Examines the relationship between high school students' perceptions of their science learning environments and their motivation, learning strategies, and achievement. Discusses the focus of shared perceptions and instruction and indicates that shared perceptions focused on understanding and independent thinking positively predicted students'…

Describes a group of teachers who worked with multigenre possibilities as an alternative to traditional research papers, while trying to teach some principles of research. Details how the students were offered three options: a screenplay, a multi-genre paper, or a monologue. Outlines the successes and failures of each project. (PM)

A police officer presented a question about a formula on speeding. This application was a good real-world example of radicals to present in an algebra class. How it was used is presented. (MNS)

Discusses the problems, methodology, and positive results of an 8-week course in cultural literacy for 34 ninth grade students at Brooklyn's John Dewey High School. Provides sample materials in 4 appendixes. (NH)

Shares a coded version of the number line to provide concrete experiences for learning abstract concepts. Using the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, appropriate coded symbols are determined for the prime factorization of each natural number and used to study the concepts of greatest common divisor, least common multiple, square roots, and…

The expertise reversal effect occurs when a learning procedure that is effective for novices becomes ineffective for more knowledgeable learners. The authors consider how to match instructional presentations to levels of learner knowledge. Experiments 1-2 were designed to develop a schema-based rapid method of measuring learners' knowledge in a…

Since the introduction of the term "learning disabilities" into the educational lexicon, teachers and researchers have endeavoured to determine the best ways to adapt teachers' pedagogies to address the needs of students with these challenges in the classroom. Most of the recommended strategies have been designed with the traditional…

Spatial abilities are fundamental to human functioning in the physical world. Spatial reasoning allows people to use concepts of shape, features, and relationships in both concrete and abstract ways, to make and use things in the world, to navigate, and to communicate. Surgeons, pilots, architects, engineers, mechanics, builders, farmers, trades…

The present article is part of a large-scale study conducted in Ontario that investigated gender differences in motivation to learn French. However, for this particular article second language (L2) motivation theory is the primary focus. Over the past 30 years of research, the study of L2 motivation has evolved. There appears to be a definite…

This article examines community practices, in particular oral discourse practices, in a junior high school classroom in an urban area of Western Canada. The purpose of the research was to determine what contribution a "community of practice" (COP) framework could make to the study of social interaction in a classroom setting. Qualitative…

During discussions about planning, Tim Kemp and Charlotte Bickmore recently concluded that despite the name they give to their major Year 8 unit (The Making of the United Kingdom), they tend mainly to focus on England, and even more especially, on London. They have a good point. Ask an average Year 8 student to describe Britain in, say, 1700, and…

Two grammars (traditional and transformational) and two methods of teaching (direct and indirect) were measured to determine their effects upon the writing performance of students of low socioeconomic backgrounds. While the direct teaching of grammar was concerned with the correction of specific errors, the indirect teaching was concerned with a…

Reported is a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of several types of material and several different approaches to teaching of Basic Mathematics to ninth grade students. A suggested outline is given for the implementation of programmed basic mathematics as well as other programmed material in individual schools. The outline considers…

This study compares the relative effectiveness of a meaningful verbal approach and a guided discovery approach to learning selected science principles at the seventh and ninth grade levels. A total of 72 subjects were randomly selected from the seventh and ninth grades of Arnold Junior High School and Cleveland Senior High School and made up two…

THIS COURSE WAS DEVELOPED AS PART OF AN INTEGRATED AND SEQUENTIAL HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM FOR ABLE STUDENTS (UPPER 25 PERCENT). THE COURSE CONSISTS OF 12 UNITS OF STUDY, EACH UNIT CONTAINING A BRIEF STATEMENT OF AN ECONOMIC ISSUE AND SEVERAL READINGS ON THAT ISSUE. THE ISSUES COVERED WERE (1) MAKING ECONOMIC CHOICES (THE ROLE OF…