Improving the Reading Comprehension Skills of Poor Readers

Although much has been written about reading comprehension in the last twenty years, theories defining the comprehension process, and strategies on how to teach it still pique the interest of educators. This article addresses the negative effects of poor decoding on reading comprehension, and reviews various strategies that have been used with poor readers to successfully compensate for the problem. It is proposed that the extensive exposure to printed discourse, and the phrase and sentence reading provided students in these successful remediation strategies are keys to improving the comprehension of poor readers

Phonics…Learning to Read and All That Stuff

(Editor\u27s note- Dr. J. Lloyd Eldredge, Coordinator of Elementary Education for the State of Utah, recently presented a week-long conference for the Reading Institute at Western Michigan University. Horizons is pleased to publish the following article by Dr. Eldredge, who is well known for his work with learning cycles.

Hail damage to corn

Each year thousands of Corn Belt farmers, as they nurse their crops from kernel to ear watch gathering ram clouds with a hopeful eye. And each year, instead of the gentle shower of their anticipation, many of these farmers see the dreaded hailstorm come pounding across the country-side, leaving in its wake a path of twisted, bruised and broken corn plants. Depending upon the stage of development and the apparent severity of the damage, there follows the indecision as to whether to replant, replace with another crop or hope that following conditions will be favorable to the damaged field. Or, if the farmer is one of the large percentage of middlewestern farmers who carry hail insurance, there follows the problem of a satisfactory adjustment. Some idea of the importance of this problem to Iowa farmers is found in the fact that annual hail damage in this state alone often runs to more than 4.5 million dollars, with more than one-third of the state annually reporting some damage from this source. It has been estimated that farmers in Iowa have one chance in six of having crops damaged by hail

Popcorn in Iowa

The early history of popcorn is mostly a subject of speculation. It is reported to have been used by the natives of the Western Hemisphere before the coming of the white man. An old Chinese book in the Library of Congress, written in 1590, describes a type of maize, the kernels of which burst open when heated; however this could have referred to a type of maize other than popcorn, or even to sorghum, some types of which pop open when heated. Our “early settlers” may have known and used popcorn, but a careful study of old farm papers, seed catalogs and premium lists reveals that they make no mention of popcorn until about 1880. Only in the last 50 or 60 years has popcorn developed as an important article of commerce in the United States. In the last decade there has been a still greater commercial expansion, due to the more extensive use of popcorn by stands, amusement parks, taverns and other resorts. In recent years several large companies have put popped corn on the market in cellophane bags and in tin or paper containers. This undoubtedly has greatly extended its use by family groups and others at parties and picnics

Progress on the Origin of Species

Two new books on speciation update the classic texts by Mayr and Grant and help set the stage for a renaissance of research into one of the most important processes in evolutio

Mmm --- Popcorn!

Popcorn has been a favorite American treat for many years. Over 300 million pounds were sold in the United States in 1956. If this 300 million pounds were popped all at once, it would fill more than 3,500 boxcars and make up a freight train that would reach from Council Bluffs to Cedar Rapids

Integrated assurance assessment of a reconfigurable digital flight control system

The integrated application of reliability, failure effects and system simulator methods in establishing the airworthiness of a flight critical digital flight control system (DFCS) is demonstrated. The emphasis was on the mutual reinforcement of the methods in demonstrating the system safety

Valued Information Resources when making Diagnoses: The experiences of Medical Students in a Clinical Reasoning Course

OBJECTIVES: The clinical reasoning process, aimed at making an accurate diagnosis, represents a complex activity. No studies to date have reported on how medical students harness existing information resources in their clinical reasoning courses to arrive at correct diagnoses. This study fills that gap. METHODS: Cross Sectional Study. An anonymous survey asked students to recall their most useful information resources halfway through their three clinical reasoning courses. Students then were asked to evaluate the comparative usefulness of these selected resources. Finally, students reported on those resources that they no longer found useful. This survey sought to learn what information resources medical students value so that librarians can provide the best possible instructional and collection resources. RESULTS: 69 of the 107 students enrolled in the Clinical Reasoning 2 course completed the three-part survey (64.5% response rate). Students frequently mentioned finding point-of-care tools, general web browsers, journal articles, course materials, and textbooks to be useful. When forced to rank their preferences students added medical society websites and the diagnostic tool Diagnosaurus in AccessMedicine. Students halfway through their three courses no longer found medical licensure exam review guides, patient-oriented sources, or course lecture notes to be helpful. CONCLUSIONS: Medical students halfway their three clinical reasoning courses provided surprising results as well as some expected results in this cross sectional study

Innovative Features to an Evidence-Based Practice Conference: A Program Evaluation

The Evidence-Based Scholarly Communications Conference (EBSCC) held in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA during March 2010 piloted two innovations: 1) Real-time peer review by attendees on research paper presentations 2) A participatory advocacy workshop focusing on speaking skill

Enhancing Search Strategies to Improve Clinical and Translational Research in Health Promotion

A key component in preparing clinical researchers is the development of more effective and efficient use of information technology. The use of the MeSH Database requires that a researcher have an understanding of how the database functions. The poster provides a step by step plan on how to access, use and refine a literature search