The effect of a relevant analogy and of subject visualization on the amount of cognitive capacity needed to process unfamiliar information about science was investigated. The dependent measure was reaction time on a secondary task while listening to six tape recorded passages about chemistry and physics in a 2 x 2 x 6 mixed design. The analogy…

Suggestions are offered for applying learning techniques for a variety of learning situations. The approaches are applicable to learning medical school content as well as other advanced educational content. Ways to control external distractors are suggested, including a systematic approach to completing large tasks, such as writing a research…

"Dimensional analysis" (or "factor-label") is the method most frequently used to teach reaction stoichiometry. However, because it is a strictly arithmetical approach, a pictorial framework that facilitates conceptualization of a reaction as a coherent process is advocated and described. (JN)

Many students in public speaking classes have trouble finding topics and material that will support their ideas effectively. Too often students have a conceptual emphasis, substituting lengthy explanations about their ideas, in place of images, metaphors, and specific details of carefully observed events that make ideas vivid and meaningful. A…

Describes the technique of death visualization, used in teaching death and dying to university students and hospice workers. Visualization helps increase sensitivity to the states of mind of the terminally ill and their families. Group discussion is suggested as a follow-up to the experience. (JAC)

Interdisciplinary approaches to instruction are generally dominated by linearity, with an emphasis on linear progressive time. A more productive approach is the development of spatial constructs that provide a more directly visual approach to thought and discussion. The study of languages and cultures will be more effective if students are given…

Seven memory strategies that can be taught to college students with learning disabilities or students who have not learned essential study skills are described: the method of loci, pegwords, keywords, rote rehearsal, chaining, clustering, and first letter mnemonics. To help college faculty provide direct instruction in the memory strategies, the…

By carefully watching and listening to his students explain how they solved simple physics problems, one college instructor gained insight into how students visualize problems and developed techniques to help students change perspective more easily. Student metacognitive skills, student confidence, and student-teacher communication have also…

Calculus students have great trouble visualizing solids of revolution and their cross sections. Illustrates the use of props in order to help students understand the solid revolution. (ASK)

Argues that paragraph form congruent with the patterns and habits of thinking develops from the writer's sensitivity to the impact of visual images on the reader's mind. (MM)

Intended for teachers and others interested in exploring and cultivating the processes of mental imagery, this annotated bibliography includes citations from scholarly journals, popular magazines, doctoral dissertations, works on learning disabilities, and how-to books. The following topics are included among the entries listed in the paper: (1)…

Explores the use of film in the instruction of remedial writing. Suggests creating exemplification essays approaching but not producing a filmic screenplay by incorporating narrative and technical cinematic techniques (shooting script terms) and conventions of visualization to produce both a piece of "exposition" and an act of…

Discusses the development of visual thinking in students. Also presents a strategy that incorporates visualization exercises within the framework of traditional mathematics. The technique appears successful for students studying geometry, fractions, and problem solving. Visualization abilities increase understanding and therefore give students…

This article describes a process for increasing the quality of students' thinking through alternating from a quiet intuitive state to rational logical processing. The article provides specific teaching suggestions using guided imagery for students in grades K-2, grades 3-4, and grades 5 through college. (DB)

A teaching method for introductory computer science based on visualization and using extensive amounts of software is explained. Visualization is used to integrate other student activities, including reading algorithm and data structure descriptions, studying code for model programs and toolkits, designing software components, and building or…