Contextual studies of learning experiences as recalled by working, adult learners entering post-graduate studies in higher education are not widely reported in higher education research. The purpose of this study was to explore the recalled learning experiences of adult students with work experience, but no prior completed academic qualifications,…

Using schema theory as a contextual framework, three studies were conducted to examine the effects of two triggering mechanisms on transfer of learning across two noncontiguous passages: similar terminology for shared concepts and a brief review of the first passage read immediately before the second passage. The first two studies served to pilot…

J. D. Bransford's tetrahedral model of learning considers four variables: (1) learning activities, (2) characteristics of the learner, (3) criterial tasks, and (4) the nature of the materials. Bransford's model provides a research-based theoretical framework that can be used to teach, model, and have students apply a variety of study strategies to…

This paper reviews several studies on aptitude treatment interaction, the interaction between the learners' individual differences and methods of instruction. Specifically, it investigates the relationship between previous knowledge, including previously held misconceptions, and instructional methods. It is suggested that significant interactions…

The dimensions of the broad social-cognitive and metacognitive matrix within which pure cognitions reside are examined. Tangible cognitive actions are the cross products of beliefs held about a task, the social environment within which the task takes place, and the problem solvers' perceptions of self and their relation to the task and…

This book explores 15 practical literacy strategies that can be used across grade levels (K-College) and content areas. The easy-to-use book offers an overview of the research and best practices associated with each literacy strategy--and it defines each strategy. It explores proven instructional methods such as metacognition, literacy circles,…

Examines how different internal learner characteristics (prior knowledge, self efficacy, and interest) and different external constraints (learner control, instructional design, and level of control) influence the learning process. Discusses learning from multimedia environments (video, hypertext, kiosk, and other hypermedia) within a schema…

Challenges the widely endorsed practice of activating relevant knowledge prior to reading. Outlines a perspectival (perspective-relative) view of reading and suggests that this view provides a means to make coherent sense of interpretations. Concludes that having specific knowledge is not the main desideratum in interpreting texts--the main…

Investigated seven-year-old children's understanding of certain geographical terms. Found that children this age have considerable difficulty with some concepts and that even vernacular terms are often misunderstood. Results support the idea of children's alternative conceptions and suggest that, for teaching to be more effective, children's prior…

Describes a study of undergraduates at Ohio State University that examined the relationship between drawing performance and cognitive abilities related to visual perception and analysis, drawing strategies, type of stimulus, previous experience with visual studies, and gender. Related studies are reviewed, and implications for instructional design…

New neuroscientific knowledge is redefining possibilities for K-12 education. There are five critical variables in the brain's learning process: neural history, context, acquisition, elaboration, and encoding. This article tracks one student's unique brain activity throughout her school day to illustrate these variables. (MLH)

Knowledge-based competition has magnified the importance of learning alliances as a fast and effective mechanism of capability development. This case presents a technology transfer project from a university's engineering research center to a private firm to illuminate learning and knowledge-based determinants of the outcomes of such projects. In…

A study investigated the effects of direct instruction in the process of revision on students' knowledge of the revision process, their ability to make revisions on paper, and the quality of their writing. Subjects, 30 sixth grade students, were divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received instruction in the…

The principles of the cognitive theory of learning are analyzed and applied to the process of second language learning. They are then evaluated in terms of the extent to which they contribute to a coherent theory and the extent to which they can be applied to instruction in general and second language instruction in particular. Recent empirical…

Discusses two facets of the disparity between the way children learn and the way they are tested: the necessity of practice and the importance of prior knowledge. (FL)