Presented is a study to investigate the usefulness of autobiographies of scholars, artists and scientists as instructional resources for general education objectives. A theoretical discussion in which a rationale for the usefulness of autobiographical materials in general education was developed. This led to the formulation of a Schema of General…

Results obtained from the research were inconsistent, indicating no support for the thesis that objectives aid learning. Research recommendations are submitted, with conclusions drawn reflecting the positive attitudes toward presenting objectives. (JB)

Presents a chronological history of selected objectives for teaching biology in the high school of the United States during the period of 1918-1972. Analyses show (1) knowledge; (2) process; and (3) attitude and interest as the most important categories of objectives for secondary school biology teaching. (HM)

New knowledge is made meaningful by relating it to prior knowledge. Although meaningfulness usually relates new knowledge to prior superordinate knowledge, arbitrarily meaningful knowledge, coordinate, subordinate, and analogic ideas, experiential knowledge, and cognitive strategy also facilitate learning. Optimization of prior knowledge is done…

This paper discusses a study to determine the influence of study procedures on success at map-learning tasks. The hypothesis was that subjects who used certain (effective) learning procedures would perform better than subjects who stressed other (less effective) techniques. The effective procedures set comprised techniques for learning spatial…

The objectives of this report are stated in three broad questions that the research committee was asked to examine. (1) What are the principal lines of research being pursued at the present time that are significantly strengthening the scientific foundations of education, and what are some of their possible contributions to American education? Are…

The relative effectiveness of including behavioral objectives, classified according to the major levels of cognition, in independent study materials for high school juniors is analyzed in this brief summary of the author's dissertation. The three major questions under consideration are whether: (1) the use of behavioral objectives has an effect…

This paper investigates how people acquire knowledge from maps. Emphasis is placed on heuristics--defined as the procedures that people use to select, combine, and encode map information in memory. The objective is to develop a theory of expertise in map learning by analyzing differences between fast and slow learners in terms of differences in…

Growing interest in teaching philosophy in elementary and secondary school prompted a 1975 national survey to determine the present status of philosophy as a component in the curriculum. Possible contributions of philosophy to students' personal growth and critical thinking skills are explored. The first section of the paper presents the following…