There is evidence that spontaneous learning leads to relational understanding and high positive affect. To study spontaneous abstracting, a model was constructed by combining the RBC model of abstraction with Krutetskii's mental activities. Using video-stimulated interviews, the model was then used to analyze the behavior of two Year 8 students…

Describes a study that was conducted in Wales to investigate the attitudes and responses of 16- to 19-year-old students in a flexible learning program. Problems of open learning processes with this age group are discussed, and study skills, tutorial support, and performance monitoring are examined. (six references) (LRW)

Theory pertaining to human development suggests that, as students advance through the secondary-school grades, the learning structures should become less restrictive. This research examines the extent to which "structure" within the secondary school environments changes in accordance with growth in students from year 8 to year 12. (Editor/RK)

Reports on a study of four Australian 11th-grade biology students that used stimulated recall to evaluate student thinking processes.The study confirmed the complexity of the teaching-learning process. (MD)

This study evaluated a cognitive-process approach used to train three secondary-aged students with moderate mental retardation on a social skill involving response to criticism. The cognitive-process approach teaches a generative process of social behavior rather than specific component behaviors; relies on receptive and expressive language…

As early as 1964, cognitive preference was introduced as a way of describing an individual's preference for applying, relating or questioning information. To determine the role of cognitive preference in the pattern of variables predicting teachers' ratings of students' performance, 44 high school students completed a 61-item cognitive preference…

Gives practical examples of multiple intelligences in the English classroom. Discusses Howard Gardner's "radicalism,""teaching" intelligence, teaching literature and multiple intelligences, and how a student developed strength in his own intelligences through poetry. (RS)

Focuses on the effect of using a second language in the classroom and the series of mental situations created in the listener in this environment. The second entry in this section discusses what is required in a student who listens to the news in a foreign language on a daily basis as presented by Radio Canada. (CK)

Describes a study of high school students that investigated students' responses to an anomaly generated by the juxtaposition of opposing explanatory frameworks and examined the nature and impact of cognitive conflict as students moved from prescientific to scientific explanatory frameworks concerning the concept of force. (19 references)…

Discusses a study designed to evaluate the relationship between curriculum innovation and the classroom instructional methods of teachers and their students. Concludes that although significant changes in classroom practices accompany the introduction of a new curriculum package, the changes were antithetical to the intentions of the package…

Recommends using informal writing exercises to increase students' involvement in large survey history courses. Explains several activities in which undergraduates collect their thoughts on particular lecture topics. Also suggests that students keep journals to accompany reading assignments. Argues that journal writing enlivens the material and…