bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Latent Partition Analysis of Attributions for Actual Achievement
Authors: Willson Victor L. , Palmer Douglas J
Published: March 2008

Two experiments were conducted to examine undergraduate students’ open-ended attributions for their performance on a midterm exam. In Experiment I, 53 different attribution statements were generated from 85 undergraduate students and were categorized by another group of students in a different section of the course. A latent partition analysis (LPA) of subjects’ categories of attribution was performed. Seven interpretable attribution clusters were derived from the LPA. A second-order factor analysis of the seven attribution clusters yielded two factors, success and failure. Experiment II was a cross-validation of Experiment I with different subjects. The findings in Experiment II were, in large part, similar to those reported for Experiment I. The combined attribution clusters reported in the two experiments reflect the locus of control and stability dimensions noted by Weiner. However, the second-order factor patterns in both experiments indicated that “naive psychologist” college students differentiated attribution clusters only into success and failure ascriptions.
Prospective Educators’ Knowledge of Children’s Legal Rights
Authors: Mcloughlin Caven S. , Sametz Lynn , Streib Victor L.
Published: March 2008

We investigated prospective educators’ knowledge of the law as it affects children using a specially designed instrument, a Survey of Children’s Legal Rights. Subjects were 248 sophomores enrolled in a midwestern college of education. Questions focused on children’s legal rights with respect to: abuse, freedom of press and speech, suspension and expulsion from school, corporal punishment, juvenile court hearings, special education decisions, freedom of religion, search and seizure within school, divorce and child custody, school vandalism, and school attendance. Analyses indicate that prospective educators have limited legal knowledge, and in specific cases have misconceptions about the law. Because our society is becoming increasingly more litigious, the need for colleges of education to adapt their curriculums to include legal issues is also addressed.
Black Children’s Knowledge of Standard English
Authors: Torrey Jane W.
Published: March 2008

Many black children speak a nonstandard variety of English, but most also use some standard forms. This study shows that measures of command of Standard English vary with the individual, with the grammatical form tested, and with the particular skill required by the test. Use of Standard English s endings in spontaneous speech is a poorer predictor of school language achievements than is the use of those endings in reading and in more explicit grammatical tests like those used in schools, especially those requiring comprehension. Teachers should not judge children’s language abilities by their schoolyard grammar.
The Effectiveness of Three Methods of Teaching Social Studies Concepts to Fourth-grade Students: An Aptitude-Treatment Interaction Study
Authors: Mckinney C Warren , Larkins A. Guy , Ford Mary Jane , Davis John C.
Published: March 2008

This study examined the effectiveness of three methods of teaching social studies concepts to fourth-grade students (Merrill & Tennyson’s model, Gagné’s model, and a reading-recitation method), tested two aptitude-treatment interactions, and tested three propositions concerning instructional designs for teaching concepts. Student achievement for the Merrill and Tennyson model was significantly (p < .001) greater than achievement reported for Gagné’s model and the reading-recitation method. No significant aptitude-treatment interactions were reported. Evidence supported the claim that students need to be allowed practice in identifying examples and nonexamples. Additional support was given to the claim that definitions and both examples and nonexamples facilitate concept acquisition.
A Taxonomy of Skills in Reading and Interpreting Fiction
Authors: Hillocks George , Ludlow Larry H
Published: March 2008

The skills in the interpretation of fiction proposed in this paper are defined by seven item types, which can be discriminated from each other and organized taxonomically through logical analysis. This research examines the hierarchical and taxonomic characteristics of item types within four question sets. The question sets, based on four different texts, were administered to between 77 and 127 students each. Responses were scored by independent raters using a partial credit scoring design. These data were analyzed with the Rasch Rating Scale model. The results confirm experimentally the hierarchical and taxonomic nature of the item types.
The Visualization of Rotation in Diagrams of Three-Dimensional Structures
Authors: Seddon GM , Eniaiyeju PA , Jusoh I
Published: March 2008

Two experiments were carried out to investigate how remedial instruction may be given to students who have difficulties in visualizing the diagrammatic representation of a three-dimensional structure after the structure has been rotated. Experiment I demonstrated that two methods using models and diagrams were significantly better than a method that used only diagrams. The use of shadows with the models was significantly better than the use of models on their own. Experiment II investigated different ways of presenting a sequence of slides to demonstrate how the diagrams should be drawn to show changes in the diagrams as the structure rotates through small angles. The more effective method of changing the slides was one in which successive projected images dissolved into each other. The effectiveness of the programmes increased as the angle, through which the structure rotated for successive slides, decreased from 30° to 10°.
Time Variability in Mastery Learning
Authors: Arlin Marshall
Published: March 2008

Two studies were conducted to examine time factors of mastery learning. According to mastery learning theory, between-student variability of learning time will progressively decrease under conditions of mastery learning. The first study was an experiment in which four classes of elementary school students learned 10-unit sequences of typical school material under mastery learning conditions. The second study was a post hoc longitudinal evaluation of students who learned arithmetic in a mastery procedure from grades 1 to 4. In contrast to mastery claims, student time differences did not decrease across the 10 days of the first study or the 4 years of the second. Rather, learning time variability remained stable or increased. It may be necessary to modify mastery learning theory in light of these results.
Classroom Differences in the Determination of Achievement Changes
Authors: Schneider Wolfgang , Treiber Bernhard
Published: March 2008

This study addresses three themes that recur in the research on student achievement: (a) developmental modeling of intraindividual changes in achievement over time; (b) examination of the differences among subgroups within a classroom in the determinants of achievement; (c) description of the interactions among instructional variables in determining achievement differences. Eight classrooms were pre selected on the basis of their widely differing slopes obtained in a regression analysis of pre- and posttest achievement scores. Mathematics achievement differences among sixth graders were analyzed in a four-wave design and explained by aptitude and instructional variables in a structural equation framework provided by LISREL. The results demonstrate the local nature of achievement models in that neither their measurement nor structural components proved generalizable across both groups of classrooms. Mention is also made, however, of technical problems and analytical ambiguities in the interpretation of these results.
The Influence of Change in Instructional Effectiveness Upon the Affective Characteristics of Teachers
Authors: Guskey Thomas R.
Published: March 2008

This study was designed to assess the influence of positive change in instructional effectiveness on several affective characteristics of teachers. Data were gathered from 117 intermediate and high school teachers, 52 of whom participated in an in-service workshop on Mastery Learning. Comparisons made through MANOVA procedures showed that those teachers who experienced positive change in the learning outcomes of their students expressed increased personal responsibility for both positive and negative student outcomes, increased affect toward teaching, but decreased confidence in their teaching abilities. Implications regarding the alterability of these teacher characteristics are discussed.
Academic Support Services and the Success of High-Risk College Students
Authors: Abrams Helene G. , Jernigan Louise Podojil
Published: March 2008

During their freshman year, 219 high-risk students at Eastern Michigan University attended special small classes, visited tutors, and participated in a reading and study skills program. As a result of this involvement, they significantly improved their reading skills. Also, 57 percent of these high-risk students earned a C or better average by the end of their freshman year, even though predictions based on their admission test scores and high school grade-point averages (GPAs) suggested failure. The variables of hours spent using the support services and the number of tutor contacts correlated positively with their college GPAs and improved the prediction of their fall GPAs.
A Comparison of Different Prose-Learning Variations of the Mnemonic Keyword Method
Authors: McCormick Christine B. , Levin Joel R.
Published: March 2008

Seventh- and eighth-grade students were presented fictitious biographies to remember. Keyword students were instructed to use a prose-learning adaptation of the mnemonic keyword method, and control students were left to their own devices. In the initial experiment, each of three variations of the keyword method, differing in terms of the manner in which the mnemonic images were organized, resulted in significantly higher levels of recall than did control instructions. Moreover, the keyword groups could be distinguished from the controls, as well as from one another, on the basis of qualitative differences in their recall patterns. In a subsequent experiment, the basic findings were replicated using both immediate and delayed recognition tests.
The Relationship Among Peer Acceptance, Social Impact, and Academic Achievement in Middle Childhood
Authors: Berghout Austin Ann M , Draper Dianne C
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of academic achievement to four categories of social status including popular, rejected, isolated, and amiable, and to the variables of peer acceptance and social impact. Subjects were 145 elementary school children, grades 3 through 6. The children responded to a questionnaire designed to assess peer acceptance as well as rejection. Data consisted of (a) acceptance scores based on the predominance of either acceptance or rejection responses from peers and (b) social impact scores based on the number of children who mentioned a given child either positively or negatively. These scores were correlated with each child’s Iowa Test of Basic Skills composite score. Pooled-within correlations indicated that acceptance correlated positively and significantly with academic achievement, whereas social impact correlated negatively and significantly with achievement. Children above average in achievement were significantly more often considered amiable or popular than rejected or isolated. They were just as likely to be considered amiable as popular. Students below average in achievement were significantly more often rejected than were above average students. When they were given positive mention, these youngsters were more often considered amiable than popular.
Teacher Retention: The Test of a Model
Authors: Chapman David W
Published: March 2008

This study was conducted as a test of a model of the influences on teacher retention. Discriminant analysis was used to study differences among three groups of college graduates with teaching certificates: (a) those who taught continuously, (b) those who started teaching but left teaching within 5 years, and (c) those who never taught. Meaningful differences were found among the groups in a pattern that supported the model. Implications for school administration, teacher training, and for further model development are discussed.
Effect of Field Independence-Dependence and Study Technique on Learning From a Lecture
Authors: Frank Bernard M
Published: March 2008

Field-independent and field-dependent students listened to a taped lecture under one of four study technique conditions: (a) no notes, (b) student’s notes, (c) outline framework plus student’s notes, and (d) complete outline plus student’s notes. After listening to the lecture, all students were permitted a 10-minute review period, which was followed by a 20-item multiple choice test. Analyses of test performance and notes taken yielded results consistent with field independence-dependence theory. In particular, analyses of the significant interaction of Cognitive Style × Study Technique revealed that field-independent students performed better than field-dependent students under the student’s notes condition. Also, field-dependent students performed significantly worse under the student‘s notes condition than did field-dependent students under the complete outline condition. Notes of field-independent students were more efficient and tended to be in an outline format more often than notes of field-dependent students. The results are discussed in terms of explanations of performance differences, relevance for future notetaking research, and implications for educational practices.
The Effect of Classroom Ideology on Children’s Production of Narrative Text
Authors: Mosenthal Peter
Published: March 2008

This paper investigated the influence teacher differences have on how children learn to write during classroom lessons. In the academic teacher’s class, students tended to write narrative accounts about a baseball game by summarizing the literal features of the baseball game picture sequence and by summarizing the literal features of their first written productions. In addition, these students tended to discuss primarily game actions and overlooked player motives and game goals. In the cognitive-developmental teacher’s class, students tended to write narrative accounts about a baseball game by drawing on a variety of meaning sources and processes besides reproduction of some current stimulus. Moreover, these students tended to develop stories with developed motive structures and game goals. These findings are discussed in terms of teacher ideological differences ( Bernier, 1981 ) and a theory of children’s classroom writing competence ( Mosenthal, Davidson-Mosenthal, & Krieger, 1981 ).
Identifying Causal Elements in the Thematic-Fantasy Play Paradigm
Authors: Pellegrini AD
Published: March 2008

The intent of the study was to examine the effectiveness of elements of the thematic-fantasy play training paradigm in facilitating children’s immediate and maintained story recall. One-hundred and ninety-two children in kindergarten and first grade (balanced for sex) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: adult-directed play, peer-directed play, accommodation questions, or control. Children were read different books on three occasions and exposed to their appropriate treatments after each reading. After the third session, story recall was measured by a 10-item CRT, a story recall task, and a sequential memory task. Maintenance effects were measured 1 week later on the first two measures. Results generally indicated that adult tuition was not an important element for players. In terms of immediate recall, fantasy reenactment was generally more effective than were accommodation questions. For maintained recall, accommodation questions were generally as effective as the play conditions.
Mastery Learning and Student Teams: A Factorial Experiment in Urban General Mathematics Classes
Authors: Slavin Robert E , Karweit Nancy L
Published: March 2008

The mathematics achievement effects of principal components of mastery learning and student team learning were evaluated in a year-long randomized experiment in urban ninth grade general mathematics classes. The components were formative tests, corrective instruction for nonmasters, summative tests (Mastery), and practice in four-member heterogeneous teams and team rewards (Teams). A 2 X 2 (Mastery by Teams) factorial experiment compared Mastery, Teams, Teams + Mastery, and a control treatment. All methods used the same materials and schedule of teaching, worksheets, and test. A nested analysis of covariance indicated significant achievement main effects for Teams but not for Mastery. No Mastery by Teams or pretest by treatment interactions were found.
Elementary Students’ Attitudes During 2 Years of Computer-Assisted Instruction
Authors: Griswold Philip A
Published: March 2008

A cognitive, social psychological model of school learning has as key components school-related attitudes and social interaction. The growing use of computers in the classroom, by affecting social interaction, may alter student attitudes and thus the learning-teaching process. For 2 years, various attitudes of more than 155 fourth and fifth graders who did or did not participate in computer-assisted instruction (CAI) were evaluated. Multiple regression analysis indicated that CAI (independent of gender, minority status, and achievement) accounted for significant amounts of variation in self-responsibility for success and academic self-confidence, but not for attitudes toward school or math.
Quality of Learning With an Active Versus Passive Motivational Set
Authors: Benware Carl A , Deci Edward L
Published: March 2008

This study tested whether students who learned with an active orientation would be more intrinsically motivated to learn and would learn more than students who learned with a passive orientation. The active orientation was created by having subjects learn material with the expectation of teaching it to another student; the passive orientation was created by having subjects learn the same material with the expectation of being tested on it. The results indicate that subjects who learned in order to teach were more intrinsically motivated, had higher conceptual learning scores, and perceived themselves to be more actively engaged with the environment than subjects who learned in order to be examined. The two groups were equal, however, in their rote learning scores. The effects of exposure to the material were ruled out as an explanation because the two groups reported spending equal time with the material. The results are discussed in terms of intrinsic motivation theory.
Self-Concept, Social Comparison, and Ability Grouping: A Reply to Kulik and Kulik
Authors: Marsh Herbert W
Published: March 2008

Self-concept, like other psychological impressions, is relativistic and depends on some frame of reference. In educational settings, for example, the other students in the same classroom serve as one basis of comparison. According to the frame of reference model, academic self-concept will depend on a student’s own academic ability and the ability levels of other students within the same class. Thus academic self-concept is expected to vary with the average ability level in a classroom. However, Kulik and Kulik (1982) , on the basis of their meta-analysis, found that the average student self-concept in classes where students were grouped according to ability level did not differ from those in comparable ungrouped classes. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that ability grouping is likely to have substantial effects on self concepts within different ability groupings, even though these effects may be lost when data are averaged across ability groupings. This contention is consistent with predictions from the frame of reference model of self-concept and data that support the model.
The Myth of Female Underachievement: A Reexamination of Sex Differences in Academic Underachievement
Authors: Stockard Jean , Wood J. Walter
Published: March 2008

This paper examines sex differences in academic underachievement among students who graduated from high school in a western city in 1978. According to data gathered from students’ cumulative records for the 7th through 12th grades, males are much more likely than females to have total grade averages and grades in English and mathematics that are lower than would be predicted by their scores on standardized tests of ability. Although the highest achieving females often have lower average ability test scores than the highest achieving males, this results not from the underachievement of the brightest females but from the fact that females with a wide range of ability levels receive good grades and only the very brightest males receive high grades. These sex differences in underachievement appear for middle class and working class students, but often are smaller for the working class and in mathematics grades.
Birth Order and Educational Attainment in Full Sibships
Authors: Hauser Robert M , Sewell William H
Published: March 2008

The idea that birth order influences intellectual development and social success has recently been revived, despite the accumulated evidence that birth order effects are often negligible or artifactual. In this paper, the association of birth order with educational attainment (as measured by years of schooling completed) is examined among 9,000 Wisconsin high school graduates of 1957 and among their full sibships, including more than 30,000 men and women. Whether we look at selection into the sample of high school graduates, postsecondary educational attainments of those graduates, or educational attainments within full sibships, there are no significant or systematic effects of birth order on schooling when other relevant variables have been controlled. Years of education appear to increase with birth order when family size is controlled, but this happens because secular increases in schooling have occurred within as well as across families.
Interaction Effects Based on Class Level in an Explanatory Model of College Student Dropout Syndrome
Authors: Bean John P
Published: March 2008

A conceptual model of the factors affecting dropout syndrome (a combination of intent to leave, discussing leaving, and actual attrition) was developed emphasizing academic, social, and personal outcomes of the selection or socialization of students at an institution. The model was estimated using path analysis, and the intervening variables (college grades, institutional fit, and institutional commitment) were found to be important predictors of dropout syndrome. The variables in the model accounted for 27 to 47% of the variance in the criterion. Findings indicate that a student’s peers are more important agents of socialization than are informal faculty contacts, that students may play a more active role in their socialization than previously thought, and that college grades seem more the product of selection than socialization.
Effects of Teacher Experience and Selected Temperament Variables on Coping Strategies Used With Distractible Children
Authors: Osborne Susan
Published: March 2008

Twenty-two female university students representing two levels of teaching experience (no formal teaching experience vs. at least 2 years experience) were compared while interacting with one of two child confederates displaying distractible behavior. In addition to participating in a problem-solving task with a child, each adult completed the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. Results suggested that experienced teachers tended to take a more “task-oriented” approach providing more instruction and structure and less task irrelevant conversation than did inexperienced teachers. Results of the temperament survey confirmed the hypothesis that adult temperament is an important variable mediating adult-child interaction. Adults’ self-reports of activity level, restraint, ascendance, and sociability correlated significantly with adult behavior such as numbers of irrelevant comments, instruction, attention demands, and positive feedback occurring in the laboratory setting. Implications for child placement practices are discussed.
Nonverbal Differences in Communication Style Between American Indian and Anglo Elementary Classrooms
Authors: Greenbaum Paul E
Published: March 2008

This study compared nonverbal behaviors associated with classroom conversation in fifth and sixth grade classes in Mississippi Choctaw Indian and predominantly white, middle-class public schools. Eleven class sessions, organized using a switchboard participation structure, were videotaped to provide comparative data on a variety of nonverbal behaviors (i.e., student utterances, turn-switching pauses, listener-gaze, butting-in interruptions, individual as opposed to choral speaking, and teacher utterances and switching pauses). Two cameras recorded the data. One camera provided a view of the teacher and the class, and the second camera provided the listener-gaze of individual students. Choctaw students spoke individually less often (p < .01), used shorter utterances (p < .01), interrupted the teacher more often (p < .01), and, while the teacher was talking gazed more at peers (p < .05) than their Anglo counterparts. Teachers in the Choctaw classrooms had longer turn-switching pauses (p < .05), asked more questions (p < .01), and used shorter utterances to ask questions of individual students (p < .01). The results supported the hypothesis that cultural differences in nonverbal behavior are associated with classroom interaction.
Characteristics of Alternative Schools
Authors: Stevens Marcia
Published: March 2008

Alternative secondary schools were placed in one of three groups based on patterns of organizational variables including goals, instructional features, size, source of funding, and target school population. A discriminant analysis procedure found that the pattern of differences in student perception scores on a learning environment inventory among the three school groups was significantly different at the .001 level. Eighty percent of the students were placed in their correct school group. The school group continued to account for 67% of the variance when the effects of six student variables were controlled. Distinct patterns of student perceptions of their school learning environments seem to be associated with identifiable patterns of organizational variables.
Reading Comprehension and Creativity in Black Language Use: You Stand To Gain by Playing the Sounding Game!
Authors: Delain Marsha Taylor , Pearson P. David , Anderson Richard C.
Published: March 2008

This research explored the hypothesis that the rich and varied experience of black youth with figurative language outside school would enhance their understanding of figurative language in school texts. Path analysis confirmed that for black students, “sounding” skill as well as general verbal ability, has a direct influence on figurative language comprehension. Black language ability influences figurative language comprehension indirectly through its effect on sounding skill. For white students, only general verbal ability affects figurative language comprehension.
Bias in the Assessment of Handicapped Children
Authors: Fuchs Douglas , Fuchs Lynn S. , Power Maryann H. , Dailey Ann M.
Published: March 2008

Prior research demonstrates that examiner unfamiliarity negatively affects the test performance of handicapped preschoolers. The present investigation sought to determine whether examiner unfamiliarity also interferes with the performance of handicapped school-age pupils and nonhandicapped children. Sixty-four subjects (16 language-handicapped and 16 nonhandicapped preschoolers and 16 language-handicapped and 16 nonhandicapped school-age students) were tested during a period of 2 weeks, once by a familiar examiner and once by an unfamiliar examiner, within a crossover design. A significant interaction was obtained for examiner familiarity and handicapped status, indicating that whereas nonhandicapped subjects scored similarly when tested by familiar and unfamiliar examiners, handicapped children scored higher with the familiar testers. By selectively depressing handicapped children’s test performance, examiner unfamiliarity constitutes a systematic source of error, or bias, and threatens the validity of handicapped students’ test performance. Implications for the assessment of handicapped children are discussed.
Mentoring in Graduate Schools of Education: Mentors’ Perceptions
Authors: Busch Judith W.
Published: March 2008

A sample of 1,088 professors in colleges and departments of education were surveyed to study mentoring relationships from the mentors’ point of view. About half of them returned the demographic instrument; half of these currently had mentees. Using O’Neil’s theory of mentoring, a Likert-scale instrument was developed. Results indicated that mentors feel mentoring is important to them as well as to their students. In a multivariate multiple regression, age was a significant predictor of mentoring score; sex and professorial rank were not significant. Younger professors reported more depth to their mentoring relationships, and older professors reported more breadth.
Dimensions Underlying Student Ratings of Instruction: A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis
Authors: Banz Martha L. , Rodgers Joseph Lee
Published: March 2008

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to derive the dimensions underlying student ratings of instruction. A weighted MDS revealed that departmental affiliation, course structure, and intensity of teaching were particularly salient to the raters. The findings are discussed in light of the current literature on student ratings of instruction.
Spellability: A Linearly Ordered Content Domain
Authors: Wilson Mark , Bock R. Darrell
Published: March 2008

The concept of a linearly ordered content domain (LOCD) is discussed and applied to a spelling example. A logistic analysis of the occurrence of first introduction of spelling words into the curriculum is presented, and the results, along with word length, number of neutralized vowels, and an index of word familiarity, are used to predict word location on the spelling LOCD. This allows the examination of the structure of the LOCD leading to greater understanding of the reasons why spelling words are found to have particular difficulties, and allowing adaptation of the spelling LOCD to local conditions.
Effective Teaching, Student Engagement in Classroom Activities, and Sex-Related Differences in Learning Mathematics
Authors: Peterson Penelope L , Fennema Elizabeth
Published: March 2008

This research identified the classroom activities that were related to the low level and high level mathematics achievement of boys and girls. In December and in May, students in 36 fourth grade mathematics classes completed a mathematics test containing low level and high level items from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. During January through April, the engagement/nonengagement in mathematics activities was observed for six randomly selected students of each sex in each class. Results showed that girls and boys did not differ significantly in either mathematics achievement or in observed engagement/nonengagement in mathematics activities. However, engagement in the following four types of activities was consistently and differentially related to girls’ versus boys’ low level and high level mathematics achievement: competitive mathematics activities, cooperative mathematics activities, social activities, and off-task behavior.
Teacher Survival Rates in St. Louis, 1969–1982
Authors: Mark Jonathan H , Anderson Barry D
Published: March 2008

The paper reports teacher survival rates in the St. Louis metropolitan area and updates a similar 1978 study by the authors. High dropout rates continue to exist in the beginning years of teaching for each entering cohort. Survival rates appear to have peaked for cohorts entering in the early 1970s, with survival rates declining substantially for subsequent cohorts. Beginning with the cohort entering in 1975, females begin to have higher survival rates than do males. This is a reversal from the pre-1975 cohorts. Implications of the results are discussed, including those for teacher effectiveness, salaries, and future demand for new teachers.
Text Summarization Deficiencies Among Older Students: Awareness or Production Ability?
Authors: Garner Ruth
Published: March 2008

Two explanations for text summarization deficiencies among older learners were investigated. Forty students at each of three grade levels were asked to prepare optimal and nonoptimal short summaries for a written descriptive passage. Awareness of the importance of three aspects of successful summarization—inclusion of important ideas, succinctness, and integration—was measured by learner differentiation of the two summary products. Production ability for the three features was measured by acceptability of the optimal product. Results of the study confirmed deficiencies documented in the literature but with some specificity for source of the deficit (i.e., awareness or production ability problems) and for age level. Specific instructional remedies are proposed.
Teachers’ Expectations and Attributions for Student Achievement: Effects of Label, Performance Pattern, and Special Education Intervention
Authors: Rolison Michael A. , Medway Frederic J
Published: March 2008

This study investigated the effects of preperformance information on actual classroom teachers’ expectations and attributions for a hypothetical male student. Teachers were found to have higher expectations for the student with ascending than with descending performance pattern and when the student was labeled learning disabled (or had no label) than when the student was labeled mildly retarded. Prior special education involvement did not influence expectancies. Ascending as compared to descending performance was ascribed more to teacher than student causes in line with egotism considerations.
Facilitating the Acquisition of Science Facts in Learning Disabled Students
Authors: Scruggs Thomas E. , Mastropieri Margo A. , Levin Joel R , Gaffney Janet S
Published: March 2008

Fifty-six learning disabled students were presented materials describing minerals of North America. For each mineral, the students had to learn three associated attributes: the mineral's hardness level, its color, and its common use. The students were randomly assigned to four different methods of study. The two principal conditions were direct instruction, where students were taught eight minerals according to the basic principles of direct instruction (in particular, student participation with repeated drill and practice), and mnemonic instruction, where students were shown thematic illustrations that integrated each of the eight minerals and its attributes. Also included were a reduced-list direct-instruction condition, where students were required to learn only half the number of minerals (i.e., four minerals) in the same amount of allotted time as in the other conditions, and a free-study condition, where students were instructed to learn the eight minerals however they wished. The results supported previous findings that learning was superior in the mnemonic instruction condition. In addition (a) mnemonically instructed students learned as much about eight minerals in the same amount of time that direct-instruction students learned about four minerals; and (b) direct instruction per se did not facilitate students' learning relative to free study. Implications of the results for handicapped learners are discussed.
A Structural Model of Mathematics Achievement for Men and Women
Authors: Ethington Corinna A. , Wolfle Lee M.
Published: March 2008

An extensive body of research indicates that men on the average achieve higher scores in mathematics than women. This paper addresses the issue of how this difference develops by estimating a latent-construct causal model of the process of mathematics achievement. When the model was compared between men and women, we found that the process of mathematics achievement differs. In particular, we found that mathematics ability and attitudes toward mathematics had stronger effects on mathematics achievement for men than for women. The interactions between sex and the variables in the model indicate that the process for men and women is not simply additive, and may be more complicated than previous researchers have assumed.
Referential Coherence and Structural Height in Text Processing
Authors: McCown Rick R. , Miller Raymond B.
Published: March 2008

Two explanations of the levels effect in text memory were examined in two experiments. The structural height account emphasizes the height of an idea in a text structure as the major determinant of the idea’s memorability. The referential coherence explanation focuses on the nature of the cognitive processes that occur during comprehension. Undergraduate students read one of four versions of a text which varied the height of target paragraphs and the referential coherence of text subsequent to the target paragraphs. Free recall protocols were scored for the presence of propositions from the target paragraph. The results from Experiments 1 and 2 supported the predictions of the referential coherence formulation and failed to support the structural height account.
Role of Adjunct Questions and Subject Ability Levels on the Learning of Concepts from Prose
Authors: Hamilton Richard J.
Published: March 2008

This research evaluated the effects of examples used with application adjunct questions on concept learning. Subjects were 72 undergraduates at a large midwestern university. Subjects studied a passage containing either matched or unmatched application adjunct questions or no questions (regular and special instructions). The critical attributes of the to-be-learned concepts were more salient in the sets of examples and nonexamples presented in the matched questions than in the unmatched questions. Subjects took a criterion test which consisted of novel matched and unmatched application questions. The results indicated that application adjunct questions did not produce significantly higher performance on criterion questions than no-question treatments. Matched adjunct questions did, however, produce higher levels of performance on criterion questions than unmatched questions. High ability subjects performed better than low ability subjects within treatments, but there was no significant aptitude by treatment interaction.
Children’s Concepts of Ability, Effort, and Conduct
Authors: Blumenfeld Phyllis C. , Pintrich Paul R. , Hamilton V. Lee
Published: March 2008

Children’s self-perceptions of ability may reflect assessments of their effort and good conduct as well as academic performance. Determinants of ability judgments were assessed in 158 second and sixth graders by examining intercorrelations among self-ratings of ability, effort, and conduct and by exploring criteria used for these judgments. In general, ability was linked to effort and effort to conduct, but not ability to conduct, in either ratings or judgment criteria. Children generally used absolute standards in judging ability and did so almost exclusively in judging effort and conduct. The meaning and interrelationship of children’s ability, effort, and conduct self-perceptions did not differ substantially by grade or sex. The results suggest that children’s judgments of ability, effort, and conduct are interrelated but distinguishable. The pattern of results points to the importance of further attention to the impact of classroom context on children’s judgments of ability, effort, and conduct.
Effects of Sex-Fair Reading Materials on Pupils’ Attitudes, Comprehension, and Interest
Authors: Scott Kathryn P.
Published: March 2008

This study was conducted to address gaps in the research on gender characteristics of reading materials. Pupils in grades 4, 7, and 11 read four narratives, one for each of four sex role conditions: traditional female, nontraditional female, traditional male, nontraditional male. After reading nontraditional narratives, pupils at all grades were more likely to think both females and males should and could do the activity of the main character than after reading traditional narratives. Neither comprehension nor interest was diminished by the use of sex-fair materials. Pupils at higher grades gave more stereotyped responses than pupils at lower grades.
Verbal and Math Self-Concepts: An Internal/External Frame of Reference Model
Authors: Marsh Herbert W.
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this investigation is to examine empirical support for the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model that describes the relation between Verbal and Math self-concepts, and between these academic self-concepts and verbal and math achievement. The empirical tests are based on all studies (n = 6,010; age range = 7–35+ years) that have employed the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ), SDQII, or SDQ III self-concept instruments. The I/E model posits, for example, that a high Math self-concept is more likely when math skills are good relative to those of peers (an external comparison) and when math skills are better than verbal skills (an internal comparison). Consistent with the model and empirical findings, (a) Verbal and Math self-concepts are nearly uncorrelated with each other even though verbal and math achievement indicators are substantially correlated with each other and with the matching areas of self-concept; (b) the direct effects of math achievement on Verbal self-concept, and of verbal achievement on Math self-concept, are both negative. For inferred self-concepts based on the ratings of external observers, the external process seems to operate, but not the internal process. The findings demonstrate that academic self-concepts are affected by different processes than are the academic achievement areas they reflect and the inferred self-concepts offered by external observers.
Effects of Education, Occupation, and Setting on Reading Practices
Authors: Guthrie John T. , Seifert Mary , Kirsch Irwin S.
Published: March 2008

Reading activities contribute to individual and societal development, according to qualitative studies. Hypotheses regarding the social contexts of reading activities were tested in two studies. Social context was operationalized in terms of educational environment, occupational category, and the settings of work and leisure. Significant three-way interactions were found between (a) education, setting, and the contents (subject matters) of reading (p < .001); and (b) occupation, setting, and reading contents (p < .001). Because social contexts influence reading practices they should be considered in educational planning.
Effects of Teacher Wait Time on Discourse Characteristics in Mathematics and Language Arts Classes
Authors: Tobin Kenneth
Published: March 2008

Ten classes were randomly assigned to a group that received feedback and assistance to maintain an average teacher wait time of between 3 and 5 seconds during a sequence of mathematics lessons. A control group of 10 teachers maintained a regular wait time and received placebo feedback. The study was replicated in a sequence of language arts lessons. The use of an average teacher wait time of between 3 and 5 seconds in whole class instructional settings was associated with higher mathematics achievement and improvements in the quality of teacher and student discourse. In extended wait time classes in the mathematics component of the study, decreases were observed in the number of utterances per unit time, the average length of teacher utterances, the frequency of teacher interruptions, failure of students to respond to teacher questions, the proportion of teacher reacting to student responses, and the proportion of teacher mimicking of student responses. Increases were observed in the average length of student responses, the proportion of teacher soliciting, the proportion of teacher structuring, and the proportion of probing after a student response. Similar results were obtained in the language arts component of the study. Changes in the types of teacher questions were observed also. In mathematics there was an increase in the proportion of questions requiring application of concepts, and in language arts there was an increase in the proportion of questions requiring student comprehension.
Learning Activities and Teachers’ Decisionmaking: Some Grounded Hypotheses
Authors: Parker Walter C. , Gehrke Nathalie J.
Published: March 2008

Stimulated-recall data were gathered in interviews with 12 elementary school teachers describing the decisions they made during lessons conducted shortly before. Ideational units were identified in the protocols, and a grounded theory analysis was conducted. Categories and terminology were generated and, using the constant comparative technique, hypotheses grounded in the data were developed. The first hypothesis embeds these teachers’ interactive decisionmaking (IDM) in the structure of the lessons they were conducting, and subordinates IDM to teachers’ cognitive representations of the activity at hand. The second hypothesis identifies the central intention of IDM: to move a learning activity to completion according to the cognitive representation; and the third hypothesis specifies the role of decision rules and routines.
Achievement, Understanding, and Transfer In a Learning Hierarchy
Authors: Winkles Jim
Published: March 2008

A set of skills is defined in the trigonometry of the right triangle and a learning hierarchy is validated. Examples of lateral and vertical transfer are identified within the hierarchy. Two instructional treatments identified as “achievement only” and “achievement with understanding” are used in two experiments with 90 eighth-grade students and 87 ninth-grade students in their ordinary mathematics classes. The achievement with understanding treatment is better for the development of lateral transfer for most students, and of vertical transfer for the more mathematically able students, whereas the differences between the treatment groups on tests of achievement and retention of taught skills are not significant. A small amount of additional instruction on vertical transfer items produces much better performance under both treatments.
Cognitive and Affective Effects of Various Types of Microcomputer Use By Preschoolers
Authors: Goodwin Laura D. , Goodwin William L. , Nansel Alan , Helm Catherine Pitinga
Published: March 2008

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of microcomputer use on preschoolers’ knowledge of pre-reading concepts, and on their attitudes toward the microcomputer. After stratification by age and sex, 77 preschoolers were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: (a) adult-assisted microcomputer instruction; (b) adult-unassisted microcomputer use; and (c) no microcomputer use (control condition). Children in the first two groups were given three 20-min, individual sessions on the microcomputer. The software programs used were designed to teach reading readiness concepts and were typical commercial programs available for this age group. A cognitive test was administered as a pretest and posttest, and an attitudinal interview was administered post-study only. The cognitive data were analyzed with a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). There were no significant treatment effects. The attitudinal data analysis revealed significantly greater interest in the microcomputer among the control-group children; however, that group’s interest declined significantly after they were given post-study, 20-min orientations to the microcomputer.