This paper presents the results of eight analyses based upon data from the National Study of Student Learning (NSSL), a 3-year longitudinal research project begun in 1992 to examine the influence of academic and nonacademic experiences on student learning, student attitudes about learning, student cognitive development, and student persistence.…

Practical difficulties in placing economics students and designing instructional materials in English as a Second Language at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and techniques used for resolving these difficulties, are described. First-year students arrive with heterogeneous backgrounds because, unlike in other European countries, there is no…

This study, part of a larger effort to develop a methodology for evaluating intelligent computer systems (Artificial Intelligence Systems), explores the use of benchmarking as an evaluation technique. Benchmarking means comparing the performance of intelligent computer systems with human performance on the same task. Benchmarking in evaluation has…

This document is the third volume of the Adult Literacy Leadership Project, an effort to identify the educational and training needs of Florida's literacy personnel--instructors, administrators, and advisors. Volume three contains an annotated bibliography on effective strategies for combatting adult illiteracy. The bibliography covers the…

This document offers materials for a year-long course on general basic reading skills that was part of a workplace literacy project developed by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey), and its partners. The document contains the following: (1) outlines (each of which contains objectives, a topical outline, and list of textbooks) for two…

A study evaluated the potential of low-cost microcomputers for enhancing the effectiveness of adult basic education (ABE) programs conducted for mentally handicapped adults. In conducting the study, researchers selected a sample of 36 mentally-handicapped adults who were served by the San Antonio State Hospital and the San Antonio State School.…

Papers presented at the City University of New York's English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Council conference on the relationship between text and context in college second language instruction include the following: "Reading Research: New Directions and Implications for ESL" (M. Trika Smith-Burke); "Two ESL Readers: Case Studies of…

If young readers (adolescents) are introduced to a range of story structures and less structured texts (or "deviant narratives"), it may encourage the development of more diverse and accommodating schemata and the capacity to make inferences about the link between discourse units. It is, after all, a basic principle of recent narrative…

In 1985 the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessed the literacy skills of America's young adults. The survey stressed the complexity and diversity of literary tasks in American society rather than using a simplistic single standard for literacy. NAEP convened panels of experts whose deliberations led to this definition of…

Intended for teachers, students, and researchers of reading, this book reflects the theories, models, and research generated over the past 10 years on the psychology and pedagogy of reading. Essays in the first section of the book deal with the historical changes in reading research and theory, and the pioneers of reading research. Essays in the…

A study examined whether writing modeled from children's picture books would improve reading comprehension of fourth and fifth graders as much as traditional skills instruction. Subjects, 69 children reading at least one year below grade level from six Chapter 1 Colorado schools, were pretested for reading comprehension levels. Subjects were then…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) abled and disabled sixth grade readers' knowledge of story structure under three conditions, (2) the impact of typographical factors on the visual information…

Project THISTLE (Thinking Skills in Teaching and Learning) was developed by Montclair State College (New Jersey) faculty in collaboration with the Newark, New Jersey, public schools. The project is designed to improve the basic skills of urban college-bound high school students by working with their teachers in an integrated process of curriculum…

The continuing theme of these conferences is: "Reading, the Process of Creating Meaning for Sensed Stimuli." The special theme of this 1983 anniversary conference is: "Reading Reading: 50th Anniversary Perspectives." The proceedings in this yearbook reflect the retrospective and prospective emphasis of the special theme.…

Written by teachers of elementary school students, the 30 articles in this collection are designed to provide insights into the way children learn to write and to encourage teachers to examine their own theories and perceptions of writing and writing instruction. The articles are grouped in six sections, covering beginning writing, collaborative…