In recent years, researchers have questioned the legitimacy of the so-called myth of learning styles and expressed confusion about exactly when and why the idea first emerged. This historical study traces the origin and emergence of the learning style idea. The author argues that the learning style idea originated in the 1960s as part of a broader…

The authors describe an emerging paradigm of educational research that pairs theories of embodied learning with a class of immersive technologies referred to as "mixed reality" (MR). MR environments merge the digital with the physical, where, for example, students can use their bodies to simulate an orbit around a virtual planet. Recent…

Research on language-minority student outcomes has revealed sizeable and persistent achievement gaps. The reasons for these gaps are often closely linked with other factors related to underperformance, including generational status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Using sociocultural second-language acquisition theories and community…

Replies to "Structures, Doctrines, and Polemical Ghosts," by Carl Bereiter. Holds that Bereiter's proposal, which claims that Piagetian stages are a prerequisite to more specific cognitive processes, violates a basic assumption of stage-developmental views. (Author/GC)

It has been well established that all learning is developmental, and involves reorganization and continual reconstruction of complex structures that begin to develop at an early age. This theory can best be applied to instructional practice if cognitive development is conceptualized as a hierarchical process rather than as a continuum. (Author/GC)

The state of education cannot be improved without a model of the learner, yet the model is not fixed but varies. A choice of one reflects many political, practical, and cultural issues, but the best choice may be an awareness of the possible variety. (KH)

Connectionist models view knowledge as a network of interconnected elements. Explains connectionism and proposes it as an alternative to the classical view of rule-based cognition. Educational and theoretical implications are discussed. (CJS)

Argues that a weak form of schema theory (a schema being an abstract set of expectations) gives the best account of the knowledge most people have about ordinary matters. Emphasizes that a person's culture is a principal determiner of what is already known and what can come to be known. (KH)

Outlines a componential theory of intelligence and describes how this theory might complement different factorial theories of intelligence. Discusses the respective uses of components and factors in educational theory and practice. (Author/GC)

Expresses concerns about the way Hiebert et al. (1996) characterized Dewey's approach to thinking and problem solving. It argues that Hiebert et al.'s interpretation of Dewey downplays the crucial role of ideas in the problem-solving process while simultaneously elevating "action, over doing" as the key element in promoting greater…

Clarifies the author's position on constructivism and whether nature determines what is produced as knowledge in human development. The author states his form of constructivism as a theory of rational knowing, not a metaphysics of being, for whatever things we know, we know only insofar as having constructed them as viable entities in our…

Argues against Glasersfeld's (1996) position that individual experience, not metaphysics, dictates that knowing is itself a metaphysical position. It further disputes Glasersfeld's assertion that people are necessarily constructed differently in our minds than objects, but agrees with Glasersfeld that proceeding with the business of education does…

Proposes to show how certain developments in psychology have influenced present educational methods, and how recent work in learning theory strongly suggests new directions for educational research and practice. (DM)

Discusses Paul Cobb's distinction in learning research between psychological constructivism, the emergent perspective, and sociocultural theory, and examines his argument that it is reasonable to talk about knowing from each of these viewpoints. The author offers a refinement of Cobb's pragmatic approach in accounting for learning. (GR)

Studies beliefs that psychometricians have about learning through interviews with 50 school district testing directors. Disputes about legitimate test preparation and teaching to the test are explained by differing beliefs about learning and implicit learning theories. Discusses implications for testing practices. (SLD)