Four learning-style instruments, differing in form, length, language, and conceptualization of learning style, were administered to 471 high school and community college students. All four instruments measured behaviors outlined by one conceptualization in the literature to comprise learning style, but none of the instruments measured all types of…

Presented lecture materials containing either teacher self-disclosure or no self-disclosure to college students, then administered a free recall test. Results showed that self-disclosure raised the recall of males but not females, but female subjects rated the instructor more highly. Proposes that teacher self-disclosure encourages self-reference.…

Three approaches to the study of learning styles are considered. The first approach assumes that a learning style can be identified by the learner himself. A second approach is based upon teacher observation of learners. A third approach goes beyond recognition of style to analyzing a learning task and identifying the appropriate cognitive style.…

Argues that research for teacher use would be more effective if it were: (1) of the form referred to as naturalistic case studies and (2) oriented toward discovering cognitive and social interaction mechanisms underlying the learning processes in classrooms. (Author/SK)

Describes a simulation game about the third world which can be valuable to slow learners because it enables them to acquire abstract concepts using a concrete method (induction). For journal availability, see SO 507 289. (Author/CK)

A learning cycle involves the active participation of students in exploration, invention, and application phases. Describes one such learning cycle dealing with classification of matter and designed to provide students with an understanding of the terms: atom, molecule, element, compound, solution, and heterogeneous matter. (Author/JN)

Research addressing the use of small, semi-independent, task-centered student groups ("syndicates") as a classroom technique in higher education is reviewed. Focus is on the promotion of higher-order cognitive skills through the use of such groups. Related concerns include student achievement, group relations, and teacher style. (Author/JMD)

Instrumental Enrichment was compared with direct help in school subjects under field conditions in Israel. Effects favoring Instrumental Enrichment on intellective and nonintellective criteria and residential settings on some intellective measures were obtained. Results indicated that mediating basic deficiencies in problem solving produces better…

Results of a microlevel study of the problems associated with student evaluation of teacher lecture performance indicated that student ratings of lectures are valuable feedback regarding teacher presentation but should be interpreted with caution as a measure of teaching effect on student learning. (SB)

Proactive interference (PI) build-up and release from PI were used to study automatic conceptual encoding of superordinate and subordinate category lists in low-socioeconomic status (SES) Black children and middle-SES White children (grades 2 and 4). (Results for each population on the three category lists are described). (GDC)

The author defends the progressive teaching methods of the British Primary school against recent calls for "literacy" and "evaluation." He asserts that language and writing develop best from personal exploration and student-teacher trust, not from rote learning and surveillance. (SJL)

Research on levels of questioning and their effects on learning is reviewed. It is shown that higher level questions facilitate reproductive and productive knowledge, but the reasons why are not clearly understood. An information processing model which accounts for question level effects is discussed. (MH)

The effects of three types of advance organizer lessons (containing high-order social studies concepts, high-order rules for hierarchical classification, or both) on learning social studies concepts and hierarchical classification, as defined by Piaget, were evaluated for 237 rural children in kindergarten, third, and fifth grades. (Author/MH)

Discusses how laboratory activities can match science teaching goals. Analysis of two commonly used laboratory investigations in high school physics and biology are presented using a list of 24 skills and behaviors which are related to the processes of scientific inquiry and problem solving. (HM)