Learning frameworks courses represent a recent manifestation of higher education's effort to support undergraduate students' learning success. These courses offer students the theoretical underpinnings of human learning and the application of learning strategies. This qualitative investigation at a 4-year university in the southwestern United…

This paper presents an overview of research on academic tasks in the classroom and describes some of the themes that are emerging from studies in this area. The concept of "academic task" is defined along with problems associated with using this theoretical construct in classroom research. Three conceptions of how content should be represented to…

This paper proposes an instructional model for integrating cognitive strategy instruction and content area instruction when teaching students with learning disabilities in content area classes. In the model, teacher-mediated instructional devices and routines used to teach content area subjects serve as a basis for teaching students to…

This introduction to four papers, which discuss cognitive strategy research with secondary students who have learning disabilities, outlines Edwin Ellis's Integrated Strategy Instruction model for helping students learn content in a strategic manner, identifies model aspects requiring revision, and notes the model's theoretical underpinnings and…

This paper comments on the Integrative Strategy Instruction Model, the Strategies Intervention Model, the Content Enhancement Model, and Process-Based Instruction, concluding that such integrative models are appealing because they draw teachers of students with learning disabilities away from strategy training in nonauthentic settings and from…

Research on the learner's role as an active participant in the teaching/learning process suggests that modified content instruction holds promise for influencing the development of second language skills. This research indicates that the effectiveness of learning depends on how the student thinks about the new task as well as on the way in which…

This critique of Edwin Ellis's Integrative Strategy Instruction model for integrating cognitive strategies into content area learning for students with learning disabilities comments on the model's similarities to other cognitive strategy training models, the role of mnemonic techniques in content area learning, and the need to incorporate…

In this article, the author presents a case study of three fourth grade teachers in New York, a state that administers an elementary social studies test, constructed by teachers, that relies on the use of documents in the majority of its questions. Throughout the 2002-2003 school year, the three teachers were observed during every unit of social…

These appendices present the protocols used in research (reported in Volume 1) on the cognitive processes of students while learning from teaching. Curriculum outlines are given for the videotaped lessons used in the second and third studies: lessons in sleep and elementary psychology. Included in the appendices are: (1) the illustrative script…

This interview study examined the perceptions and beliefs about cognitive strategy instruction of 31 classroom teachers of underachieving students and 9 strategy researchers. Teachers and researchers generally agreed about components of strategy instruction and when to teach them; one difference was the tendency of researchers to relegate each…

This critique of Edwin Ellis's Integrative Strategy Instruction model comments that analyses are needed concerning the mutual social adaptations of differently disposed (cognitively, motivationally, and emotionally) students with learning disabilities and teachers within the social frames of learning environments. (JDD)

Maintains that undergraduate psychology curricula almost always include one or more required experimental courses. Describes the use of the human subjects review process as a method of stimulating critical thinking. Discusses questions posed by the review process and classroom applications of the approach. (CFR)

Contends that, although social studies teachers want students to think, research indicates that most teaching emphasizes knowledge, leaving few opportunities for students to think about it. Discusses criteria to assist teachers and strategies that promote student thinking. (CFR)

Discusses a model for teaching critical thinking and the changes observed in student abilities after taking a course emphasizing the model. Finds that scores on a critical thinking test were significantly higher among the 24 students in the course. Presents a graphic example of the model applied to the issue of homelessness. (CFR)

Argues that the primary grades play a crucial role in the development of student attitudes toward the natural environment. Describes content and activities used in the primary grades to develop ecological and aesthetic values. Discusses using problems associated with nature study as topics for moral development activities. (CFR)