A study comparing cooperative and competitive learning approaches in science was conducted with 630 eighth-grade Nigerian students using five different treatments. Combinations of cooperation and competition were found to be the best methods of instruction. Procedural demands on teachers using these methods were relatively easy. (DH)

Typical contacts with information-processing technology (IPT) do not significantly reshape thought. Although some suggest that IPT will have a narrowing, dehumanizing influence, the diversification of ITP now underway will allow for more styles of involvement. Because of this diversification, thinking may change as it did in response to literacy…

Describes one-to-one peer coaching of teachers in the classroom for implementing the cooperative learning teaching method. (LFL)

Delineates five different ways of knowing with which 135 women who participated in a survey make sense of their experience in the world: silence, procedural knowledge, received knowledge, subjective knowledge, and constructed knowledge. Describes patterns of discourse in subjects' families and their role in intellectual development.

Word processors can assist teachers and students by focusing on writing as a process, rather than a product. Word processing breaks writing up into manageable chunks that permit writing skills to develop in an integraged manner. (10 references) (CJH)

The study examined the paragraph writing performance of 89 undergraduate students with low or high convergent or divergent aptitude in response to three methods of instruction: deduction (topic sentence to details), inductive (details to topic sentence), or a combination. A balanced presentation of both methods produced greater overall…

Thirty-two hyperactive children (ages 5-11) and 32 controls were tested on (1) a component selection task, measuring serial memory and incidental learning and (2) a cancellation task, assessing attentional variables and distractibility. It was concluded that a deficit in sustained attention and impulsivity best described the group differences.…

In view of the changing face of the student population, teacher education must aid teachers in adapting to the greater percentages of black, brown, and other colors of students. The need for multicultural learning style indicators and the need to establish and diligently maintain minimal standards are addressed. (MT)

Disputes evidence used to label American Indians as right-brain dominant. Points out dangers in incorporating untested theories about right-hemisphere learners into curriculum revision. (LFL)

Examines language and spatial lateralization of 49 elementary American Indian students using a cognitive-manual dual task model and psychoeducational assessment techniques. All students were found to be left-hemisphere dominant for language and some were lateralized to the left hemisphere for spatial function. Contradicts evidence of right-brain…

Research on achievement in mathematics indicates that student attitudes, teacher behavior, and classroom organization affect student level of success. Strategies for teaching mathematics effectively are presented. (DF)

Seventy fifth-grade students in Australia were observed as each solved a jigsaw puzzle. Boys obtained higher scores on a measure of cognitive style and took less time to complete the jigsaw task; the two measures were significantly correlated. Uses of tangrams are also discussed. (MNS)

Receptive and expressive vocabulary tests were administered to 100 Indian and 106 non-Indian students in grades 1-3. Mean scores for Indian students were significantly lower on both tests. For Indian students only, the difference between the mean scores of the two tests was significant, with expressive scores lower than receptive. (JHZ)

Discusses alienation as a cause of underachievement, antisocial behavior, and indifference among gifted adolescents; suggests educational implications on the basis of a theory that distinguishes between crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence. (MCG)

Analysis of 119 questionnaires showed that adult learners preferred an eclectic theoretical approach to teaching and learning, endorsed learning by insight, and favored instruction combining lecture and discussion. These results were similar for males and females, graduates and undergraduates, and three age groups (20-40, 41-60, and 61 and older).…