This article presents the authors' reply to Beniko Mason and Stephen Krashen's comments on their recent article published in "TESOL Quarterly." Mason and Krashen have provided an interesting reinterpretation of the authors' results and have also brought up several valid points regarding the efficiency of vocabulary learning from instruction,…

An advanced undergraduate comparative psychology course is described. Reviews the methodological goals and traditional roles of comparative psychology courses. Focuses on research strategies for relating group differences to specific processes and for inferring the evolutionary and developmental histories of behavior. The conclusion stresses the…

Describes and compares various assumptions of instructional design and of constructivism, some of which have been raised in other articles in this issue. Topics discussed include instructional design theory; instructional systems theory; mental models; categories of knowledge; knowledge representation; instructional strategies; collaborative…

Discusses methods for incorporating video into hypermedia programs. Knowledge representation in hypermedia is explained; video production techniques are discussed; comparisons between linear video, interactive video, and hypervideo are presented; appropriate conditions for hypervideo use are examined; and a need for new media research is…

This third in a series of edited transcripts based on a conference at Utah State University describes Merrill's Component Design Theory (CDT) and compares it to his earlier Component Display Theory. Topics discussed include concept structures, knowledge acquisition, components of an instructional design system, and a new CDT matrix. (10…

The content and approach of study skills courses are critiqued and alternatives are suggested. It is proposed that an approach providing students with knowledge about the cognitive processes involved in mastering complex material would make the study skills teacher an agent of social change aiming for the enlightenment and emancipation of students…

The performance of multilingual subjects was contrasted to that of bilingual and monolingual subjects on two tasks that involved learning a miniature linguistic system. Results indicate that multilingual subjects have strategies that help them allocate processing resources more efficiently in formulating informal rules of limited scope under…

The relative influence of cultural insights, first language skills, and purely cognitive or linguistic factors in successful second-language learning is discussed. The teacher is encouraged to reflect on the value of and experiment with providing cultural background to language acquisition. (MSE)

Reports the results of a study conducted at the University of York (England) that was designed to test the effectiveness of a concept mapping tool in aiding student learning from a hypertext-based computer-assisted instruction system. Effects on learning are compared with standard notetaking through results of a posttest. (Contains 17 references.)…

Explains three learning theories (i.e., behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism) and examines how each can be used for planning and conducting instructional design activities. Historical foundations are discussed, and comparisons are made concerning how learning occurs, the role of memory, how transfer occurs, and types of learning. (Contains…

This paper compares the content of two types of instruction presented to a student either by an intelligent tutoring system or by some conventional text, such as a textbook or a computer user's manual, when the educational goal is skills learning. Two distinct points of view are presented: (1) that of the "expounders," who believe that…

Specifies some of the different word learning tasks students face, describes different levels of word knowledge, notes three types of costs involved in instruction, and discusses the costs and benefits of some specific methods of vocabulary instruction. (HOD)

Examines the early writing of a young child over the course of several months to illustrate the struggle with the writing process. Draws parallels between the child's writing progress and that of the author as she learned to be comfortable as a writer and suggests implications for the teaching of writing. (HTH)

In a study of cultural differences and information dissemination, a group of unsuccessful Ethiopian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) university students in Israel were compared with a typical Israeli EFL group. Results show that unsuccessful learners use similar strategies for reading comprehension, etc., but their use is "mechanical." (18…

Explains a generative theory of textbook design and describes three experiments that compared college students' solutions on transfer problems after reading science texts with illustrations adjacent to corresponding text and including annotations, and illustrations separated from text without annotations. (LRW)