Discusses database searching as a method for developing thinking skills, and describes an activity suitable for fifth grade through high school using a president's and vice president's database. Teaching methods are presented, including student team activities, and worksheets designed for the AppleWorks database are included. (LRW)

Discusses the incompatibility of learning and teaching styles in engineering education which results in society's potential loss of excellent engineers. Provides teaching techniques to accommodate learning styles. (RT)

Reviews the current state of educational technology, discusses some problems perceived by experts in the field, and suggests directions for its future. Systematic versus systemic theories of the field are emphasized, and the role of research in improving learner performance is described. (32 references) (LRW)

This literature review discusses the differences between individual and individualized instruction and explores ways of leading future computer assisted instruction (CAI) toward genuine individualized instruction. The development and design of intelligent CAI are described, and topics for future studies are suggested. (LRW)

The learning of a list of 20 Blissymbols and comparable American Sign Language signs by 121 nonhandicapped undergraduate psychology students was compared. Blissymbols were learned significantly faster than manual signs, particularly in early learning trials. Results are discussed in terms of the memory requirements of the two systems. (Author/JDD)

Briefly reviews current research on the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and microcomputers. The Hawthorne Effect and research results for elementary, secondary, and college level students are discussed, courseware requirements are described, and research studies showing positive and negative effects of CAI are listed. (LRW)

Examines Krashen's Monitor hypothesis (claiming that no interface exists between acquisition and learning) and finds it inadequate due to the over-restrictive conditions necessary for its use. Alternative acquisition theories and ways in which to monitor under less restrictive conditions are also examined, and a communicative trigger is proposed…

Describes three studies that examined how young children distinguish between the real, physical world and the mental world; between objects and thoughts; and between doing something and imagining it. (HOD)

Studies in intellectual development, brain organization, and learning are summarized. They show that neither intelligence nor giftedness are solely the result of cognitive functions. Both rely on the use of the total brain in an appropriate environment. Intelligence is dynamic. It must be used and developed or it will be lost. (PS)

Reports that children recalled equal amounts of information from male and female newscasters and there was no interaction between sex of newscaster and sex-stereotypic story content. (FL)

Summarizes the results of a project to make a class of learning disabled ninth graders aware of their individual learning styles. This seemed to increase their self-esteem and thus they worked according to their strengths and their grades improved. (NKA)

Argues that children's books are agents of socialization and examines childhood as a socially constructed concept throughout history. (SRT)

Issues concerning psychology and education that were raised at the 1983 British Psychology Society Education Section Conference are discussed. With respect to teacher training courses, a major issue is whether only practical experience and reflection on the experience can make theoretical learning relevant and usable. (RM)

Three research areas relevant to the relationship between writing and reasoning are reviewed: (1) cultural consequences of written language, including changes in reasoning ability; (2) individual consequences of particular writing experiences; and (3) the status of writing activities in American schools. Further research is needed to establish how…

Issues of instructional effectiveness need to be examined at three levels: (1) the context in which instruction takes place and the rewards provided for teaching well; (2) comparison of teaching paradigms; and (3) the knowledge to be learned and the skills that are part of the learning process. (MSE)