That poor speller in your class may be neither lazy nor dull: it is possibly his or her genes. Nevertheless all poor spellers must be taught to the best of our ability. Genetic studies plus advice.

Using a new research approach reveals a good way of getting better self control of the different types of moment-to-moment decisions every teacher makes in the classroom.

How many children do their homework with the TV on? Does it help or hinder? This research from audience surveys in the UK makes us pause before automatically condemning homework with TV. Reprinted from the Journal of Educational Television, Vol. 16, No. 2, 1950.

Getting help from peers can make up for individual attention the teacher wishes she could give but just cannot manage. And giving help also improves the young tutor's work.

How you assess partly depends on your notion of what writing is for. But the accuracy of the assessment depends on clearly distinguishing different characteristics, from planning to sensitivity.

Western Australia is introducing a programme called Managing Student Behaviour, with inservice courses included. Questionnaires revealed levels of moral judgement before and after. Do they matter?

Creativity in poetry can be measured, and reliably. But encouraging creative poetry is a subtle business easily upset by asking the wrong questions, making inappropriate demands, setting the wrong atmosphere.

Australian and New Zealand research on poetry teaching is very scarce. Robin McConnell extends it by asking poets as well as teachers for their comments, and winds up with many clear bits of advice.

Should my child repeat the year? Many an anxious parent asks the teacher this question. This Australian study looks at the effects of repeating. Against popular opinion, the long term effects are nil, and the child is a year behind his or her peers.

If people approve of us, then we approve of ourselves – our self-esteem grows. From the British equivalent of set we reprint this research on the ability of young children to rank themselves for academic ability. Reprinted from Topic, Spring 1990 (Issue 3), item 1.