This report summarizes the findings of a group of Diploma of Education students (N. 42) who each investigated, using a case-study approach, both a high and low anxiety subject chosen from an examination class in Jamaican secondary schools or tertiary institutions. Subjects were identified from responses to a common instrument, further investigation of pairs of subjects then being carried out on the initiative of each Diploma student.

This case study documents a pilot project designed to describe the usefulness of Student Response Systems or clickers in promoting active learning at the tertiary level. A convenience sample of five lecturers and 140 students participated in the study over two semesters where lecturers were allowed to use clickers during class activity in whatever manner they chose. Results indicated that most participants felt that clickers helped to make courses more interactive and engaging. Nearly half of the students felt that clickers improved instructor-student communication.

Samsa and Oddone (1994, 117) state that statisticians need to write to describe, explain, clarify, convince and to publicize information. Unfortunately, students majoring in statistics and other mathematics based disciplines usually avoid courses which require significant levels of writing. Yet, on completion of their degree, they are usually employed in areas which require a significant amount of report writing, both to specialist audiences as well as to audiences that do not necessarily understand the language of this subject area.

It has often been suggested that lower social-class children are poor in their lang­uage abilities, and are in this respect deprived or disadvantaged. A suggestion contrary to this is here put forward; it is shown, by a comparison of language usage in upper and lower-social-class Jamaican children, that the two social-class extremes have different styles (formats) of communication, but that the two styles (formats) are equal in their capabilities.