A review of the literature reveals that obstacles to the successful transfer of basic skills, knowledge, and thinking skills during classroom instructional time differ depending on which of three components of expertise is entailed: conceptual understanding, domain-specific basic skills, or domain-specific strategies. This article, accordingly,…

A shop teacher recounts his simple method for teaching high school shop students to read a ruler without embarassing students who previously did not possess the skill. All students are "walked through" an exercise or test in ruler-reading daily until the skill has been mastered by everyone. (AJ)

Schools should use good sense and scientific research to decide what, when, and how mathematics should be taught. (Author)

Use of personal computers as teaching partners in basic skills instruction of the hearing-impaired personalizes and extends teaching techniques related to existing textbooks. This approach provides both phonetic and phonologic practice. Benefits of this approach are the faster pace and better retention of the material, peer support in performing…

Contains practical suggestions for refining children's basic reasoning skills for use in the reading class. (RB)

Outlines the history of study skills, a subject that has changed little in the last century, and discusses the present state of study skills and how to teach them. Describes the hm Study Skills Program, which incorporates seven important values into a coordinated continuous plan. (Author/WD)

Argues that prewriting is the most important skill to emphasize and practice extensively in basic writing classes. Describes basic writers as almost universally neglecting prewriting activities. Suggests some guidelines for teaching prewriting effectively. (HB)

Asera assesses the challenges that community colleges face in educating students in basic skills. For a significant group of college students the seemingly automatic skills of literacy and numeracy have become opaque, creating a particular challenge for community colleges, 98 percent of which offer at least one remedial reading, writing or…

This study was commissioned by the California Community Colleges System Office to identify effective practices in basic skills programs. The Center for Student Success (CSS), which is affiliated with the Research and Planning (RP) Group for California Community Colleges, was selected to conduct the study. There are three major components of the…

The purpose of this paper is to describe basic skills students in relation to their participation in basic skills and their success in transitioning to college-level classes, and the momentum they gain towards college success from this participation. In the period of time covered by the data used for this analysis, 24 colleges offered I-BEST…

The use of computers in teaching basic skills to special education students is examined. Six instructional techniques useful in teaching basic skills are outlined: information delivery, demonstration, drill and practice, problem solving, tutorial, and instructional games. A summary lists the contributions of technologies to effective learning,…

They're no longer a problem when students learn to take them apart and put them back together again. (Editor)

Too much attention is given to drill on the component skills of language and literacy and too little attention to their significant use. Component skills must be used in contexts that require their integration into some larger act that has a personal purpose that binds the parts into the whole. (Author/IRT)

Evaluates Neville Bennett's study of "Teaching Styles and Pupil Progress" which is being used to support a return to formal methods of instruction. (DD)

Proposes as a follow-up to an article on controlled composition for basic writers a necessary bridge between strict copying and independent composing. (HTH)