During the last two decades learning communities, which are felt to have benefits that extend beyond students to faculty and the institution, have expanded to include many different models. This digest reviews five major higher education learning community models currently in existence: (1) Linked courses, which link cohorts of students taking two…

This digest summarizes principles of performance assessment, which connects classroom assessment to learning. Specific ways that assessment can enhance instruction are outlined, as are criteria that assessments should meet in order to inform instructional decisions. Performance assessment is compared to behavioral assessment, mastery learning, and…

This Digest provides educators with an overview of some important facets of cognitive science research and suggests implications for classroom assessment. Education researchers study the thinking of experts in various subject areas to understand the concepts and procedures that are the most important to teach and to help determine how to move…

Critical thinking is a major goal of social studies education. Teachers need to know what critical thinking is before they can successfully incorporate the skill into their teaching strategies. Understanding why critical thinking is a major goal of education in a free society helps teachers prepare students to be informed and rational participants…

The principal focus of this brief report is on findings and observations from relatively recent research on the learning of mathematics. The distinction between learning and the concepts of curriculum and instruction is first reviewed. Then Piaget's theory of intellectual development is discussed, with the conclusion that it does not provide a…

This digest focuses on the major changes that college and university faculty have designed in their undergraduate professional education programs in three areas: accounting, nursing, and teacher education. Reforms in each of these programs are reviewed. The changes seen in these three professional education programs offer lessons for faculty in…

Intelligence has been defined and studied under a number of different rubrics. Three individuals serve as a representative sample of the educational and psychological researchers associated with cognitive psychology who have made significant contributions to current understandings of intelligence. Robert Sternberg's theory contains subcategories…

Questioning is one of the most popular modes of teaching, but it has the capacity to turn a child off to learning if done incorrectly. This digest provides teachers with information on the types of questions and questioning behaviors that can facilitate the learning process and on the types of questions that are ineffective. Good questions foster…

This digest reviews research on the link between children's nutrition and their ability to learn from the prenatal through school years. It also discusses the importance of nutrition education for children. The need for adequate nutrition during pregnancy and the preschool years is highlighted by research that indicates that low birthweight…

This digest provides information about "Research Within Reach: Science Education. A Research-Guided Response to the Concerns of Educators," part of a series produced by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia. (Previous volumes in the series focused on reading, elementary mathematics, oral and written…

Noting that all Americans are stakeholders in the quest to prevent violence in the critical early years, this Digest focuses on preventing violence in children's lives and suggests ways caregivers, parents, and teachers can reduce the damaging effects of violence. Even before a child is born, violence can have a profound effect upon its life.…