Wang, Reynolds, and Walberg (1994) list the following variables that enhance student learning:
"Category I: Student Characteristics
- Positive, nondisruptive behavior
- Attitude toward school
- Motivation for continual learning
- Self-confidence
- Level of reading comprehension ability
- Self-regulatory, self-control strategies
- Appropriate activity level
- Cooperativeness with teacher
- Attitude toward teachers
- Attitude toward subject matter
- Perseverance on learning tasks
- Level of listening skills
- Positive strategies for coping with failure
Category II: Classroom Instruction and Climate Variables
- Teacher conveys enthusiasm about the content
- Providing frequent feedback to students about their performance
- Teaching for meaningful understanding
- Time on task (amount of time students are actively engaged in learning)
- Organization (class is well-organized and planned)
- Establishing efficient classroom routines and communication rules and procedures
- Use of clear and organized direct instruction
- Setting and maintaining clear expectations of content mastery
- Corrective feedback in event of student error
- Skills taught within the context of meaningful application
- Good examples and analogies to concretize the abstract and familiarize the strange
- Time spent in direct instruction on basic skills in reading
- Time spent in direct instruction on basic skills in mathematics
- Learner accountability (teacher maintains student awareness of learning goals and expectations)
- Teacher "with-it-ness" (teacher is continually aware of events and activities and minimizes disruptiveness by timely and nonconfrontational actions)
- Teacher reacts appropriately to correct and incorrect answers
- Teacher reinforces positive social interactions with students rejected by peers
- Task difficulty (students are continually and appropriately challenged)
- Low apathy (class members are concerned and interested in what goes on in the class)
Category III: Out-of-School Contextual Variables
- Parental involvement in assuring regular school attendance
- Parental interest in student's school work
- Parental expectation for academic success
- Educational environment
- Parental involvement in assuring completion of homework
- Parental application of appropriate, consistent discipline
- Parental expression of attention to children
Category IV: Program Design
- Clearly presented academic, social, and attitudinal program goals/outcomes
- Availability of materials and activities for students with different abilities
Category V: School Organization
- Teacher involvement in finding ways to increase academic performance
- Teacher involvement in instructional decision making
- Active collaboration between regular classroom teachers and special education teachers
- Safe, orderly school climate" (pp. 165-166)
