The significance of reading is undoubted today, while learning to read efficiently is a main aim of every educational system. Reading is one of the greatest challenges that pupils, students and adults have to encounter daily at school, university and professional life, especially dyslexics, for whom it is a really hard and demanding process. Given the importance of reading and the various factors can positively or negatively influence the reading ability, the current study aims to investigate to what extent the reading process is affected a) by familiarity with text, and b) by biological-constitutional factors. In this respect, the reading performance a) of Greek language teachers was compared to that of 12th grade pupils, and b) of adult dyslexic students to that of age-matched normal controls in terms of reading speed, accuracy and comprehension. The reading performance of teachers and pupils was evaluated in an Ancient Greek text and its corresponding translation in Modern Greek. The reading performance of adult dyslexics and controls was evaluated in 2 texts of varying difficulty and a list of words of raising difficulty. Participants read both aloud and silently, while being timed and tape- recorded for further analysis. After reading each text, they answered to reading comprehension questions. Pupils made significantly more reading errors compared to teachers in both Ancient (p < .001) and Modern Greek (p <.05). However, they were significantly faster than teachers in all reading procedures (p < .001), while they did not lack in comprehension (p > .05). Both groups made similar reading errors in both Ancient and Modern Greek. Finally, comparing the two languages, both teachers and pupils were significantly faster (p < .001), comprehended better (p < .001) and were more accurate (p < .05) in Modern Greek. Adult dyslexic students were significantly slower (p < .001), attained lower level of comprehension (p < .05) and made significantly more reading errors (p < .001) than the control group in all reading procedures. In contrast to non-dyslexics who read significantly faster silently (p < .05), dyslexics read at almost the same rate in both aloud and silent condition (p > .05). Additionally, the former attained higher level of comprehension in the silent condition, as opposed to the latter, who showed a trend to comprehend better aloud. Comparing reading in context and out of context, dyslexics made significantly more reading errors in the word list (p < .001), whereas non-dyslexics made comparable reading errors in the word list and the two passages (p > .05). Both groups made similar reading errors. Finally, logistic regression analysis revealed that the 2 groups could be almost perfectly differentiated based on only one variable, namely reading speed (classification accuracy 98.1%). Findings confirmed that the reading process in the phonologically consistent Greek language is influenced by factors, such as language structure and familiarity with print as well as by biological-constitutional factors. Results emphasise on the importance of daily extensive reading practice for a better reading speed, at least, which is essential not only for normal-achieving population but dyslexic readers as well, since reading speed was found to be the latter’s main deficit and the main differentiating factor between dyslexics and controls. The results may be useful for effectively addressing the difficulties encountered not only by pupils who are taught but also by teachers who teach Ancient and Modern Greek, as they may lead to new teaching methods and learning strategies. Also, results might be helpful for the accurate diagnosis of adult dyslexics based on reading speed, as well as for the effective treatment of the difficulties dyslexic university students still encounter, due to their constitutional reading deficit.

This paper presents a case study carried through with interviews from three remedial teachers in English working with students with dyslexia at public schools in the south of Sweden. The aim of the study was to investigate the learning strategies used by remedial teachers in order to help students with dyslexia to facilitate their learning process and reach higher grades in English as a foreign language. The results of this study indicated an agreement between the remedial teachers and previous research found regarding the use of technological learning aids, the adjustment made for students with dyslexia as well as using formative assessment. However, the remedial teachers appeared to show a divided approach to the aspect of focusing on grading requirements when supporting student with dyslexia in English. Since previous research on the area of working on grades appeared to be deficient, these finding could indicate a need for research of effective strategies to support students with dyslexia in developing and reaching higher grades in English. This study therefore concludes the necessity of further and wider research within the area of supporting student with dyslexia in the process of learning a foreign language.

Recent literature in cognitive psychology depicts mental constructs through which processes and strategies are employed by the learner to facilitate learning. A remedial curriculum structured to enhance the development of the general constructs theorized, was evaluated for its effect on a cognitive component of reading. Inferential comprehension strategies of 4th-6th grade students in the experimental computer-based higher order thinking skills program and in a traditional program of drill and practice in reading skills were assessed using the strategy stories of Goodman and Burke (1980). A MANOVA design revealed a difference between the two treatment groups (p >.001) on eleven dependent measures. Univariate results indicate that the experimental students performed better on five out of the eleven individual measures. Qualitative analysis on the contextual cues utilized in forming hypotheses did not reveal great differences in the amount of contextual cues used by the two groups.

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Problems with students’ performance in Mathematics at tertiary level are common in South Africa − as it is worldwide. Pass rates at the university of technology where the researcher is a lecturer, are only about 50%. At many universities it has become common practice to refer students who do not have a reasonable chance to succeed at university level, for additional support to try to rectify this situation. However, the question is which students need such support? Because the Grade 12 marks are often not perceived as dependable, it has become common practice at universities to re-test students by way of an entrance exam or the "National Benchmark Test"- project. The question arises whether such re-testing is necessary, since it costs time and money and practical issues make it difficult to complete timeously. Many factors have an influence on performance in Mathematics. School-level factors include articulation of the curriculum at different levels, insufficiently qualified teachers, not enough teaching time and language problems. However, these factors also affect performance in most other subjects, but it is Mathematics and other subjects based on Mathematics that are generally more problematic. Therefore this study focused on the unique properties of the subject Mathematics. The determining role of prior knowledge, the step-by-step development of mathematical thinking, and conative factors such as motivation and perseverance were explored. Based on the belief that these factors would already have been reflected sufficiently in the Grade 12 marks, the correlation between the marks for Mathematics in Grade 12 and the Mathematics marks at tertiary level was investigated to assess whether it was strong enough for the marks in Grade 12 Mathematics to be used as a reliable predictor of success or failure at university level. It was found that the correlation between the marks for Mathematics Grade 12 and Mathematics I especially, was strong (r = 0,61). The Mathematics marks for Grade 12 and those for Mathematics II produced a correlation coefficient of rs = 0,52. It also became apparent that failure in particular could be predicted fairly accurately on the basis of the Grade 12 marks for Mathematics. No student with a Grade 12 Mathematics mark below 60% succeeded in completing Mathematics I and II in the prescribed two semesters, and only about 11% successfully completed it after one repetition. The conclusion was that the reliability of the prediction based on the marks for Grade 12 Mathematics was sufficient to refer students with a mark of less than 60% to receive some form of additional support. / MEd, Learning and Teaching, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

In recent years, many composition teachers and theorists have turned to the process approach to writing in an attempt to better understand both the act of writing and the writers themselves. Even though various theorists have made headway in the analysis of students' writing processes, further research is needed to explore whether college basic writers are aware of their own writing processes and whether this awareness can lead to discovery of the self as a writer and to diminished writing anxiety.One way for students to become aware of their composing processes is through process journals, in which they write about their actions in creating and revising their papers. Using process journals as an independent variable, this project studied differences among three groups of basic writers at Ball State University: those who wrote process journals frequently, infrequently, and not at all. I evaluated effects of process journals on self-reported awareness of process, as measured by a Writing Skills Questionnaire, and on writing apprehension, as measured by the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT). To measure changes among groups over two semesters, I analyzed students' questionnaire responses using mean scores and two Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests.Results showed that process journals did have a significant impact on students' attitudes about themselves as writers and on their awareness and control of writing processes. This study did not find, however, that process journals significantly decreased students' writing apprehension scores. In addition, it did not find Ball State University's basic writing students to be highly apprehensive writers. Although further research is needed to verify these results and expand the scope of research in process journals, the initial findings here suggest that process journals can be an important part of many students' writing experiences. / Department of English

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This study conceptualized remedial education as an attrition process in which students either progress onto the next stage or they do not, and had a particular emphasis on how age affects students’ remedial path. The purpose of this quantitative study was twofold. The researcher first sought to understand the points at which students fail to progress within the remedial math process (enrollment in remedial coursework, completion of the remedial sequence, enrollment in a college-level course, and passing the college-level course), and to statistically model the pre- and post-college entry predictors of that attrition among first-time, associate degree-seeking students referred to remedial math in community colleges in Louisiana. The study also had a particular focus upon the effect age has on students’ ability to successfully remediate. Longitudinal, student-level data from ten community colleges in Louisiana were used for the analysis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was utilized to answer the research questions. Results showed the first step in the remedial process (enrolling in a remedial math course) to be the greatest attrition point, with 88.2% of students failing to enroll in a remedial math class. Gender, high school GPA, age, full-time enrollment, and college GPA were found to be significant predictors of remedial math course enrollment. In terms of the second step (enrollment in a college-level math course), age, extent of remedial math need, unmet financial need, high school GPA, and college GPA were found to be significant predictors. By the third step (enrollment in a college-level math course) and fourth step (passing, with a grade of C or better, a college-level math course), the significant covariates narrowed to extent of remedial math need and college GPA, respectively. With regards to age, this study’s findings reveal that age matters during the first two stages of remediation (enrollment in a remedial math course and completion of the remedial math sequence). Specifically, age decreases the likelihood of enrolling in a remedial math course but increases the likelihood of completing the remedial math sequence.

This study investigated the factors related to student retention in a comprehensive community college developmental education mathematics program. The purpose was to identify and describe these factors and to develop strategies for improving retention in the community college developmental education mathematics program. Tinto's 1975 model of institutional departure was employed to examine different factors relating to retention in developmental education mathematics courses. In accordance with established criteria, data were collected using the Institutional Integration Scale (IIS) and Students Existing Records (SER). The IIS survey instrument questionnaire was completed by 41 students from a sample of 56 developmental education students enrolled in college level mathematics, and the data thus collected were used for analysis. Data were analyzed using frequency count, percentage, and the chi-square statistical analysis with a significant level of 0.05. The analysis of the data showed that the responding sample was primarily white, females aged 18 to 45. Most of the respondents had high grade point averages, did not miss any developmental education mathematics classes, and attended extra curricular activities infrequently. More fathers than mothers of the sample population had received a college education. Academic goal commitment, institutional experience, academic involvement, and placement grades were not statistically significant factors influencing retention. Among the major findings were: Development education instructors appeared to make the difference, institutional experience, academic goal commitment, and placement grades did not appear to play a major role; the students' academic involvement beyond classes appeared negligible; age, gender, grade point average, and parental educational levels were not significant factors for student retention in developmental education mathematics courses. Although statistical evidence did not support reversal of the proposed null hypotheses, pertinent issues for further research were raised.