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Numerous studies exist on how and to what extent course instructors in higher education are embedding or directly teaching writing, learning and information literacy skills in their courses (Cilliers, 2012; Crosthwaite et al., 2006; Mager & Spronken-Smith, 2014). Yet, disparity within the literature demonstrates that there is no consistent approach to the scaffolded development of these necessary skills within courses, programs, disciplines, or across disciplines. This study sought to explore the skills expectations of instructors and whether students are capable of identifying or articulating the academic skills they are required to develop in to succeed in third-year undergraduate university courses. We discovered a discrepancy rate of approximately 63% between instructor and student responses when exploring differences in instructor expectations and student interpretations of academic skills indicated on course outlines. Data from this study suggests that instructors and students do not always share the same understanding of the skills required to complete course work and to be successful in assessments. With the support of learning, writing, and research specialists, instructors can embed academic skill development in the curriculum.

Educational programs that incorporate social emotional-learning (SEL) strategies, study skills, and mindful breathing using biofeedback can help adolescents decrease worry and social stress, increase test preparedness self-efficacy, and improve academic performance due to lowered levels of test anxiety. The current study examined the efficacy of a SEL intervention (implemented into a high school psychology course) focused on study skills and mindful breathing and its impact on student attitude and behavioural changes (e.g., test anxiety, self-efficacy), academic performance, and physical changes. A quasi-experimental explanatory mixed methods study conducted at a rural Alberta high school examined pre- and post-intervention results between two groups of Grades 9-12 students (N = 105) with one group receiving the intervention (mindful breathing sessions, emotional regulation techniques, study and test-taking skills, and coping strategies) while the other received regular programming. Quantitative data included a Test Anxiety Survey (TAS), Student Opinion Survey-Short Form (SOS-SF), and reading comprehension (RC) tests to measure attitude and behavioural changes, followed by qualitative data obtained from student semi-structured interviews and focus groups for further interpretation. Quantitative results from repeated-measures (RM) ANOVAs indicated significant increases in self-efficacy for preparation and test-taking, increased academic achievement, decreased worry about future social stress, and increased positive affect. Effect sizes for significant impacts ranged from 0.45 to 0.65. Qualitative data indicated that students acquired new SEL strategies to help them handle stressful test situations more effectively. The current study addresses topics of interest to educators (e.g., test anxiety, social emotional learning) with a discussion of applications for extension and development of the program in junior and senior high classrooms.

First-year seminars that teach foundational academic skills are common in universities around the world, but few studies have been conducted to determine whether the specific skills students develop in these courses transfer to other academic contexts. Our research presents a case study that addresses this gap by measuring students' perceptions of the impact of a first-year seminar on the development of their test-preparation and test-taking skills. Interviews were conducted with 12 students who participated in a 90-minute module focusing on test-wiseness, retrieval practice, and strategies for studying for high-stakes multiple-choice question tests. We describe the module and summarize students' perceptions of this intervention. Students perceived the test-preparation and test-taking module to be effective and reported improved academic performance as well as enhanced self-efficacy. Students also reported transferring their test-preparation and test-taking skills to other contexts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between domestic and international students with regards to the variables affecting students' retention intentions. Altogether, 15 variables related to retention intentions were examined and significant differences were found in six of these variables. Variables related to personal issues (e.g., medical or family difficulties) were of equal importance to both groups, while the importance of institution and performance-centric variables differed between the groups. Social integration, ineffective study skills, difficulty adjusting to college life, poor extracurricular activities, and poor housing arrangements were perceived to be significantly more important by international students, while poor quality of instruction was perceived to be significantly more important by domestic students. Thus, international and domestic students require different retention strategies on the part of the institution.

Retention of students in university or other postsecondary education programs is a common problem for many institutions, with retention from first year to second year of study being particularly problematic in Canada and the United States. A number of factors are known to affect retention, and a number of measures have been identified which can help improve retention. Kuh (2008) has developed a list of high-impact educational practices that increase student satisfaction, success, and retention. One key method that helps students adjust to the transition from high school to university is a first-year experience course. This article describes a course called "The First-Year Experience: Mapping our Communities," designed on a theme of asset mapping. The metaphor of mapping allowed us to carefully and intentionally integrate a variety of layered pedagogical goals with a number of Kuh's high-impact strategies. The mapping metaphor extended from physical mapping of the university campus as a space to the mapping of academic and social resources, including mapping of the students' sense of self and goals, their new environment, and all the assets available to help them succeed. To provide students with a critical analysis of their own knowledge and skills and their limits, the theme of asset mapping also encompassed different world views and perspectives. Our research assesses the success of this course at meeting its many intertwined goals, based on both quantitative and qualitative data collected from students in two recent course offerings.

It is well known that university students with ineffective learning strategies and low motivation are at risk for lowered grades and stress. Given the needs of these students, Mount St. Vincent University developed the Student Success Course (SSC), a 14-week intervention that offers instruction in learning strategies, selfmanagement, and motivation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the SSC for 100 undergraduates on academic probation. From pre- to post-test, participants reported a significant increase in cognitive strategies, study skills, and motivation as well as a significant decrease in test anxiety and procrastination (ps < 0.05). Over time, participants also demonstrated a significantly improved GPA (p < 0.0001). These results support the hypothesis that the SSC is an effective intervention, at least in the shortterm, for improving learning and motivational strategies in at risk students.

Supplemental instruction (SI) has proven highly effective at improving success rates in high-risk first and second-year courses, in part because peerled SI sessions inculcate best-practice study skills in a specific learning context which provides opportunities for skill mastery. A successful SI program in the Faculty of Science at the University of Regina, Canada, was adapted to support high-risk classes in the Faculty of Arts. A number of challenges around student participation in SI sessions for arts emerged. This paper provides a brief case study of the adaptation and outlines factors which impact student participation in academic support sessions.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between participation in cooperative education, and several psychological constructs believed to be related to success in both academic and professional settings. Participants, undergraduate cooperative (n = 1224) and non-cooperative education (n = 746) students in all years of study and from several academic faculties, completed a survey measuring the psychological constructs of hope, self-efficacy, procrastination, and study-skills. Results indicated significant differences in several study skill characteristics as a function of co-op, gender, and faculty. No significant differences emerged between co-op and non-co-op students on the hope, self-efficacy, or procrastination scales. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

While teaching students how to become independent learners offers great promise for their future academic success, research has yet to offer detailed insight into students' evaluation of learning such strategies. The Study Skills for Independent Learning module was introduced as part of a Canadian university English for Academic Purposes (EAP) bridging program. The objective of the module was to help international students who had been conditionally accepted into their undergraduate programs acquire skills they could employ to become more independent learners during their undergraduate studies. The study set out to collect students' perceptions of the module to better assess the efficacy of teaching independent study skills in an EAP context. Data were gathered from an analysis of the module's overview and learning objectives, questionnaires from a group of students enrolled in the EAP program (n =7), and feedback from a retrospective focus group (n = 5) that consisted of students who had taken the module the previous year and had just completed the first semester of their undergraduate programs. Data were transcribed, coded, and organized into themes for analysis. Time management, reflective skills, and strategies for maintaining focus were identified as three transferable skills taught in the module.

University students who report a history of reading difficulties have been demonstrated to have poorer word reading and reading comprehension skills than their peers; yet, without a diagnosed learning disability, these students do not have access to the same support services, potentially placing them at academic risk. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of first-year academic achievement for students with a history of reading difficulties (n = 244) compared to students with no such history (n = 603). We also examine reported use of metacognitive reading and study strategies and their relations with GPA. Results indicate that students with a history of reading difficulties earn lower GPA and successfully complete fewer credits compared to students with no history of reading difficulty. These patterns varied somewhat by faculty of study. Students with a history of reading difficulties also reported lower scores across multiple metacognitive reading and study strategy scales, yet these scores were not associated with their academic performance. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of identifying students with a history of reading difficulties and that commonly used study strategy inventories have limited value in predicting their academic success.

The authors explored the relationship between measures of self-belief, behavioural development, and academic achievement in Canadian Aboriginal children. Standardized measures of intelligence are unable to consistently predict academic achievement in students from indigenous populations. Exploring alternative factors that may be both predictive and amenable to improvements with interventions is therefore important in order to address the growing educational disparity in Canadian Aboriginal children. In this study, significant correlations were found between the Self-Perception Profile for Children rating of behavioural conduct and close friendships, the Behavior Assessment Scales for Children ratings of leadership and study skills, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test measures of academic achievement. A school environment that provides opportunities for developing social skills and creating friendships as well as culturally appropriate interventions that support the development of leadership and study skills may provide Canadian Aboriginal children with the tools they need to achieve academically. (Contains 4 tables and 3 notes.)

Interest in home-school communication has paid little attention, to date, to the experiences of English as a second language (ESL) parents. This article examines recent Chinese immigrant parents' and Canadian teachers' perspectives of ESL learning presented at Parents' Night. On the basis of observations of three annual Parents' Nights, interviews of teachers and bilingual assistants who served as interpreters for parents and focus groups, the study reveals a deep division between the two on both what and how students should learn. Teachers believed that the ESL classes help socialize students into Canadian school and social cultures and develop language and study skills and appropriate attitudes to help prepare them for entry into mainstream classes. In contrast, in the parents' views, the current ESL program has many problems, such as the lengthy time students stayed in the program, the lack of exams, mixed grades, the low level of content, and the lack of grammar instruction. (Contains 3 footnotes and 2 tables.)

To prepare adult students for a problem-based degree program, an orientation workshop was designed to help identify resources, address barriers to study, and acquire skills to benefit from problem-based learning. Transfer strategies included student involvement in planning and as presenters, mentoring, action plans, self-study materials, and self-assessment tools. (Contains 15 references.) (SK)

One hundred Canadian undergraduates read a lengthy expository text, used one of five study strategies for 50 minutes, and completed recall and multiple-choice tests. Students using self-study, repetition, or unsupported elaborative interrogation had difficulty recognizing the passage's main ideas. Elaborative interrogation's effectiveness was maximized when supported by preunderlined ideas and specific "why" questions. Contains 19 references. (Author/SV)

Two studies were conducted to assess students' self-reported use of cognitive study strategies. Studies compared high school students and university students' recollection of strategy use in high school with their present study behaviors. Reports suggest that students' dependence on repetition strategies may be a product of the lack of familiarity and flexibility in the execution of more sophisticated strategies. (Author/GCP)

Reports a single case design study on the exam performance in science of fifth and sixth graders (n=27) using note taking combined with self-questioning. Authors found gains in science exams when notetaking/self-questioning strategies were in effect. (PR)

Examines the effects of direct instruction in finding the main idea of an expository text, and in monitoring reading comprehension using self-generated questions based on main ideas. Reports that reading comprehension improved with direct instruction in main idea and question generating. (MM)

The purpose was to collect concurrent and predictive validity data for three study skill instruments frequently used for diagnostic purposes in Canadian high schools and universities. Tests examined were: McGraw-Hill Study Skills Test; McGraw-Hill Inventory of Study Habits and Attitudes; and Study Attitudes and Methods Survey. (Author)

Describes in nine articles several Canadian elementary and secondary guidance programs. Discusses the counselor's role and his/her relationship with other school personnel, the community, and as a change agent. Also examines career counseling and planning, peer relationships, study skills improvement, student and teacher involvement. (JAC)

Evaluates Phil Ritchie's research report (same issue) on the effects of direct instruction in finding the main idea of expository texts and using self-generated questions to monitor text comprehension. Points out that the most successful teachers of comprehension are teaching comprehension skills directly. (MM)

Objective: we present the findings of a grounded theory study designed to gain a critical understanding of the experience of side effects of treatment for HIV. Method: this study was undertaken in Canada’s capital region with 50 participants through a questionnaire. Data analysis began with the initial line-by-line coding of key interviews. After it were categorized. Results: three main categories emerged from the data: the side effects, the experience, and the connections. Conclusion: the first category suggests that we need to change how we think about side effects in order to take into account the context in which they are experienced as well as the types and nature of side effects. The second category puts forward the idea that the experience of side effects is composed of three interrelated processes: becoming with, living with, and dealing with. Finally, the third category points to new connections that are formed with people, things and systems in the presence of side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sequence learning has notably been studied using the Hebb repetition paradigm (Hebb, ) and the serial reaction time (SRT) task (Nissen & Bullemer, Cognitive Psychology 19:1-32, ). These two paradigms produce robust learning effects but differ with regard to the role of awareness: Awareness does not affect learning a repeated sequence in the Hebb repetition paradigm, as is evidenced by recall performance, whereas in the SRT task, awareness helps to anticipate the location of the next stimulus. In this study, we examined the role of awareness in anticipation and recall performance, using the Hebb repetition paradigm. Eye movements were monitored during a spatial reconstruction task where participants had to memorize sequences of dot locations. One sequence was repeated every four trials. Results showed that recall performance for the repeated sequence improved across repetitions for all participants but that anticipation increased only for participants aware of the repetition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study examined persistence in high school among students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) from the perspective of the adolescents themselves. Tinto's (1975, 1997) Student Integration Model (SIM) provided the theoretical framework for the research. This model consists of three factors: background characteristics, academic integration, and social integration.Method A collective case study method involving 8 adolescents with FASD from Canada and the United States was used.Results Although the students did not meet the usual academic standards and had acquaintances rather than friends, they perceived themselves as academically and socially successful. It was shown that persistence occurred largely because of the strong support of, and advocacy by, the adoptive parents.Conclusions Parental advocacy is an environmental factor that may protect adolescents with FASD from dropping out of high school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a model was tested positing that attachment style dimensions affect the individual's social support network orientation, which, in turn, influences the process of seeking help from teachers. Data from two independent samples of college students using global and dyadic interaction reports of the quality of their help-seeking behaviours were used to assess the model. Evaluation by the EQS method indicated acceptable levels of fit, with the models explaining 49 percent and 23 percent of the variance in help-seeking behaviours. The results are discussed in light of the relations between attachment and social support theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]