A historical perspective is provided of instructional theories, and some comments are presented on five papers from a session of the 1998 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). There is a large array of contemporary instructional design theories and models, and the number of theories is increasing. Some ways of…

Describes research which indicates that a number of peptide hormones act directly on the brain to affect learning and behavior. Investigations are currently being conducted to determine if these substances can be used to treat learning disorders or to improve the memories of normal people. (MLH)

In a speech to the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (England), the author presented reasons for presenting mathematics in a more humanistic way. Citing Gattegno, he argued for teaching with the objective of promoting awareness of mathematics, and discussed examples of the advocated approach. (SD)

Results show that children with flexible styles obtained higher performances on school learning measures than children who used consistent styles. Study results suggest feasibility of identifying children who tend to use a consistent conceptual style for the purposes of prescribing instructional methods and materials. (Author/PC)

The usefulness of"memory" is being questioned as a concept for explaining the facts of remembering. The brain is an extensive and elaborate switching system for organizing sensory inputs from environmental situations and for generating appropriate and properly timed responses to them. The learning of knowledge consists of learning a…

An overview of literature on research dealing with adult learning and the physical environment discusses three elements of the research: (1) the reductionistic approaches; (2) the notable exceptions; and (3) the functional environment. Conclusions are made regarding the future direction of research involving adult learning and the physical…

Described is a method of instruction in organic chemistry designed to promote the concept of learning for mastery. (PEB)

Functional measures of reading, spelling, and writing were administered weekly over a 5 week period to 71 fifth grade students. Although 34 of these students had been identified as learning disabled (LD) by their schools and 37 were low achievers who had not been identified as LD, no meaningful differences had been found between their performances…

The study assessed responses of elementary grade learning disabled children to ambiguous information from a speaker. It was hypothesized that Ss would be passive listeners, and that they would function less effectively in a situation in which speaker inadequacy necessitated active listener responses. Results supported the hypothesis that learning…

THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES INFLUENCE THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION IS DISCUSSED. THE ROLE OF PARTIAL AND FULL SENSORY ISOLATION AND DEPRIVATION AND ITS NEGATIVE EFFECT ON LEARNING IS SHOWN TO BE SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH. THE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IS ENGAGED IN RESEARCH DEALING WITH THE…