The article addresses the issue of whether student learning style has an impact on use of a learning technology such as a virtual learning environment (VLE). It is based on material from a broader research project at a UK university (Kingston University) on the use of VLEs in teaching and learning and explores the findings from the analysis of…

Our essential premise in this article is that immersive learning is not new and that, as a practical matter, it is useful to view the relatively new virtual world platforms through that lens. By doing so, the premise continues, developers of learning experiences for these spaces will have a large theoretical base upon which to draw, as well as…

Nonverbal communication in the classroom can produce subtle nonverbal influences, particularly in the affective domain. In Suggestopedia, double-planeness (the role of the environment and the personality of the teacher) is considered an important factor in learning. Suggestopedic teachers are trained to use nonverbal gestures in their presentation…

This study documented how individual differences in personal experiences, cultures, learning styles, and interests affect the demonstrated abilities of children who are gifted, based on qualitative case study research with five children from early childhood classes at the University of Denver's Ricks Center for Gifted Children. Information was…

This study assessed the relationship between cognitive style and reading readiness, and examined effects of age and gender on measures of cognitive style and reading readiness. Subjects were 33 males and 27 females between 4 and 7 years of age. All subjects scored within the average range of intellectual functioning and were not color blind.…

This tutoring strategies course designed to prepare tutors in a machine tool technology program was developed during a project to retrain defense industry workers at risk of job loss or dislocation because of conversion of the defense industry. Course contents are as follows: why you are here; qualifications of a tutor; what's in it for tutors,…

This document discusses strategies for using computer-assisted instruction to introduce graduate students in education to research and statistics. The plan's criteria for an ideal learning environment, including individualized self-paced progress, a hierarchy of well-organized and well-articulated goals, and multiple cues leading to goal…

This study explores the way music operates in the mental processing of computer-supported instructional messages, whose other modes are text and graphics. The experiment examined the effect of music on the immediate recall and understanding of three equivalent science lessons delivered by a computer. The objective properties of the music were…

This study examined the roles which note-taking method (either pencil and paper or an online computer notepad) and style (verbatim, paraphrasing, etc.) play in retention and depth of processing during computer-delivered instruction. Participants were 112 junior and senior undergraduates from a southern Minnesota university whose major was computer…

The cognitive styles of Education majors at a southern university were examined over a five-year period. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was administered to 537 students in an introductory education course. This test identifies field-dependent (FD) and field-independent (FI) learning styles. Two hundred twelve students were retested at the…

Problem-based learning (PBL) as a new instructional method is becoming increasingly popular. PBL is hypothesized to have a number of advantages for learning because it applies insights from cognitive learning theory and it fosters a lifelong learning strategy. As in all learning programs there are individual differences between students. This…

This report describes a program for increasing reading test scores. The targeted population consisted of one second-grade, one third-grade, and two fourth-grade classrooms in a growing middle class community located in a far western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of low reading test scores was documented though the 1995 IGAP scores on…

This study investigated the reading styles of 57 students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Special attention was given to the independent variables gender, grade level, and at-risk status. A total of 224 comparisons were made from which 8 main effects were observed: (1) females reported greater preference for music while reading than males; (2) special…

As part of a larger investigation into workshop approach teaching, this study looked at how the workshop approach affected student creativity in project development and how the use of reflective journals impacted student project work. The workshop approach causes students to engage in metacognitive thinking during work on their class projects.…

The basic premise for this paper is that any educational program or technology should be evaluated on the basis of the theoretical foundations or perspectives on which it is implicitly or explicitly based. Structured in three main sections, it reviews recent literature in areas related to the many aspects that influence learning through…