Recent findings have shown that bizarre imagery can be an effective mnemonic aid when lengthy retention intervals are employed, and when the surrounding context contains more normal elements. Testing the hypothesis that an interaction exists between context and time of testing with bizarre images, a study paired 40 male and female undergraduates,…

An experimental study utilizing 96 black grade school children substantiates the hypothesis that learning efficiency improves as the learner elaborates on the raw material presented to him. Suggestions are offered for the implementation of new learning strategies based on this mental elaboration approach which may be especially valuable for…

Presents suggestions for helping students broaden their learning skills: tell students you plan to help them learn to learn, hold class discussions where students share learning strategies, give students practice using unfamiliar learning strategies, pick a complex learning exercise and present it in steps, and vary your approach over the course…

Presents placement test results showing a lack of understanding of basic math concepts among entering college students. Explains the application of the learning cycle model in teaching abstract mathematical concepts and offers examples of the model's use. (DMM)

"Learning That Lasts" is defined as an integration of learning, development, and performance. This four-part book attempts to clarify how this kind of learning is understood by the learner, how it contributes to the development of the person, and how it is realized through effective performance in work, personal, and civic life. The chapters are:…

Three paired-associate learning studies were designed to test the hypothesis that individual differences in learning speed are determined by the types of elaborative strategies used by learners during acquisition. Slow learners generate fewer elaborators and produce less effective elaborators, even when using the same strategy as fast learners.…

Reviews research on external memory strategies, provides a rationale for using neural network models, and discusses their application to intellectual and developmental differences in the external memory strategies of typical and atypical children, including those with mental retardation. Examines mechanisms of intellectual differences and…

Offers a solicited response to a question about learning styles, and discusses how this information should affect planning and implementing instruction. Finds that the instructional implications of the body of research on learning styles and learning modalities are limited. (MG)

Sixty-one undergraduate students used a taxonomic instructional aid, a mnemonic aid, or their own methods to master the content of a passage describing a plant classification system and the distinguishing characteristics of the plant groups within that system. The demonstrated advantages of mnemonic strategies are discussed. (SLD)

Proposes a theoretical psychological model for strategy instruction. Describes the complexity of the profile of a competent strategy user. Comments on important strategy instruction. (DE)

Discusses the importance of screen design in computer-based instruction (CBI), and presents a framework for screen design decisions based on the ROPES (Retrieving, Orienting, Presenting, Encoding, and Sequencing) meta-model for instructional design. Psychological, instructional, and technological foundations of screen design are discussed, and…

Examines the generalizability of selective-attention and academic-studying hypotheses to a modified science chart medium. Describes the questions designed to selectively focus students' attention on specific columns in a modified science chart, with the goal of improving student achievement on a test measuring learning of content contained in…

Reviews articles in this issue that deal with theories of constructivism from the point of view of an instructional designer. Highlights include technology and constructivism; generative learning environments; learning processes; assessment; learning strategies; knowledge domains; learner control; and suggestions for both constructivists and…

People learn to learn as they develop their concept of knowledge. The heart of the learning process is self-awareness, self-monitoring, and active reflection. Teaching and learning should be an interactive process, which should involve both learning and learning how to learn. (SK)

Gives an impression of the way Freudenthal worked on mathematics education during the period after World War II, until the early seventies. Shows how Freudenthal approached research, both in education and in mathematics education. Examines two core themes in detail--learning mathematics and developing mathematics education. (Contains 52…