This study investigated the effects of autobiographical writing before reading on ninth graders' discussion and understanding of two short stories. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of audiotaped class discussion revealed that students who had written about relevant personal experience before reading were more substantively engaged in…

Presents research on using small groups to help students think and reason about literature. Examines various small-group activities in ninth grade English classrooms. Analyzes effective and ineffective small-group work. Concludes that effective small-group work requires coherent activities that result in the sustained production of student…

Describes an information search process based on Kuhlthau's model that was used to teach bibliographic research to ninth grade students. A research test to ensure that students are familiar with basic library skills is presented, forms for helping students narrow the topic and evaluate materials are provided, and a research process checklist is…

Relationships between academic achievement and amounts of time devoted to various pursuits were studied for 1,584 seventh and ninth graders. Findings are discussed in terms of the impact on academic achievement of adolescent subculture and of family, school, peer group, and mass media as means of socialization. (SLD)

Provides details of a mock town meeting (using the warrant prepared for the town's real town meeting) which was planned and conducted by ninth grade students. Includes a project evaluation. (PRA)

This study investigated return-to-task rates on hard and easy tasks that secondary students projected for scenario characters and for themselves. Data revealed significantly greater rates of return to easy tasks. Girls had significantly higher return-to-task rates. Evidence of self-presentation bias was present. (SM)

Discusses integrated learning systems (ILSs) and describes a study that considered the degree of linear relationship between time spent on the ILS and outcome achievement on ninth-grade algebra students. The effects of previous math and verbal achievement and sex differences are explored, and measurement instruments are described. (Contains 14…

Studies the determinants of track placement in Israel, using approximately 4,500 ninth graders. Findings suggest that although ability and academic performance are strong predictors of track placement, it is also significantly affected by student's socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic origin, and gender. Students of higher SES, those of Western…

Describes the pedagogical approaches of 4 Grade 9 core French teachers and compares students' results on tests of general French proficiency and achievement tests, based on the objectives of a multidimensional project-based instructional unit used by all 4 teachers. Observation data suggest that the teachers were implementing this approach in very…

We present our recent research on children's learning goals and personal agency in the domain of learning in order to show the complexity of selves in Chinese culture. Our research poses challenges to the widely claimed collectivist self-concept in Chinese children and calls for reexamination of selves in specific domains across cultures.…

This article draws on Lefebvre's rhythmanalysis to interrogate and extend Bernstein's theory of pedagogic framing. It develops a typology of modes of pedagogic practice differentiated in terms of the dominance of one of three potential organising referents. These are (a) the grammar of the instructional discourse configured by a regulative…

Because children and young teenagers usually associate in same-sex groups, psychological research concerned with adolescent aggression has often concentrated on within-sex relationships. However, during adolescence, boys and girls increasingly interact socially. This paper reports a study of boy-to-girl aggression as perceived by girls, boys and…

Studies of athletes suggest that they are at increased risk for using alcohol, smokeless tobacco, steroids, and marijuana. They are also a readily available audience during annual preparticiaption physical examinations. In this article, Dr. Werch and colleagues report on the results from their pilot study, using a modified version of STARS (Start…

The purpose of this study was to construct and study the impact of a research-based sequence for teaching the concept of modelling to seventh-grade science students. We identified students' notions of models and the aspects of school science to be addressed regarding the model concept, which were then taken into account when we planned the…

The aim of this study is to describe and to explore the main factors affecting the performance of South African pupils in the mathematics test of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R). The first objective was to describe the performance of the pupils in the mathematics test, the pupils' proficiency in English, as…