Concept mapping, a technique of graphically representing concepts and their hierachical interrelationships along two dimensions, was used to examine the growth of student teachers' knowledge concerning planning over three sequenced courses. It is demonstrated that this technique may be useful in assessing individual growth and program…

Describes the current situation of teaching and learning in China and the features of biology science; reviews existing theories of cognitive and learning styles as well as concept mapping. A Concept Mapping Training Course is outlined which incorporates concept mapping into biology learning. Students' different cognitive styles are taken into…

Cognitive sciences are discovering many things that educators have always intuitively known about language learning. However, the important point is actively using this new information to improve both students learning and current teaching practices. The implications of neuroscience for educational reform regarding second language (L2) learning…

The ability of tenth grade plane geometry students to structure concepts and relationships from a geometry unit on ratio, proportion and similarity was tested. Analysis of cognitive "maps" of the structural relationships possessed by twenty concrete and twenty formal subjects indicated that formal operational subjects structure subject…

Describes the Novice-Expert (Novex) Analysis, a nine-step approach to instructional design aimed at effecting the shift from novice to expert by creating a series of learning activities to enable novices to construct an expert knowledge base. The "Dimensions of Processing Model" diagram illustrates how learning processes influence…

Focusing on techniques for teaching students to integrate diverse ideas at a deep level of cognitive processing, a study evaluated an idea integration package for teaching writing in the college classroom. Subjects, 29 college students from an introductory psychology class at a Utah university, were divided into two groups. The integration group…

Past research on political socialization has failed to provide clear implications for educational policy or practice. However, reconceptualizing that research using a framework derived from cognitive psychology can reveal relationships between political socialization and education not previously seen. In this reconceptualization, schema or…

Hypothesizes that the human brain localizes mental operations which are integrated in the performance of cognitive tasks such as reading. Provides support of this hypothesis from studies in neural imaging, mental imagery, timing, and memory. (RT)

Investigated use of concept and Vee-mapping strategies with regular seventh- and eighth-grade science students (N=155), focusing on changes in student acquisition of science knowledge and problem-solving performance. Includes methods of teaching Vee mapping, evaluating the maps, anectdotal records of Piagetian clinical interviews, findings, and…

Emphasizes that it is learning processes, rather than learning outcomes, which allow individuals to tackle new tasks, solve new problems, and learn new skills. Discusses the importance of metacognitive knowledge and skills in cognitive processing and life-long learning. (RAE)

Styles of thinking and learning are relevant for understanding and testing foreign-language aptitude. This article emphasizes one particular theory of styles, the theory of self-government, and discusses the nature of styles, gives some history of the concept of styles, describes styles in theory, describes measures of styles, and discusses the…

Directed reading activities found in commercially produced instructional materials usually contain information that is aimed at helping children understand the story as well as helping them to develop other skills. To test the effectiveness of both establishing background knowledge and directing children toward central story content, two…

Conceptual and behavioral methods for developing student abilities to think and behave creatively are presented with suggestions for their application in entrepreneurship courses. Conceptual exercises as well as the use of musical experimentation, card games, and board games as metaphors for business situations are shown to teach a variety of…

New conceptions of learning, analogy, and capacity have fundamentally changed scientists' view of cognitive development. New conceptions of learning help to explain how representations of the world are acquired. New models of analogical reasoning have suggested that logical inferences are often made by mapping a problem into a mental model, or…

The theoretical landscape in which scholars of comparative education work has become increasingly diverse and fragmented in recent years. This paper contends that cognitive maps can enable scholars to see better this shifting landscape. Mapping also is offered as a rationale by which social and intellectual worlds may be uttered and constructed in…