Describes an experiment exploring the effectiveness of four teaching methods: formal teaching, guided discovery, free discovery, and play. Concludes that all methods except free discovery are effective as long as memory is emphasized. Includes the tests used for the experiment in four appendices. Relates present results to previous research. (DK)

Discusses three strategies that help students remember information from the author's point of view: webbing, pyramiding, and think sheets. Notes that each strategy highlights superordinate ideas and shows how ideas relate to each other. Offers instructional techniques for using the three strategies. (FL)

This article discusses principles of cognitive elaboration which can help students retain and recall information. Eleven elaborative methods are described, including transformational and situational methods at the microlevel and generality and general-to-detailed methods at the macrolevel. Implications for teachers working with students with…

Aimed at classroom teachers interested in teaching learning skills to their elementary and secondary students, this guide offers an alternative to teaching "facts" that may rapidly become outdated. The guide is based on Dr. Leslie Hart's Proster Theory, which proposes that the brain requires large amounts of input to function; that after…

An overview is provided of the principles of cognitive psychology that can be used to enhance the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). First, the paper looks at the features of classical and operant conditioning that provide the foundation for important parts of mastery learning and CAI programs. Next, findings from four areas of…

The material presented in this article is intended to help students learn how to learn. The seven key concepts of David Ausubel's assimilation theory for cognitive learning are discussed with reference to the classroom. Concept mapping is suggested as a tool for demonstrating how the seven key concepts function. (SA)

This seven chapter book offers guidance to elementary and secondary teachers on how to help students develop strategic study skills. Chapter 1 summarizes current knowledge about information-processing theory, the teacher's role in facilitating learning, and the necessity for changes in instructional techniques across grade levels. Chapter 2…

Projects that soon a complete mechanistic understanding of simple forms of learning will be available. Describes some of the recent advances in neuroscience and psychology in understanding the changes in neural circuits that occur during certain behavioral situations. Suggests that learning involves the activation of second messenger systems. (TW)

Time-of-day effects on children's incidental visual memory for words and ability to solve verbal analogies were investigated. Thirty-six normal, learning disabled, and educable retarded children were assigned morning or afternoon learning/recall sessions. All showed afternoon superiority for superficially processed words, but no differences for…

Surveys current research on learning and memory and associated brain functions. Suggests several models of olfactory recognition and memory. Explains several computer models being evaluated and lists possible flaws. Differentiates between noise and chaos in brain functions. Describes a challenge to the theory of chaos called adaptive resonance…

This book, developed for adult educators who teach or tutor reading in General Educational Development (GED) classrooms and for teacher trainers, contains 18 fact sheets on learning and thinking, each about 10 pages long. The following fact sheets are included: (1) Literature Is Not Science; (2) Making Connections; (3) Mental Models; (4) Thinking…

Asserts that the most effective use of schema theory in history instruction requires placing students in the decision- making roles of historical figures. A more detailed discussion of the same historical event follows this initial exercise. Students then compare their decisions with their historical counterparts. (MJP)

An examination of second language learning focuses on how universal cognitive processes in language learning and individual differences account for differences in language learning patterns. An introductory section gives background information suggesting that psycholinguistic factors in language learning should receive more attention for two…

This book provides an overview of cognitive approaches to learning disabilities, the theoretical and methodological underpinnings that support them, and the body of knowledge that such work has generated. Part 1 contains the following five papers: "The Educational Perspective" (Wayne P. Hresko and others); "Educational Trends in Learning…