A study with 516 Australian families which supports a model of parent involvement in learning is presented. The model involves assessment of family opportunity structures as defined by parent aspirations for their children and parents' academic socialization, as well as children's perceptions of family opportunity structures. (SLD)

Conducted 4-month participant/observation and 52 interviews with sixth and seventh graders. Identified six categories that students viewed as being their responsibilities for learning: doing work, obeying rules, paying attention, learning or studying, trying/making effort, and responsibility as something given or taken. (Author/NB)

A survey of 358 students in 4 institutions of higher education indicated perceived differences between male and female student behavior on 6 of the 7 factors identified (verbal participation, learning orientation, support-seeking, self-disclosure, self-assurance, sociability). Gender and age of respondent were related to perceptions of behavior.…

Interactional patterns of 64 institutionalized persons with severe/profound multiple developmental disabilities revealed that they learned meaning through the understanding of situational events with others. Three behavioral patterns are differentiated: interference, participation, and ambiguity. Professional understanding of the social and…

Examined facial expressions in relation to cognition in infants 2 to 8 months of age. A total of 48 subjects received an audiovisual stimulus contingent on arm movement, whereas 32 infants did not control the stimulus. Infants in the contingent group expressed greater interest and joy during learning and greater anger during extinction. (RH)

Examines the historical impact of treating schools as efficiently managed businesses versus the implications of viewing schools as organic communities in the context of recent school reform measures in Chicago (Illinois). Explicit recognition of these two models may assist the development of communities of learning at some schools. (JB)

Measures of learning appropriate to museums are explored, including the following: (1) time on task; (2) knowledge gain; (3) thinking and problem solving; (4) motivation; and (5) creativity or intellectual provocation. Museums promote different kinds of learning, but all are interested in knowledge gain and thinking. (SLD)

Ways in which scientists and science students respond to anomalous data are analyzed. There are seven distinct ways in which they respond, only one of which is to accept the data and change theories. Factors that influence theory change and implications for science instruction are reviewed. (SLD)

Investigates the congruence between student and teacher perceptions of teacher immediacy and classroom learning outcomes. Finds a high level of agreement in reports of immediacy and learning among students in intact classes. Suggests that teachers are able to monitor both the process and product components of the instructional process-product…

This study assessed how specific cognitions and feelings, measured in actual learning, influence learning intention and achievement in mathematics for 80 male and 80 female Dutch eighth graders. Results support a hierarchical model of adaptable learning. Traitlike variables influence task appraisals, which determine willingness to invest effort…

Argues that learning a skill requires the kind of commitment which is undermined by the Press (the Public) and the Internet, citing Soren Kierkegaard's "The Present Age", and states that learning by apprenticeship is impossible in cyberspace. Includes: aesthetic sphere--commitment to the enjoyment of sheer information; ethical…

Discusses the process undertaken by Fresno City College to create a decision-making procedure driven by student success. Faculty, staff, and students worked together to identify a series of indicators of achievement, including course retention, degree/certificate completion, and job placement rate. Also included is an eight-step blueprint for…

Discusses students' perceptions of using writing as a component of their science learning. Results, collected over four years, are organized to include students' perceptions of writing in science, learning, ownership, purpose, and science. These results are then discussed in terms of students' developing metacognition and epistemologies of…

Outlines the evaluation pressures that prevent teachers from focusing on the main goal of education: stimulating students to think. Students are under their own pressures that detract from real learning. Definition of the word "think" (to exercise the mind otherwise than by passive reception of another's thoughts) is used to illustrate examples of…

In four experiments involving 357 undergraduates, students who read expository passages with seductive details (interesting but irrelevant details) recalled fewer main ideas and generated fewer problem-solving transfer solutions than those who read passages without seductive details. Results suggest that seductive details may prime inappropriate…