An investigation of the relationships between form and comprehension of written materials by eleventh grade students is reported in this paper. Students were asked to manipulate two variables of spacing and punctuation in a consistently administered and marked exercise. Students also completed a comprehension test on the exercise they had just…

Research in the form of a case study explores the factors that influenced physics enrollment in year 11 of a group of students taught over three consecutive years, from year 8 to year 10 in a New South Wales country school. The findings reveal that students who enjoyed their learning experiences in junior science and achieved good results in…

A study explored the question of the development of recall for narrative and informative texts. Subjects, 60 5th- 8th-, and 11th-grade students from a rural area of Quebec, representing all levels of achievement, were presented with an informative text and a narrative text. Results indicated that: (1) the narrative text elicited a longer recall…

Goal orientations in high school students may be grouped into learning (e.g., mastery) and performance (e.g., grades, competition) goals. Past research on students' goals is reviewed. Students' motivation for achievement is complex. Given the importance of fostering and strengthening learning goal orientations in high school as well as in college,…

The present study investigated the effects of using different forms of material with 100 eleventh grade students enrolled in a 5-week CBI (computer based instruction) summer enrichment program in Memphis, Tennessee. The basic design consisted of two conditions of instructional support (text and questions vs. questions only), two testings…

Contributing to research delineating the cognitive processes of writers who are revising their own texts after feedback from members of their intended audience, a study (1) determined whether more able writers would be more responsive to their readers' feedback than would less able writers; and (2) verified results of a previous study indicating a…

A nationwide survey of over 3,000 grade 11 students (approximately equal numbers of males and females) representing major urban areas in all ten provinces was undertaken to obtain baseline data on access to and usage of computers in each of three categories--recreational, nonrecreational home usage, and school--and to test a "manifold…

Twelve seventh grade and 23 eleventh grade students participated in a study that investigated age differences in the use of discourse planning. Subjects were given a list of games and asked to indicate which they knew well enough to explain to a peer. Subjects acting as speakers were seated at a table with a tape recorder present. Half had a…

Until writing researchers understand how students respond to teacher marking techniques in composition, they risk prescribing strategies that waste teachers' instructional time. For this reason a study with a participant/observation methodology was conducted to describe and interpret student responses to writing instruction methods. The five-month…

This paper discusses the objectives for the writing programs for Department of Defense Office of Dependents Schools (DoDDS). Assessment results for 1978-79 writing samples of eighth and eleventh grade students are also presented, along with a summary of students' responses to questions about their writing habits. Test results reported in the paper…

A study determined what comprehension strategies either contributed to literary engagement or inhibited engagement among adolescents. Subjects, 25 eleventh-grade students chosen at random from two heterogeneous English classes in a suburban school, read two short stories and reported their thinking and understanding as they were reading.…

The peaceful transition of the political systems in Central Europe created a rather unique and contradictory situation. While these nations reached one of their long-term aims, a greater level of independence and freedom, in everyday life there are few signs of positive changes; in fact life has become even harder. In this socio-political context…

This case study of the effects of school restructuring on at-risk students focused on the grade 11 Humanitas Program at seven Los Angeles schools. Humanitas was initiated to improve the humanities education of average students in urban schools with a large minority population. The following measures were used to compare Humanitas students with…

A five-step method of conflict analysis can help students generate accurate and complex theme statements about literature without teacher intervention. The conflict analysis involves (1) identifying the characters who are in conflict as a series of pairs and determining if the protagonist has an inner conflict; (2) determining the major conflict,…

A study assessed the ability of 20 eleventh grade students to recognize particular stylistic features when reading and then to use such features in their writing. Half the subjects were given a model paragraph from an Edgar Allen Poe story, without having the story identified for them, while the other half received only a verbal summary of the…