Examined the effectiveness of a 2-year, stage-based alcohol prevention intervention using nurse consultations and parent prevention materials among 6th graders in one neighborhood school and one bused magnet inner-city school. Students received either the experimental program or a minimal intervention. Student surveys and saliva testing indicated…

Early adolescents may lack the cognitive and metacognitive skills necessary for effective inquiry learning. In particular, they are likely to have a nonnormative mental model of multivariable causality in which effects of individual variables are neither additive nor consistent. Described here is a software-based intervention designed to…

A curriculum guide and suggested instructional resource materials were developed for a school district program in computer literacy for kindergarten through grade 8. The program was piloted with 43 teachers in 9 elementary schools and 1 junior high school in 1984 in the Orange County (Florida) School District. A structured response questionnaire…

Twelve pupils from each of 13 middle school science classes participated in this study. Findings, among others, indicate that two of nine engagement measures (attending and generalizing), together with formal reasoning ability, were related to process skill, achievement, and retention. (JN)

A study compared the performance of 21 sixth graders receiving Title I services, 13 with learning disabilities, 9 gifted students, and 58 others on a legal knowledge test after a 3-week course in a mainstream setting. The groups differed significantly on declarative knowledge tasks, but not on procedural and conditional knowledge tasks. Results…

Reports on a study of the effects of single-sex and mixed-sex schooling on personality characteristics among 2095 Belgian sixth-grade students. Finds that it is not the student gender composition but the gender composition of the teaching staff that exerts influence. (CFR)

Examined the adjustment of boys from intact, single-mother, stepfather, and multiple-transition families. Boys who had experienced multiple transitions showed the poorest adjustment. The antisocial mother was most at risk for transitions and unskilled parenting practices, which in turn placed her son at risk for poor adjustment. (BC)

Outlines a sixth grade social studies project rewriting portions of outdated textbooks. Suggests steps by which students critically read, evaluate, and rewrite historical accounts of the Soviet Union to reflect recent changes. Explains how the project develops skills in evaluating information and making revisions. Emphasizes the active learning…

Discusses a study in which fifth and sixth grade students joined with novice teachers to discuss literature in cooperative study groups. Finds students engaged in dialogue with teachers and peers, constructing meanings, revealing personal involvement, and actively inquiring about and evaluating the literature. Includes an excerpt from the…

Increasingly computers in primary schools are being used to support the interactions and learning of students online. Gaining access to online spaces gives students new ways of interacting, not possible in a face-to-face setting. For example, interacting through online environments allows students to interact more informally with each other and…

Kindergarten children at risk of developing language problems were administered the Florida Kindergarten Screening Battery. A principal components analysis revealed a verbal and a visual-spatial component and subsequent discriminant function analyses a high verbal/low visual-spatial group (LAL: Latent L) and a high visual-spatial flow verbal group…

The Write for Your Life project allows students to examine life events that affect their health and well-being by creating spaces for them to inquire into the circumstances of their lives. This paper examines Write for Your Life in a Texas middle school with a diverse student population, focusing on three students' writing projects. (SM)

The Indiana Weather Project (IWP) investigated how the joint application of situated learning and constructivist theory might support elementary school students' understanding of weather systems. Results indicated significant cognitive gains during the multimedia weather unit. (SD)

The effect of a listening-to-literature program on the attitudes toward reading of 1,712 middle school (grades 6 through 8) students was studied. Selected teachers read aloud to students four or five days a week for six months. An experimental group pretest/posttest design indicated a positive difference in student attitudes. (SLD)

Reports on a content analysis of all pictures of music-related figures appearing in grades six, seven, and eight music textbooks published in 1988. Finds females underrepresented and stereotypes common. Calls for more research on equity in curriculum materials and gender-related issues in music education. (CFR)