An important goal of science education is for students to understand the nature of science. Science education has raised the question of what science is, how scientific knowledge is developed and how people participate in this process under the conceptual umbrella of 'nature of science' (NOS). This study aims to look at the effectiveness of the…

The purpose of this paper is to open lines of thinking about discovery learning not tried before. This effort is a strident attempt to establish new insights and outlooks that will improve the language, theory, and practices connected with this teaching method. (Author/MK)

Discusses insightful learning, trace system,'' and laws of perception and Pragnanz in connection with problem solving and critical thinking in science teaching. Suggests 19 guidelines for sequencing curriculum and identifying activities for use in science classes. (CC)

Discusses a way to teach coherent thought in subjects like history. (Author)

Some major learning theory principles are reviewed and suggestions are made for integrating them into the process of education at the college or graduate school level. The theories deal with reinforcement, behavior modification, reactive inhibition, cognitive maps, incidental learning, retroactive inhibition, proactive inhibition, and spontaneous…

An investigation of the function of the term "inquiry" in the field of social studies is made in this conference paper. Inquiry as an activity of student investigation is examined. The distinction is made between student-centered and scholarly-based inquiry in social studies classes. Two perspectives are discussed--inquiry as a process and inquiry…

This paper discusses the benefits of teaching literature through levels of understanding so that teachers can more quickly and efficiently determine the operational levels of individual students. The seven levels of understanding and some of the generic questions by which they can be determined are: (1) perceptual level: "What happened, when,…

This paper examines some basic principles of learning theory that have been developed within the discipline of psychology. A brief resume of the psychologist's efforts to analyze the phenomenon of learning within a scientific setting is presented as well as attempts to apply this research to a practical situation (e.g. the classroom). More…

This paper was prepared for a social studies curriculum conference in Alberta in June, 1967. It provides a point of view on curriculum building which could be useful in establishing a national service in this field. The basic assumption is that the social studies should in some measure change the behavior of the students (a sharp departure from…

The writings of 33 authors in either curriculum theory or social studies are analyzed to determine whether each author supports structure-discovery views, reflective-inquiry views, or expresses views that tend to reflect both positions or neither position regarding the new approaches to teaching social studies. The structure-discovery method is…

Describes a self-managed learning approach designed to help engineering students take charge of their own learning. Discusses marker events, exploratory learning versus linear instruction, knowledge through self-discovery, information retrieval, production through writing and speaking, and promoting a mature response. (TW)

Teachers and teacher educators seem to be little aware of some major concepts about instruction that provide important insights into the central requirements for learning. A common misconception is that motivation has to do with wanting or desiring. It is instead attention to stimuli that is influenced by two powerful agents--(1) suspense,…

A study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to help teachers instruct students in finding the relationship between questions designed to test their comprehension of a text and the location of possible information for answering those questions. Specifically, the study examined whether training would enhance student…