This report discusses the current state of research into the visual effects of screen layout design, i.e., the arrangement of design elements on a screen. First, two types of design elements are described: technical (those things that engineers work with and that users have little or no control over), and comprehensibility (those elements that a…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was any relationship between an individual teacher's preferred learning style and the amount of exhibited total stress. It also sought to determine if there was any specific area of stress which related to learning style. This was basically a replication of a study done in 1988 using a different…

Wagner and Sternberg (1985) defined tacit knowledge as knowledge that is usually not taught. They suggest that people who are adept at picking up and accumulating tacit knowledge tend to advance most rapidly in an organization. A study was conducted to determine whether tacit knowledge, as measured by the Tacit Knowledge Questionnaire (TKQ), is…

Use of a mediator to facilitate voluntary agreements between disputants is becoming a widely used method of conflict resolution in a variety of contexts. This study simulated a dispute to examine the influence of mediator and negotiator gender on mediator behavior. Male (N=94) and female (N=94) college students mediated a computer-simulated…

Two major areas of educational research are addressed in this book. The first explores recent theories and findings on the cognitive aspects of education. The second focuses upon research that examines education as a social institution. The following articles are presented: (1) "The History of Literacy and the History of Readers" (Carl F.…

This second paper in the intrapersonal skills series is concerned with belief systems and how individuals can manage self-esteem by internalizing assertion and awareness training program concepts. The introduction of the paper defines self-esteem and examines how individuals form their self-concepts. It is proposed that persons gather and…

Differences in cognitive styles or intellectual behavior can be attributed to different ecological and cultural influences on individuals. These influences, such as type of subsistence economy, social stratification, socialization, and role specialization, affect the development of a particular cognitive style which is determined by whether an…

This paper is the third of a series of three which attempt to integrate categories of description aimed at characterizing the experience of learning in terms of the logical relationships that exist between them. The description of the qualitatively different ways in which various aspects of reality are experienced and conceptualized, and the…

Through personal experience, an adult educator came to the conclusion that adults come to a course labeled "Teaching Adults" primarily to learn about themselves, their own self-development, and their own process of learning. Only secondarily do they come to learn the ways and means of communicating knowledge and ideas to others. In the first…

It is argued that learning from different sources greatly depends on the differential way in which these sources are perceived, for these perceptions determine to an important extent the mental effort expended in the learning process. Two ideas are discussed: (1) amount of mental effort investment (AIME), defined as the number of nonautomatic…

A review is provided of recent literature on learning styles and teaching styles, and the relationship between the two. First, a discussion of learning styles is presented, focusing on the cognitive, affective, and physiological aspects of the learning process and situation. Next, the paper addresses the issue of the development of individual…

Piaget has suggested formal operations, as measured by his tasks, may be related specifically to physics-type problem solving and that other hypothetico-deductive thinking processes develop in adults in other specializations. The present follow-up study examined the relationship between formal versus concrete operational thinking as measured by…

A mnemonic device is any technique or system to improve or aid the memory by use of formulas. Memory aids enjoyed great popularity in ancient times, but with the advent of literacy, the need for memorization was lessened and mnemonics were not taught regularly. However, recent research in cognitive psychology suggests that mnemonics, taught and…

Procedural semantics models have diminished the distinction between data structures and procedures in computer simulations of human intelligence. This development has theoretical consequences for models of cognition. One type of procedural semantics model, called schema theory, is presented, and a variety of cognitive processes are explained in…

Instructional supervision is intertwined with the debate on how humans learn and on what knowledge is of greatest import. Those who believe that knowledge is acquired as an individual chooses to follow his or her own inclinations tend to favor nondirective supervision. Those who believe that learning is the result of reciprocity and…