The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two learning strategies: summarizing and structured questions on near and far transfer tasks. The study explored the possible way to activate metacognitive strategies and critical thinking skills through the use of reflective activities, like summarizing or answering structured questions after…

Background: This study involved a bicoastal project between four composition classes, two in California and two in Pennsylvania. The focus was on how students read, write, and converse about ethnic and spiritual distinctiveness and the role of writing in identity development. Purpose: The researchers exercised a variety of methods (diverse…

This study sought to compare undergraduate's perceptions of and attitudes toward an educational psychology course in which two distinct types of course readings were used, namely an education psychology textbook versus primary sources. A total of 15 students were enrolled in the course during the fall semester and used the textbooks (Anita…

An Indiana professor of business used the British magazine "The Economist" as required reading in courses on international business in order to introduce a global and humanistic element. "The Economist" is a 100-plus page news weekly of economics and finance with a principal goal of increasing understanding of the critical…

The reading content offered in Hong Kong to advanced learners of English as a second language underestimates their intellectual capabilities. Material presented to second language learners is found to be linguistically correct but containing trivial, dull, and unchallenging cultural and intellectual content. This situation is closely related to…

An intensive college English Literature course provided a special learning opportunity through its innovative reading and writing assignments. From the beginning, students learned by individually selecting, finding, and reading texts and writing descriptive reports intended for class sharing and interaction. The final project involved a formal…

A study examined students' metacognitive response to ambiguous literacy tasks to determine the relationship between that response and academic achievement. Subjects were 11 students chosen from a fifth-grade classroom in a small, urban school serving a predominantly black, middle class neighborhood. Two literacy tasks were identified as ambiguous:…

A study sought to describe the nature of teacher and student behaviors related to textbook reading assignments at the secondary school level, and to explore the relationship between the amount of time secondary school teachers devoted to specific assignment-related behaviors and students' subsequent performance on the assignments. The sample…

Academic Development Program students face a special challenge. Within a few short weeks, they must hone their reading, writing, and speaking skills while scrambling to adjust to life in college. Usually, pre-freshmen enrolled in the Academic Development Program are not familiar with the demands of academic reading, writing, and oral response. For…

A broadcast internship program at the University of Missouri at St. Louis has established prerequisites such as a declared major in speech, a resume, and a transcript of all previous college work. For the course, students must write their own learning objectives before the internship begins and a projected calendar of their working hours. They…

A distinction can be made between the term "creativity" and creative thinking skills. Creativity typically refers to a talent for original and masterful production in the arts and sciences, and there is scant evidence that teachers have any influence on creativity of this kind. Creative thinking refers to a group of six thinking skills that if…

This paper outlines a senior seminar, or "capstone" course, in computer science developed at the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg. It was intended that the senior seminar should differ in classroom format from other courses in the major. Course requirements include timed oral presentations, reading of science fiction in which…

On the premise that a variety of reading and writing activities will help students develop their thinking skills, this paper offers seven class activities intended to encourage the development of formal and advanced thinking in junior and senior high school students. The activities, intended as basic activities which teachers can adapt to their…

Employing a body of texts for the reading and study of literature in the English classroom leads to much argumentation, with much disagreement about what is fair game for the writing student. To help determine which texts to select it is necessary to define cultural literacy in a different way from that of E. D. Hirsch. Hirsch would prescribe…

A study compared the results of a 1986 survey on the opinions of preservice teachers with those of a survey conducted in 1984 by William Bennett (at that time chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities). Bennett's survey asked respondents to list 30 works that students should be expected to read before high school graduation.…