Language learners use different learning strategies, specific actions and behaviors to help them learn, at least partly because their general learning styles, or overall approaches to learning and the environment, are so varied. Learning style encompasses: cognitive style; patterns of attitudes and interests; a tendency to seek situations…

An informal study found that zoo visitors want to know not just the name, weight, and age of animals in a collection, but also about diet, reproduction, life span, and behavioral characteristics. What kinds of learning opportunities, beyond enhanced signage, can be offered to the sophisticated new breed of visitors in zoos, aquariums, and nature…

Museums, zoos, nature centers, science centers, aquariums, and other similar places provide an opportunity for lifelong learning in a nonthreatening setting for most adults. They are places where nonformal learning (outside the formal learning setting and characterized by voluntary participation) can easily take place through such methods as…

Malcolm Knowles is attributed with developing the most cogent model underlying the assumption that teaching adults should differ from teaching children and adolescents. His andragogical model is based on the premise that adult learning differs from preadult learning. Two studies have examined whether teachers do actually use a different style when…

This digest discusses the contextual factors that affect students' learning of a second language. These individual, social, and societal factors can be considered from the perspective of the language, the learner, and the learning process. These perspectives are discussed as they relate to learning any second language, with a particular focus on…

This Digest of a larger report with the same title examines the application of learning theory to the quality of learning in undergraduate college classrooms. Relevant theories are identified, including theories which address college students' attributions for success or failure, self-efficacy, social constructivism, conscientization, multiple…

The gap between Generation X and earlier generations represents much more than age and technological differences. It reflects the effects of a changing society on a generation. Social changes such as the increase in single-parent households and households with both parents working, corporate downsizing and layoffs, limited opportunities for career…

This digest features a review of learning styles research with a focus on the Dunn model of learning styles which delineates five types of stimuli: (1) environmental; (2) emotional; (3) sociological; (4) physical; and (5) psychological. Issues related to practical applications of the Dunn model to mathematics and science education, learning…

A growing body of literature is questioning whether existing models of human development apply equally to men and women. Prevailing theories of human development have been criticized for being based on research with primarily male subjects of similar ethnic, racial, or class backgrounds. Some research supports the viewpoint that women have…

This digest reviews the literature related to learning styles of American Indian and Alaskan Native students. Several studies show that in some tribes, observation, self-testing in private, and then demonstration of a task for approval are essential steps in learning. Indian children often hesitate to participate in large and small-group…

This digest discusses two prominent definitions of learning styles, describes studies that have found differences between the learning styles of American Indian/Alaska Native students and students of other cultural groups, and presents instructional interventions stemming from learning styles research. The research literature on learning styles…

The term general education has been employed to characterize an array of community college non-vocational programs, from Great Books courses to guidance services. General education at present differs from previous decades in terms of its emphasis on tighter curricular structure, global, gender, and ethnic studies, and the integration of knowledge.…