The authors investigated whether the amount of instructional guidance affects science learning and self-efficacy. Sixty 9- and 10-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of the following three instructional conditions: (a) guided instruction consisting of examples and student-generated explanations, (b) direct instruction consisting of a…

Through the years, motor skills have been taught by having students practice motor responses as the teacher verbally cued and corrected them. This teaching strategy may work in the long run, but it costs teachers an enormous amount of unnecessary time. Verbal cues and mediation training comprise a short cut process that allows for quicker learning…

Confrontation with a mathematical task causes a student to focus initial attention upon particular content and context cues based upon that student's belief system; the student assigns subsequent meaning to that task based upon previous mathematical experience and knowledge. In order to make effective use of students' belief systems, educators…