Seventh-grade students were tested to uncover arithmetic errors. Answers and intermediate steps were analyzed and models to represent students' behavior were developed. Certain errors were common across students. Others were tied to the format of the test item. Some superficial understandings of mathematical concepts were exposed. (Author/DC)

To help college teachers assist students in approaching reference materials to obtain citations, basic points that students should identify within citations are specified, and useful classroom techniques and materials are suggested. Common errors in search strategies are also noted. Some suggestions are made for selection of indexes for searching.…

A checklist is presented to help structure systematic observation and diagnosis of students' handwriting. A breakdown of handwriting skills is accompanied by possible problem behaviors and related factors (such as grasp of writing instrument and motor skills) to consider in error analysis. The most common elements diminishing legibility are…

This book provides a comprehensive collection of 66 teaching strategies and ideas to help overcome problems with number, each linked to a specific kind of error described in the related manual. Most of these strategies are classroom-ready and easily implemented. Some are notes for the teacher to read and then plan activities accordingly, and many…

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching focuses on the relationship of lexical items to the syntactic situations in which they may occur, and the importance of teaching this relationship to language learners. First, common errors made by ESL students that are attributable to lack of syntactic context knowledge are identified.…

This article outlines the last step in a five-step process for preparing students to engage in a systematic mathematics problem-solving and decision-making process. The lesson plan teaches students to reread the problem, reexamine the question, check selection of operation, and recheck calculations and compare answers. (JDD)

One technique for teaching college-level report writing consists of an essay that students use as a model for their own writing. This model, in turn, contains guidelines for composing a short essay, from title and subheadings to sentence and paragraph structure, word selection, errors to avoid, and revision. (MSE)

The purpose of this study was to: (1) describe differences in performance by non-native learners of English, when writing in different genres; (2) determine communicative value of grammatical errors as judged by a panel of native speakers; and (3) demonstrate inconsistencies in native speaker judgment of error gravity. Subjects were 20…

A discussion of cognates in second language teaching, particularly in English as a Second Language (ESL), looks at reasons and methods for teaching both true and false cognates ("friends"). A definition of cognates is offered, and a distinction is made between a cognate and a borrowed word, with examples from several languages.…

It is important that teachers help students to realize that writing is not simply a product, or a means to an end, but an exploratory, cyclical process. Research has shown that skilled writers conceptualize the effect of their writing as a whole, as a generative process, whereas unskilled writers are distracted by surface-level features and are…

Brief articles are included on exploring mathematical patterns, with two computer programs listed for finding happy numbers; a simple periodic function in trigonometry; and comments on humorous student errors. (MNS)

This guide to authentic assessment strategies for teachers of students with and without disabilities explains how to incorporate authentic assessments into everyday practice, including observation techniques, anecdotal records, error analysis, miscue analysis, "think-alouds," self-evaluation questionnaires and interviews, journals and learning…

This monograph provides an historical overview of handwriting assessment, followed by suggestions for informally assessing student handwriting errors and implementing improvement strategies. The monograph specifically addresses: (1) research on handwriting; (2) a rationale for remediation of handwriting errors; (3) techniques for evaluating…

English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students in general, and Chinese speakers in particular, often omit or misuse English prepositions in speaking or writing. A study traced the history and structure of the English preposition, using contrastive analysis and error analysis to find sources of Chinese error. To determine if Chinese speakers exceed…

Discussion of programs for analyzing the writing of students using word processors focuses on six categories of available software that can help to improve students' writing skills: error checkers, reformatters, audience awareness programs (including reader's needs and readability formulas), student conferencing utilities, grading utilities, and…