A study analyzed behavior patterns, conditions under which students learn, and educational achievements of German university students with disabilities. Results indicate students have common coping strategies regardless of disability type. The more the students had learned to accept and understand their disabilities during childhood and early…

Describes a study designed to investigate the extent to which peer relations increased among supplemental instruction program participants at a community college. Students who joined supplemental workshops were compared with those who did not. Regression analysis revealed a strong correlation between supplemental instruction and extracurricular…

Discusses the results of interviews conducted with 20 women distance learners from community nursing disciplines at the University of Wolverhampton (United Kingdom) that investigated relationships between approaches to study, learning styles and strategies, and materials design, and how these impact on the need for support and guidance in distance…

Examined approaches to studying among deaf distance-education students in Britain who preferred either sign language or spoken language. Findings included that deaf students seemed just as capable as hearing students of adopting a meaning orientation, and that there were no differences in approaches to studying related to students' preferred mode…

Examines determinates of student academic success in a Swedish university using estimates of a proportional-odds model. Finds that students studying previously given examinations, engaging in physical activity up to 6 hours per week, and taking courses in natural and technical sciences in high school play an important role in determining academic…

Describes a survey on student motivation and presents developmental education students' responses describing their strategies for academic success. Addresses the importance of combining effort with effective study strategies, planning, finding a quiet space, being persistent, and preparing for class. (NB)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the latent structure of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School (LASSI-HS) through confirmatory factor analysis and factorial invariance models. A simple modification of the three-factor structure was considered. Using a larger sample, cross-validation was completed and the equality of…

Students don't hang on to textbooks anymore, and the prevalence of second-hand merchandise obliges publishers to recoup their costs the first semester after a new release. Thus, those publishers are loath to experiment with novel approaches and are hypersensitive about reviewer criticism. Steven I. Dutch, who spent a decade preparing an…

Many people enter scientific careers by way of graduate school. Some aspects of success in graduate school depend on informal sharing of knowledge that occurs among students. To formalize some of the student-to-student teaching, I have articulated eight practical ideas based on my experience about how students can perform well and develop habits…

The five papers in this edition address issues of general interest in distance education. In the first paper, "Study Methods and Study Notes: Interim Report," Stephen Relf and Terry Geddes report on a study designed to identify patterns of use and trends in the ways in which distance students use their study notes. In the second paper,…

Possible relationships between student study behaviors and academic achievement were studied in an extension of a large-scale project at the Far West Laboratory. Factor analysis was used to identify latent variables measured by the 76-item Study Activity Survey (SAS) that might be more strongly related to college course achievement than are the…

Even the most intelligent children can have low rates of achievement if their natural abilities are not supported by effective study practices at home. The development of good study habits requires the guidance and firm supervision of a caring adult. The following suggestions should help parents guide their children in the development of good…

Both a self-management approach, teaching the principles of behavior modification and self-control (n=36), and a group-discussion technique, involving discussion of study habits and problems (n=41), led to improvements in grade point averages compared with a no-treatment control group (n=36) for low-achieving junior high school students. (Author)

A study assessed the validity of the hypothesis that offshore drilling personnel would independently study important material if they knew that they would eventually receive formal training on the topic covered in the material. Eighty-one crew members on an offshore drilling rig were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Those in…

In academic contexts, self-sufficient learners engage autonomously in study activities that promote effective criterion performance. Their expertness in studying presumably increases as students develop and move from one educational level to another. A correlational investigation was undertaken to evaluate four hypotheses about differences across…