Researchers in medicine, education, and related fields continue to make new discoveries about how the brain functions or malfunctions. The implications of studies of how young children learn compare favorably with those of educators such as Maria Montessori, Jerome Bruner, and Jean Piaget. These researchers saw growth and development as a series…

According to the classical working memory perspective, tasks such as command and control decision-making should be performed less effectively if extraneous material must be retained in short-term memory. Only marginal support for this prediction was obtained for a simulation involving scheduling trucking and transportation missions, although…

Recent research in cognitive science and science education suggests that science-naive individuals have an understanding of the natural world based on their interpretation of everyday experience. This can make the process of conceptual change difficult. This paper presents ideas related to the acquisition of knowledge in astronomy. A theoretical…

The inservice programs in this publication demonstrate varied approaches to staff development. The programs range from districtwide efforts with a particular topic, such as thinking skills, to the creation of teacher centers and highly individualized growth plans such as a voucher system. The programs demonstrate a commitment by the district to…

This paper discusses the role of perceived self-efficacy during self-regulated learning, the process whereby students' cognitions manifest themselves in behaviors systematically oriented toward the attainment of academic learning goals. The conceptual focus derives from A. Bandura's social cognitive learning theory. A model of cognitive skill…

Scholars from varied disciplines--first language (L1) acquisition, second language (L2) acquisition, composition research, and cognitive psychology--have found a high level of permeability in their search for more effective classroom models of writing instruction. Among the most influential work in this area has been Stephen Krashen's theory of L2…

Intended to lend organization to the educational media research in visual perception and learning with line drawings, this paper reviews studies that cut across several specialized fields of education and psychology. The studies reviewed are arranged into the following categories: (1) learning from visuals, (2) abstract versus realism theories,…

A learning style model, which identifies specific learning patterns of prospective teachers and teaching behaviors which relate to those identified learning patterns was tested on 20 female elementary education majors. The subjects were administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which determined the dominant personality type (Sensing/Thinking,…

Research findings are reported concerning the extent to which writing assignments in contrasting examples of upper elementary science curriculum materials are likely to engage students in higher order thinking and problem solving, and to facilitate meaningful learning of scientific concepts. Organized around a common set of elaborate framing…

This study dealt with the construction of an observation instrument for instructional cues. Cues are defined as a complex of instructions, methods, and conditions by which students both learn the material and learn to apply the material. As part of the "Classroom Environment Study: Teaching for Learning," the pilot study began a review of the…

A study explored students' dynamic use of various forms of reading and writing to learn. In investigating the relationship between learner initiative, literacy, and the ability to conduct a critical inquiry of a topic of study, seven college undergraduates were asked to direct their own reading and writing engagements enroute to composing a…

The study presents teaching techniques for use with elementary learning disabled students which utilize right brain simultaneous (as opposed to sequential or left brain) learning processes. It also describes a 15-week classroom project utilizing selected techniques with 11 learning disabled children in grades 2 through 6. The literature review and…

This manual describes the theory behind the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and explains what the subscale and scale scores mean. The SPQ is a 42-item self-report questionnaire used in Australia to assess the extent to which a tertiary student at a college or university endorses different approaches to learning and the motives and strategies…

The object of this study was to find out whether learning process and reading variables predict first-year grade point average (GPA) in college. The learning process variables were: (1) deep learning; (2) surface learning; and (3) achievement orientation. Reading variables dealt with factual and inferential knowledge. Also examined was whether…

This paper lends support to Richard E. Clark's position that media make no difference in student achievement, but also argues that alternative ways of thinking about media--i.e., about the differences media do make along with the differences they can make--are necessary and important. Two major areas of study are examined. In discussing the first…