The "Current Insights" feature is designed to introduce life science educators and researchers to current articles of interest in other social science and education journals. In this installment, I highlight three diverse research studies out of psychology journals that address student study strategies, faculty change, and the influence…

It is imperative that the 21st century population develops media literacy competence at several levels. Schools possess a crucial role in achieving these competencies and as such, teachers need to be equipped with effective methods and training. "Promoting Global Competencies Through Media Literacy" is an advanced reference publication…

In a "risk society," as defined by Beck [(1992). "Risk society, towards a new modernity" (M. Ritter, Trans.) Newbury Park, CA: Sage, see also Castel, R. (1991). "From dangerousness to risk." In G. Burchell, C. Gordon & P. Miller (Eds.), "The Foucault effect: Studies in governmentality" (pp. 281-298). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press],…

A six item open-ended questionnaire was developed and administered to teachers of 255 students in self-contained classes for the learning disabled in an effort to examine pupil progress and corresponding teaching methods. Comparison with previous teacher reports was used to describe pupils' academic progress in reading, mathematics, and spelling.…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to aim to develop a deeper understanding of the teaching qualities of effective lecturers that students desire and to uncover the constructs that underlie these desire expectations and reveal the underlying benefits for which students look. Design/methodology/approach: A semi-standardized qualitative…

Fifty-seven children were seen in interaction with their mothers, at 12 months and again at 18 months of age. The observational sessions included a teaching/learning task in which aspects of the mother's teaching style and the child's task orientation could be assessed. Additionally, assessments were made of "difficultness" and the…

A study was conducted to investigate the teaching methods used by full-time faculty at Brookdale Community College (BCC). The study sought to collect relevant demographic data; survey the teaching methods used in an average semester and the factors influencing the selection of teaching methods; identify changes in teaching methods; and survey…

Examines the relationship between mothers' intervention techniques in both teaching and disciplining and children's school-related abilities. Mothers' techniques were assessed when their children were age 4, and children's academic abilities were measured at ages 4, 5, 6, and 12. Among other results, direct control tactics were negatively…

Examines the relationship that might exist between knowledge structure and learning and teaching styles. Discussion includes the Psycho-Epistemic Profile, which measures the process of knowing, and a study of relationships between teachers' and students' psycho-epistemic styles and preferred subject matter, and differences between psycho-epistemic…

Research on teaching is beginning to uncover what teachers do to create conditions that foster learning. Some ideas about teacher behavior that have been linked to positive learning outcomes are explored. Five teaching styles that can be linked to research findings are presented. (DF)

Upper elementary and high school students completed an instrument that measured student attitudes toward social studies and indicated the presence of factors found to contribute to positive student attitudes toward social studies in previous research. It was concluded that teaching style did not have a meaningful impact on student attitudes.…

This study identified the cognitive style (as defined by the construct of field independence/dependence) of prospective teachers at Eastern Kentucky University and identified instructional strategies reflective of the field independent/dependent dimension of cognitive style. In the 1984 Fall Semester the Group Embedded Figures Test was…

The immediate verbal imitations (IVIs) of a boy (age five) with autism and echolalia were studied, with variables of linguistic familiarity and instructor's style of directiveness being manipulated. The occurrence of IVIs was related to uncertain or informative events, and was significantly greater when lexical stimuli were unknown and presented…

Temperament type is a key to understanding the classroom behavior of social studies teachers. Current criticisms of strategies employed, dependence on the textbook, fact oriented testing, and the dearth of problem solving in lesson planning are grounded in professional decisions based on temperament preferences. Employing four types of temperament…

The rapid growth of instructional technologies has provided college faculty with a vast array of educational resources and learning opportunities (Grasha, 2000; Kagima & Hausafus, 2001). As described in the relevant literature addressing this issue, there are several potential advantages in utilizing instructional technologies to enrich the…