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The RE:Learning movement is an attempt to alter the education system from the bottom up, encouraging schools to simplify their structures and focus on students' intellectual growth. RE:Learning is based on the principles of Theodore Sizer which address the simplicity and universality of a school's goals; the personalization of teaching and learning; helping students to learn effectively and demonstrate competency; attitude of the school regarding expectations, trust, decency, and tolerance; perceptions and commitment of staff; and financial resources. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of 20 unspecial students in a RE:Learning vocational technical high school who completed the questionnaire in all four of their high school years. The research addressed whether students become more engaged in their education with increased exposure to Sizer's principles, and whether students' perceptions of school regarding the principles of focus, personalization, and attitude change with increased exposure to these principles. Based on the data collected, the study found no evidence of increased student engagement over time as measured by their questionnaire responses, their grade point average (GPA), or the number of out-of-school hours of homework. No evidence was found to support an increase in students' perceptions regarding the principle of attitude but there was support for an increase in students' perceptions concerning the principles of personalization and focus. Finally, there appeared to be some connection between focus and personalization and possibly GPA. With the forces of adolescents' work and social lives competing with their academic lives, it will take even greater, unending effort on the part of the faculty to capture the students' commitment to their education. Appendices include descriptions of Sizer's principles, as well as graphs of the study data. (ND)

Results of research to determine if an adaptive technique could be used to teach a physically complex psychomotor skill (specifically, performing on an arc welding simulator) more efficiently than the skill could be taught with a nonadaptive technique are presented. Sixty hull maintenance technician firemen and fireman apprentice trainees were selected randomly to perform on the simulator and were given pre- and post-training tests. Analysis of covariance was used on the data, and results indicate no significant difference between the effectiveness of adaptive and fixed schedules in training the skill studied. An introduction discusses the problem, purpose, and background of the study, as well as presenting a rationale for adoption and a history of adaptive applications. Research methodology is examined in terms of the subject, apparatus, experimental setting and design, and procedures. A discussion of the results, conclusions, and recommendations are presented. Six tables and eight figures supplement the text. It is recommended that since there may be a relationship between physical task complexity and the utility of adaptive/fixed training strategies, further research to understand the potential interaction between these two variables be undertaken. (LH)