A study of the accuracy of letter strokes made on wide- and normal-spaced paper by students during the transition to cursive writing confirms the advantages of wide-spaced paper. Both second- and third-grade students made more accurate strokes on wide-spaced paper. (Authors/PP)

A study of the learning activities of 43 beginning secondary school teachers in Oregon provides information about how and to what extent these teachers supplemented academic training with practical knowledge. Types of learning experiences, time spent on them, and teachers' opinions about their worth are discussed. (PP)

A study using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Revised) was conducted to determine whether the increase in reliability when both Forms L and M were employed justified the increase in time required for the longer procedure. Children in grades four, five, and six were involved in the project. (PP)

The use of illustrations in relation to text characteristics and instructional conditions was studied. Seventh-grade students recalled information from transfer passages of texts varying in their level of dependence on illustrations. Texts and passages were read under four instructional conditions. Results are discussed. (Authors/CJ)

This study examined the effects of teacher enthusiasm on the achievement of fourth-grade pupils, as well as the ability of teachers to exhibit interteacher similarity in enthusiasm. Among results discussed is the finding of no effect of teacher enthusiasm on social studies achievement of fourth-grade students. (Authors/CJ)

A review of research findings compares evaluations of the effectiveness of programed instruction in secondary schools. The meta-analysis showed that results from programed instruction were similar to those from conventional teaching. Programed instruction did not raise student achievement on examinations, nor did it increase positive attitudes…

In a study, underachieving fifth and sixth graders who were weak in mathematics tutored second graders who were also weak in mathematics, replacing their regular classroom teachers. Results show that both tutors and tutees had significantly improved in mathematics on standard achievement tests. (JN)

At intervals during the reading of an article, college students were asked to stop and state how they were preparing to answer an unspecified question about the article. Those students who had attempted to discern the question had significantly superior performance to those who had not devised such a strategy. (JN)

Examined the ability of kindergarten children to use counting procedures to solve story problems. A major factor affecting pupil ability was the use of manipulative materials which illustrate the sets and relationships. Findings indicate that pupil success hinges on problem complexity and that this method could be used for early diagnosis of pupil…

Two studies investigated sixth and seventh graders' metacognitive reading skills or skills that are used in reading to remember. Students monitored relative passage difficulty between narrative and expository passages and offered reasons for their judgements. Self-report strategies, retrospection, and protocol analysis were used. (JN)

A study investigated the influences of the nature of the research, the offer of an honorarium, and the time required to participate in the research on teacher interest in participating in classroom research. Results indicated that significantly greater interest was expressed by teachers when a small honorarium was offered. (JN)

In a study, kindergarten and third grade students were given handwriting copying practice using different perceptual prompts to reproduce model letter forms. Results indicate that groups trained with perceptual prompts produced more accurate reproductions. (Author/JN)

A study examined the effect of teacher transitions and lesson content on lesson effectiveness as perceived by high school English students. A lesson was presented involving parallel sentence structure, and students were tested on comprehension of the material. Results indicate that teacher transitions significantly affected achievement but…

A study investigated performance assessments for student teachers involving self-evaluation, supervising teachers' evaluations, and college faculty supervisors' evaluations. Results show that student teachers' self-evaluations were significantly higher than either academic or field supervisor's ratings. (JN)

Two studies examined an observation instrument designed to obtain frequency counts on the behaviors of learning disabled children during small group instruction. Findings indicate that intervention strategies designed to modify behaviors in disabled children may have positive effects on their academic progress and that observation of their…