The purpose of this article is to identify some necessary conditions of learning. To learn something, the learner must discern what is to be learned (the object of learning). Discerning the object of learning amounts to discerning its critical aspects. To discern an aspect, the learner must experience potential alternatives, that is, variation in…

It is frequently claimed that learning "how to learn" is more important than what is learned. On the other hand, many are more concerned with the mastery of content. The tendency to regard knowledge and skills as two different things is examined and it is argued that they are related phenomena, not separate entities. (Author/JMD)

Differences in levels of subject matter learning at the university level were explored to determine how a learning task is approached between those who are successful and those who are less successful. Students read a selected social science text, (Paul Samuelson's "Economics", for example), related the material learned, answered content…

Studied the conceptions of formal learning held by 22 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from 3 Australian universities, a group with a high attrition rate in tertiary education. Results show that these students view and approach university learning in much the same way as other students, but the strategies these students used did not…

This report describes a study that investigated the relationship between the learning process and teaching at the university level. Specifically, the study sought to answer three questions: (1) What is a fruitful way of observing and describing knowledge? (2) How can study skill be observed and described? and (3) How can study skill be influenced?…

Discusses ways good teachers can help students learn by experiencing variation, and suggests that for learning to occur, there must be a pattern of variation present to experience, and then, this pattern must be experienced. (SLD)

A progress report on a research project directed toward facilitating deeper understanding of economic concepts at the university level is presented. The purposes of the project are to explore phenomena conceptualization and to investigate why some students are more successful at a learning task than other students. In the analysis of a…

Structural reading difficulty of argumentative prose (text with an underlying message or superordinate principle), is related to the reader's approach to reading and learning. Ninety Swedish teenagers and adults with varying levels of formal education, were divided into three groups, based on their own descriptions of reading and learning: deep…

An interview study was carried out with 43 Hong Kong high school students to explore the dimensionality of learning and to study the relationship between memorization and understanding as experienced by Chinese learners. Describes different ways of experiencing learning among these students in a two-dimensional outcome space. (SLD)

Differences in approaches to research into student learning are analyzed in terms of differences in the conception of six aspects of the research process. It is argued that underlying various strategies there is a variation in perspective, description, conceptualization, relations of categories, comprehension, and application of findings.…

Student comprehension of basic concepts in microeconomics was studied in Sweden in order to examine qualitative aspects of the outcome of learning. Suggestions for a reorientation of instruction that will promote deeper understanding of the subject matter are offered. (LBH)