Second-grade children were given general training in monitoring the utility of strategies, the affective consequences of strategy use, or no strategy-monitoring training. They then performed an associative learning task, first without strategy instructions and then with instructions to use either an effective or ineffective strategy. All training…

Two experiments were conducted with 80 college students to examine factors associated with the crossmodal facilitation of learning Braille symbols when the visual modality is utilized. In Experiment 1 subjects using the haptic mode were informed of both the structure of the braille cell and the range of dot numerosity of the symbols to be…

The paper reports on a study of Braille learning in which subjects (N=96) were provided with information about the structure of the Braille alphabet and expressly instructed to use that information during learning. A previous experiment had found that merely providing subjects with information about Braille alphabet structure had no effect on…

In order to test the hypothesis that bizarre imagery can be an effective mnemonic aid with delayed testing, a context of mixed materials, and an adequate stimulus presentation pace, a study examined 40 undergraduates who were randomly presented with three paired-associate lists (normal, bizarre, and mixed). Within each list the sentences consisted…

Points out that many students are unsuccessful learners either because they do not know how to learn or because they do not practice the skills they have been taught. Provides examples of composition assignments which teach students logical strategies. (ARH)

Advances a view of instruction based on the nature of cognitive activity, school learning, and instruction and suggests relationships between the CEDARS, cognitive mediational, and task models of instruction. Discusses more than a dozen implications of the cognitive mediational and task models for ways teachers can promote students' cognitive…

This digest examines the role metacognition can play in the teaching and learning of a second language. Understanding and controlling cognitive processes may be one of the most essential skills that classroom teachers can help second language learners develop. Rather than focus students' attention solely on learning the language, second language…

In laboratory training, the systematic use of feedback as a learning mechanism, along with strategies to involve the participants, constitute major departures from more classic teaching-learning techniques. (EB)

Discusses the dichotomy between rational and nonrational learning processes, arguing for an integration of both. Reviews information processing theory and related learning strategies. Presents a model instructional strategy that fully integrates rational and nonrational processes. Describes implications for teaching and learning of the learning…

From case studies of organizational learning in research and development companies, learning tools or mechanisms were identified: job rotation, innovation process planning, and product innovation project review. Organizational learning involved parallel rather than linear processes of information acquisition, distribution, and interpretation and…

Reviews recent complex and somewhat confusing evidence on writing-to-learn. Draws on the field of cognitive psychology to offer a way to reconceptualize how researchers might approach the study of the impact of writing on learning. Considers five methods for assessing structural changes in knowledge due to writing. (MG)

The article examines whether the material-appropriate processing approach can anticipate and explain the mnemonic effects of elaborative encoding tasks and study adjuncts for less able learners. Evidence suggests that less able learners are not capable of spontaneously exploiting the affordances of the to-be-learned material without appropriate…

Discussion of memory for text information focuses on an earlier study which appeared to show that it is better for students to study a summary of a textbook chapter than to study the chapter itself. Topics discussed include recognition memory, recall, how to test memory, and psychological research. (10 references) (LRW)

Examines implications of incorporating a metacognitive focus in the curriculum. Recommends an integrative and contextualized approach to teaching children to understand and apply metacognitive strategies. (RAE)

Argues that teachers can help students improve their learning by understanding the reasons why students have not been successful, by identifying strategies that promote active participation in the learning process, and by teaching students how to become more responsible for their own learning. (RAE)