Examines the notion of "deep" and "surface" approaches to learning and phenomenography, the associated methodology and theory of knowledge; explores reasons for the heightened status of the deep/surface notion within higher education research; discusses problems of phenomenographic research methodology. Introduces the idea of…

Examines verb learning in children in their second year of life learning verbs in various pragmatic contexts. Results are discussed in terms of the different learning processes involved in acquiring nouns and verbs and in terms of a social-pragmatic view of language acquisition. (34 references) (GLR)

Asks the question, Can the learning cycle also be applied effectively to science text? High school students (n=23) were tested for reasoning ability then randomly assigned to read either a learning-cycle or traditional-text passage. Students who read the learning-cycle passage earned higher scores on concept comprehension questions at all…

Category knowledge allows for both the determination of category membership and an understanding of what the members of a category are like. Diagnostic information is used to determine category membership; prototypical information reflects the most likely features given category membership. Two experiments examined 2 means of category learning,…

In four conditioned taste aversion experiments with rats as subjects, the effects of extinguished or pre-exposed flavors on retardation and summation tests was compared. Experiment 1 showed that when steps were taken to ensure similar exposure to the target flavor in all conditions, acquisition after pre-exposure and reacquisition after extinction…

Whether media affect learning has been debated for decades. The discussion of media's effectiveness has raised questions about the usefulness of comparison studies, not only in assessing applications of technology but in other areas as well. Arguments that media do not affect learning are re-examined and issues concerning media effects on expert…

Research was conducted to compare evidence of implicit processing in children and adults. Implicit processing was defined as inductive cognitive activities which enable people to abstract complex knowledge from the environment. The knowledge acquired is tacit; it guides subjects' behavior in various situations without the subjects necessarily…

Whereas Maria Montessori believes that humans are born with a divine animating spirit, John Dewey believes that no such spirit exists, and that it is society which shapes the child. Their definitions of education reflect this difference. For Montessori, education is a natural process that develops spontaneously in the human being, and formal…

A study compared cognitive style (field dependence/independence) and learning style (reflection/impulsion) with reading achievement. Twenty-six sixth grade students were administered the group Embedded Figures Test to determine field dependence/independence and the Matching Familiar Figures Test to determine reflective and implusive students.…

THIS PROJECT EXPLORED (1) INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AMONG LEARNERS WHICH MAY BE DIFFERENTIALLY RELATED TO FILM LEARNING VERSUS CONVENTIONAL OR "LIVE" LEARNING, AND (2) INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AMONG INSTRUCTIONAL FILMS WHICH MAY BE RELATED TO THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OR TO IMPORTANT LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS. TWO SEPARATE STUDIES WERE…

Two experiments were conducted to examine the possibility that numbering might have an effect on learning of lists composed of more meaningful and highly available materials, words, and to further explore the possibility that different strategies may be employed in learning the two types of lists. In Experiment 1, 40 female students from…

Poses the theory that teaching is telling a story about the acquisition of knowledge. Explores the approaches of four composition textbooks using the pattern of heroic adventure (separation, initiation, and return) as a basis for comparison. Concludes that the implied educational values in texts should be considered conscientiously by teachers.…

Three studies investigated 3-year-olds' comprehension of indirectly and directly learned words after a 2-day delay. Found indirectly and directly learned proper and common names resulted in proper name mappings that picked out individual and common name mappings that could be extended to another category member. When additional, sometimes…