This study sought to develop the picture-interpretation strategies of fourth-grade children by providing training in the use of such verbal guidelines as "Help yourself to all the given information." The program apparently helped the children produce more inferences, but did not enhance their skills in evaluating inferences. (Author/JEG)

This study examines some relationships pertaining to socioeconomic status and cognitive ability patterns in fourth graders. Specifically, it explores the relative merits of Jensen's hierarchical theory of two levels of cognitive ability, in contrast to a process scheme, positing two parallel modes of coding information. (Editor/SJL)

In studying the effects of different teaching methods on preschoolers' language abilities it was found that the productive training condition produced more generalized responding on other kinds of tasks. (Editor)

Many dyslexic children are unusually capable in subjects that do not depend on language, and they may have leadership qualities that other children admire. Preparatory schools can, at minimal cost, make alterations in coursework requirements to accommodate the different thinking and learning patterns of dyslexic children. (Author/SJL)

In a response to the preceding article, this one overviews an alternative approach to the study of second language acquisition (SLA). The article attempts to clear a pathway into other disciplines whose premises and empirical findings may help SLA researchers to reconfigure theoretical and pedagogical concerns with language and learning. (22…

Discusses research on the role of audience awareness in writing and human cognition, arguing that developmental writers exhibit egocentric tendencies and assume that the readers do not need elaboration or transitions. Describes four subskills of audience awareness: clear execution, adequate content, perspective differentiation, and role taking.…

Examines the constructivist educational philosophy. Highlights include the significance of written materials, the aims of education, the subjective base of constructivism, the need for more understanding of social and cognitive processes, the limitation of consciousness to the present, the need for constructs and constructs of objects,…

Teaching strategies that overcome the brain's natural tendency to limit information can open students' minds to new ideas and creative mental habits. Seven strategies to provoke divergent thinking and deepen understanding are hypothetical thinking, reversal, application of different symbol systems, analogy, viewpoint analysis, completion, and web…

Shows that 17 kindergarten children receiving sign language instruction tested significantly higher on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test than 17 kindergartners receiving no such instruction. The study's findings confirm that simultaneously presenting words visually, kinesthetically, and orally offers an advantage to young learners. (23…

Principles of brain-based learning, including pattern and meaning making, parallel processing, and the role of stress and threat, are explained, along with their connections to longstanding practices of experiential education. The Brain Compatible Approach is one avenue for clarifying to mainstream educators how and why experiential methods are…

Several instructional features facilitate the development of metacognitive and self-directed learning skills, and disposition to lifelong learning: student autonomy, responsibility, and intentionality; intrinsically motivating activities; enculturation; discourse and collaboration among learners; and reflection. Describes and presents examples of…

Explores the use of journals as teaching tools. Finds modifications are necessary to accommodate the differences between the psychology professor's goals and the composition teacher's goals. Recommends using dialectical reasoning entries and lists some practical methods to encourage students to think critically. (NL)

Identifies the distinct paradigms concerned with the teaching of craft and the teaching of design, two elements which are interdependent in an art course. Reports teaching experiments that encourage pupils to seek out visual analogies of shapes and shape-relationships. Advocates the incorporation of guided concepts into pupils' techniques. (KO)

Recommends a revision of the traditional method for teaching history, so that students view facts as the starting point, from which they learn to classify, examine, and evaluate historical events. Suggests activities and projects for implementation of this teaching method. (LS)

A case study of a seven-year-old student with reading difficulties illustrates the effectiveness of using a cognitive-adaptationist approach over a diagnostic-prescriptive approach. The student developed an "intentional" approach to his own learning through acquiring insight into his own reading strategies; his progress was documented through…