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In 1989, a study was conducted at Saddleback College (SC) to analyze the success rates of students who delayed enrollment into a mathematics class after completing the assessment process. The study population consisted of 1,027 students who participated in the mathematics assessment process between July and August 1988 and who enrolled in at least one mathematics class during the period from fall 1988 through fall 1989. Students were considered successful if they completed the class with a grade of C or better. Study findings were as follows: (1) 68.7% of the students enrolled in a mathematics class with no delay; (2) 62% enrolled in the class recommended, 36% enrolled in a higher-level course, and approximately 2% enrolled in a course lower than that recommended; (3) of the students enrolling in a math class one year after assessment, 41% enrolled in a more advanced class, and 14% enrolled in a lower course; (4) the success rate of students was fairly constant at approximately 42% over the four terms of the study; and (5) generally, overall success rates increased as the course level increased (from arithmetic through algebra). The data did not support the hypothesis that students who waited several terms to begin their mathematics study had a lower success rate in the recommended course than those who began their study immediately after assessment or only one semester later. Therefore, it was not recommended that SC students be required to retake the mathematics assessment test if they delayed enrollment in the mathematics curriculum. (JMC)

This 10-chapter report provides detailed information on a study which examined what combinations of teacher, student, and curricular variables were associated with more effective life science instruction at the intermediate level. The conception of effectiveness was guided by the normative framework of scientific literacy and by student growth on science outcomes. The definition of scientific literacy used consists of five components: explaining science content; relating to science as a social historical process; relating to science as a reasoning process; relating science and society/technology; and positive attitudes toward science. Among the findings (from students and teachers in 11 classes) are indications that: (1) teachers generally used a typical pattern of academic instruction, relying heavily on recitation, seatwork, and laboratory exercises; (2) students perceived that teachers made relatively little use of the scientific literacy components other than explaining factual content; (3) worksheets were the most commonly assigned activities; and (4) student attitudes toward science generally declined over the academic year, while science knowledge, understanding, and reasoning skills increased. Recommendations based on these and other findings are offered, such as increasing teachers' use of the scientific literacy framework and upgrading the cognitive level of tasks assigned to students. (JN)

This publication presents data from a survey designed to examine the delivery process and the course content of the Comprehensive Teacher Training Programme (CTTP), a distance education program of study for untrained Caribbean elementary and primary school teachers. The distance education program offers four courses in core subjects and prepares students to pass Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations for entry into teacher training colleges. The survey asks students 55 questions on their own characteristics, their experience of program tutors and learning environment, their contact with tutors, their experience with assignments, feedback and evaluation, and their thoughts on overcoming future hurdles in studying at a distance. The data include the following: 43 learners responded to the survey; 81.4 percent of these were female; 60.5 percent were from rural and remote locations; 70 percent were in their second year in the program; and 39.5 percent were ages 25 to 29. With respect to the program tutors and learning environment, 81 percent said that tutors had helped them acquire learning and study skills; 19.3 percent sought help from tutors to prepare for exams; most contact with tutors was in face-to-face sessions or during specified telephone hours; 86 percent of students received assignment feedback within 2 weeks; and 58.1 percent received that feedback via a friend, colleague, or relative. (JB)

spirituality

44 p. 16 cm

Cover title: Guide to the public offices in the new city hall

Few of us have lived through the kind of suffering Teal Swan endured: 13 years of ritual abuse at the hands of a cult. But all of us have been fractured by trauma in one way or another. Your wounds may be visible as bodily scars; or they may show up in the form of anxiety, depression, or PTSD; or you may simply be struggling in your life for reasons you don’t simply understand. The good news is that you can heal your wounds.  The Completion Process  invites you on a profound journey of self-exploration and self-restoration to reclaim the lost parts of you and return to a joyous life, no longer inhibited by the past or terrified of the future. Drawing on her wide range of extrasensory abilities, including clairvoyance, clairsentience, and clairaudience, Teal offers a revolutionary 18-step process for healing any past hurt or present problem. Learn how to:    • Create a haven in your mind where it’s safe to re-enter a difficult memory    • Validate painful emotions    • Let your feelings shift naturally toward relief    • Close the memory of trauma and begin a "new life" This is not only healing work; it’s also the work of enlightenment. It will leave you with a stronger sense of value and hope in the world, and the assurance that life can be good again

1Daisy: the Autobiography of a Cat

By Miranda Elliot Swan

"I was born in a clothes-basket, and do not feel ashamed of my birthplace, though fire and the swill man long ago removed all trace of it." This is the life story of a household cat. It is sometimes amusing, sometimes fun and playful and sometimes admittedly sad and painful because cats do suffer many indignities. But through it all, they remain the independent, proud and faithful companions of men and women through the ages. Do you have a furry friend in your home? Help read this story to repay a bit of their companionship. I don't promise an idyllic life for Daisy, there is pain and some suffering, but it is a feline life lived to the full . - Summary by phil chenevert