Discusses academic library instruction and describes a study using the IDNA (Instructional Development Needs Assessment) survey where librarians at Penn State rated teaching tasks based on their assessment of task difficulty, importance in the learning process, and frequency of performance. Produced a prioritized list of instructional development…

Reports research that investigates the encoding that students use to develop molecular models at the undergraduate level. Focuses on the translation between symbolic and subatomic representations of molecules. (Contains 31 references.) (DDR)

Contrasts the hypothesis that phonological memory, but not phonological sensitivity, accounts for significant variation in young children's receptive vocabulary. Presents the view that both phonological memory and sensitivity are manifestations of a latent phonological processing ability. Suggests that with age and performance IQ effects…

Examines the alimentary metaphor (learning as ingestion) as applied to medical education, and suggests a different educational philosophy. Despite the "full plate" served to medical students, they are starving; fundamental curriculum reform should help physicians become healthy eaters, who feed themselves in appropriate amounts, maintain a healthy…

Content analysis of 34 student teachers' reflections on practice found that most were descriptive, making it difficult to discern their learning processes. Field-based teacher education should promote more structured ways of thinking and reflecting. (SK)

Examines the paradigm shift in higher education from teaching, or instruction, to learning, and considers the implications for academic libraries. Topics include information literacy goals; developing librarians' teaching skills to account for different student learning styles; and faculty collaboration with librarians. (LRW)

Assessed the degree of orthographic learning in homophonic choice, spelling, and target naming tasks with second graders. Found that processing of target homophones was superior to that of their homophonic controls and found a substantial correlation between orthographic learning and number of target homophones correctly decoded during story…

Emphasizes the importance of formative assessment in the teaching and learning process and the role technology can play in advancing assessment practices. Describes work undertaken by attendees of the Center for Innovative Learning Technologies (CILT) workshop highlighting key issues that were discussed and areas for further development including…

Illustrates the use of representation of equality, perimeter and area, measurement, and data in the mathematics classroom. (KHR)

Describes a school's successful experiences with testing and evaluating the collaborative effort of a parental involvement program. (Author/KHR)

Presents part of a project that introduces a sufficient, simple, and relevant teaching approach to quantum mechanics into in-/pre-service teacher education and provides teachers with the indispensable scientific knowledge and epistemological base needed for reform in science education. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/YDS)

The child's psychosocial and physiological development are discussed in terms of a limiting environment and program expectations. Some factors to consider are (1) heredity and heritage; (2) experience; (3) maturation; (4) social transmission; and (5) equilibration. Sensitive educators must prepare the environment for the child, not for the…

Effects of author-generated and learner-generated elaborations on subjects' abilities to recall, classify, and apply conceptual knowledge were compared for 94 college undergraduates studying a passage on psychological concepts. Author-generated elaborations and specific elaboration activities produced superior effects in comparison with…

Research on the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles Model has been conducted at more than 60 institutions of higher education and at every academic and grade level. Explanations of the 21 elements, the model, some research findings, and beginning steps for practitioners are provided to encourage initial experimentation with some of its variables.…

Discusses the importance of student questions as tools of instruction and as indicators of student misconceptions. Suggests different ways in which students may gain an understanding of biological concepts through discussion of popular movies and biological problems. (CW)