Recitations and discussions are two types of interactions which have long been of interest to researchers who study classroom discourse in secondary English and Social Studies. According to research, teachers control the discourse during recitations through "inauthentic" questions requiring pre-specified answers. In contrast, discussions involve…

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of designing an instrument to obtain information about word associations with certain factors held stable. The instrument developed, Words in Pairs, consisted of 20 items, each item containing four words. The first eight items required the subject to pair a noun with another noun of the same…

Analyzes the results of the Survey of Canadian English for the province of British Columbia in an effort to compare regional variations in language usage. (RB)

Examines how students interact during peer response groups, a key instructional activity designed specifically to encourage talk about writing. Finds that the frequency of response groups relative to other kinds of groups varied across classrooms, as did the relative amount of response that occurred in the group context. (MG)

Notes that sociocultural theory establishes that understanding the concepts that govern discussion in particular contexts is crucial. Considers which different instructional arrangements might affect students' conceptions. Asks students to write about the discussions they had during a unit on contemporary poetry. Varies the format of the…

This paper is presented in two sections. The first considers survey research, both in general and educational contexts, and outlines the potential utility of combining survey methods and observational fieldwork in studying different aspects of the same phenomenon. The second provides background for, and a description of, the survey phase of IRT's…

A method of evaluation that permits some penetration into the teaching/learning process that connects the student, teacher, and program is described. The conclusions reached by this method can be applied to improving teaching strategies, inservice training, curriculum development, and evaluation. (MP)

This study attempts to explain certain difficulties which ninth grade students face in tackling geometrical "problems to prove," by relating them to general and to specific rigidity and cognitive style variables. The results confirm the conceptual analysis of Geometric Rigidity (GR). (MP)

This report describes the rationale, implementation, and results of an experimental ninth-grade composition program in which students from three classes worked through activities that use different media to help them communicate effectively in narration, exposition, and critical analysis. Sentence combining was included as a part of the program. A…

Advantages and disadvantages of the modern definition of function, understanding the concept of function, procedures used in a study of the understandings of ninth graders, and detailed results of the study are discussed. (MNS)

Describes a study of Israeli ninth graders who answered a questionnaire on scientific attitudes, curiosity, and computer studies, to determine whether computers have an effect on development of student attitudes toward science by encouraging students' curiosity levels. Results indicate computers provide an opportunity to develop curiosity, thus…

The effects of instruction on the ability of children to generate written hypotheses and ask questions about variables pertaining to scientific discrepant events were investigated. Two hundred five ninth graders were assigned to a control group or one of four experimental instruction groups. The experimental instruction was received by watching a…

A sample of ninth-grade students utilizing the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) and other materials was used to investigate the relationship between cognitive preferences and science process achievement. The three cognitive preferences examined were: (1) application; (2) memorization; and (3) questioning. (HM)

Investigated was the influence on learner outcomes of the repeatable testing provision of Bloom's mastery learning model for ninth graders in an Introduction to Chemistry and Physics course. Neither student achievement nor attitude toward learning science was favorably influenced by repeatable testing. (MNS)

This study concerns itself with the guest for reliable methods of helping a greater percentage of inner city junior high school students in New York pass the ninth-year Regents examination. It investigates the hypothesis that assigning inner city students to algebra by mathematics levels rather than reading levels will result in a higher passing…