Research has shown that judgments tend to assimilate to irrelevant "anchors." We extend anchoring effects to show that anchors can even operate across modalities by, apparently, priming a general sense of magnitude that is not moored to any unit or scale. An initial study showed that participants drawing long "anchor" lines made higher numerical…

Instruction of competent psychomotor skill necessitates an eclectic approach. The principles of learning, complemented with learning styles and sensory modalities preferences, provide a background for teaching physical skills. The use of the psychomotor domain of Bloom's Taxonomy as a map and corresponding behavioral objectives foster the mastery…

Discusses the nature of explanations and the nature of models and the relationship between them. Reviews the explanatory value of major models of change in science. Models the characteristics of everyday thinking and the effect of attempts to change that thinking on scientific thinking. (Author/CCM)

More than 10 years ago, when "Mapping Inner Space" was first published, a few teachers were using this creative technique and teaching it to their students. Today mapping is widely used in schools, universities, and the corporate world, as well. This second edition of the book explores a variety of mapping styles and also takes a fresh look at the…

Describes a new paradigm that may be appropriate for uncovering speech perceptual codes. Illusory words are detected by blending two dichotic stimuli. The paradigm's design allows for comparison of different speech units by the manipulation of the distribution of information between two inputs. (23 references) (Author/CK)

Researchers have found that the elderly are as capable of learning motor skills as younger persons but perform better under some conditions than others. For example, the elderly learn and perform motor skills more efficiently when there is additional time to respond to stimulus. Tasks which are self-regulated rather than directed by an external…

States that cognitive mapping is an instructional strategy that encourages active participation, helps young children see relationships, promotes the organization of information, and allows the teacher flexibility. Outlines a five-step process using cognitive mapping in lesson development. (BSR)

Argues that the metaphor of writing as cognitive mapping can serve not as a basis for a new model or theory of writing, but as an attitudinal guide for concerns with writing and instruction. Notes that the term "cognitive mapping" suggests that the mental world can be seen metaphorically as a physical world. (RS)

Explores cognitive mapping as a strategy for understanding school people's ideas about school restructuring, describing a study of mapping restructuring and illustrating it with two teachers' cognitive maps about how the process of restructuring should occur. The paper also discusses the implications of cognitive mapping for school restructuring…

The proposals concerning working memory outlined in this paper involve the architecture of working memory, the reasoning mechanisms that draw on it, and the ways in which working memory may develop with age. Ways of assessing task demands and children's working memory capacities are also considered. It is noted that there is long-standing evidence…

This paper summarizes a research project conducted to investigate the strategies developed by middle school students to solve a route-finding problem using Arc View GIS software. Three different types of route-finding strategies were identified. Some students were visual route-finders and used a highly visual strategy; others were logical route…

Finds the use of mapping strategies drawn from current research enhances students' ability to organize, analyze, evaluate, and reason critically when composing from academic sources. Presents five examples. (NH)

As part of a long-term research study to enhance science learning, this paper reports on an exploratory study aimed at identifying initial beliefs and practices of a group of teachers and students (Years 4-6) in Australia when the students engaged with multiple representations of the same science concepts. There is growing recognition in science…

Exploring material from the ERIC database and other sources, the report (1) annotates introductory articles regarding the assessment, categorization, and implications of learning styles, showing how they relate to communication literature research; (2) describes H. Witkin's extensive cognitive style research; and (3) details L. Curry's review of…

The theoretical landscape in which scholars of comparative education work has become increasingly diverse and fragmented in recent years. This paper contends that cognitive maps can enable scholars to see better this shifting landscape. Mapping also is offered as a rationale by which social and intellectual worlds may be uttered and constructed in…