only to tutor students who are experiencing difficulty but also to facilitate discussion and to model the role of a successful student. Presents a discussion of the current crisis in higher education in America and of how online education…

Introduces a method of training college students writing skills in content areas that involves the use of a peer-review panel to encourage students to write in-class essays in academic and professional formats. Concludes that because the procedure motivates students to learn and helps the instructor teach, both students and the instructor feel…

Reports on an effort to better understand the impasse and create conditions for constructive local discussions and reforms relating to multiculturalism. Reports how a group of developmental education professionals in a large, interdisciplinary developmental education unit understand multiculturalism. Explores the potentials and challenges involved…

Presents a case study of a developmental college freshman that shows a dramatic change in spelling over the course of several weeks after completing self-instruction materials on phonics. Concludes that this case gives hope for adults with poor spelling habits and solicits suggestions from college instructors who work with students having similar…