The organization and content of subject matter knowledge of arithmetic teachers was explored. Experienced and beginning fourth grade teachers were observed. They were evaluated on their lessons to teach fractions. Implications of their knowledge differences were discussed. (DWH)

The authors hypothesize that a means-end strategy places a load on cognitive processing capacity which retards knowledge acquisition. Three experiments using trigonometry problems with high school students were conducted in which the problem goal was modified to disrupt strategy used by novices. Results supported the authors' hypothesis.…

Four experiments involving 180 undergraduates evaluated the effectiveness of computer graphics in improving estimates for algebra word problems. Variations in the simulation resulted in successful and unsuccessful programs as measured by the frequency with which students improved their estimates. Quality of feedback to students while learning is…

Students' conceptions of student explanations as mediators of the relation of instructional stimuli to seatwork achievement was examined. Results indicated a positive relationship among cognitions about explaining, small group behavior, and seatwork achievement. Students' conceptions of a good explanation were positively related to achievement and…

The influence on children's self-efficacy and achievement through observation of peer models learning cognitive skills was investigated. The effects of modeled mastery and coping behaviors were explored. Observing a peer model led to higher self-efficacy for learning, posttest self-efficacy, and achievement. (Author/DWH)

The relative contributions of family status variables, a family constellation variable, and the Henderson Environmental Learning Process Scale to prediction of cognitive performance among Mexican American preschool children from low-income backgrounds were examined. Implications of including background variables in research on relations between…

Parents engaged in a book reading task with their preschool child. The extent to which parents' teaching of children becomes less directive as a function of children's age and communicative status and the relationship between parents' interaction styles and children's verbal intelligence quotient was studied. (DWH)

Reading test questions were classified as literal or inferential. The kind of question was controlled to determine the influence of test format on comprehension. Analysis of variance indicated no direct effects attributable to test format or kinds of comprehension. Contentions of deficits in automaticity and attentional focus in poor readers were…

A longitudinal study was conducted to determine how a comprehensive battery of tests administered in kindergarten predicted reading achievement in Grades 1-6. The test variables were reduced to six predictive factors by factor analysis that, combined with the child's sex and the parent's language, had multiple correlations with reading…

The natural rates of teacher approval of appropriate student behavior and off-task student behavior were determined in middle school classrooms. Mean rates of teacher approval were found to exceed rates of disapproval. Inappropriate approval also appeared to be a relevant factor in managing classroom behavior. (Author/ DWH)

Interactive effects of item difficulty, test anxiety, and failure feedback are examined in a study using multiple choice verbal aptitude items. Results indicate that ability estimates can be affected by the examinee's improved performance, especially for students given an easy test. (Author/DWH)

Students were asked to rate several hypothetical instructor profiles, constructed by systematically manipulating information about the instructors' classroom behaviors. Factor analyses were performed where factors represented clusters of semantically equivalent items. Students imposed an implicit semantic organization on their ratings, apart from…

This study investigated how classroom teaching behavior mediates the relationship between personality and college teaching effectiveness. Instructional effectiveness was measured by end-of-term student ratings. Path analysis revealed that approximately half of the relationship between personality and teaching effectiveness was mediated by…

This study analyzed the relationship of teacher personality to teacher behaviors in physical education. Several personality traits related significantly to important observed teacher and student behaviors. Students of teachers who scored high in independence, assertiveness, questioning, and imaginativeness learned more than students of teachers…

This study investigated the relationship of phonological awareness to learning to read. Australian first-grade children were tested for verbal intelligence, phonemic segmentation ability, and reading achievement. Path analysis revealed phonological awareness affected reading comprehension indirectly through phonological recoding. The development…