Reports the use of two different visual-control treatments (self-controlled versus system-imposed) among students with different cognitive styles (Field Independent and Field Dependent). Eighth-grade students were tested to determine how they learned from different design approaches of animated instructional materials. Effect of visual control was…

Briefly reviews current understandings of learning that have direct implications for teaching practice, and includes references to other work that may be useful. Discusses five general topics: multiple domains of competence (multiple intelligences); socioemotional factors in cognitive processes; collaborative learning; pathways to competence; and…

Moving beyond question of whether on-line education is beneficial or harmful, explores conditions under which one or another of six instructional methods lecture, collaborative learning, experiential learning, learning contracts, televised courses, and Web-based learning work best. Finds specific methods more appropriate for some subject matters,…

One of a series of articles on principles of good practice in legal education, this article focuses on the importance of respecting diverse talents and ways of learning. Discusses institutional and classroom climate, admissions and selections criteria, academic policies, student support services, the curriculum, evaluation of student performance,…

Includes two responses to Charles Martell's article on discontinuities and the future of libraries. Highlights include the changing role of librarians when the library as a place will be less important; political and economic influences; institutional changes that will affect academic libraries; and changing student learning styles. (LRW)

Cognitive style is one factor that may influence individuals' preferences for different learning methods and activities related to continuous professional development. Explores the cognitive styles and learning preferences of personnel practitioners (n=127) in the United Kingdom. Finds that the relationship between cognitive style and preference…

Reports on two studies. The first, a brain-imaging study evaluating brain-processing differences between high- and low- performing middle-school students attempting a spatial visualization task, establishes the connection between brain-processing patterns and task-learning efficiency. The second study, involving 33 women graduate education majors,…

Discusses the origin and elaboration of the concept of learning styles. Traces the influence of a cognition and learning-centered approach to the psychology of individual development. Argues for an integration of various models into a single learning style. Includes a tabular description of fundamental dimensions of cognitive style. (MJP)

Considers the theoretical validity of two approaches to cognitive style. Wholist-Analytic maintains that cognitive processes depend on the interaction of two opposing forces, destructive and constructive. Reflection-Impulsivity characterizes learners according to their reflective or impulsive responses to solution hypotheses. Evaluates these…

Criticizes the use of test-retest correlations, differences between means, and other group effects in studies attempting to evaluate the relative stability of learning styles. Examines the use of the "Learning Style Inventory" and the "Learning Style Questionnaire." Recommends that researchers directly analyze the stability and…

Reviews the research on the interaction effect of learning style, learning style orientation, and the educational environment on learning outcomes. Considers how the findings from educational research can inform training and development practice. Discusses the lack of reliable measures of cognitive style that can be easily administered to…

Investigated the effects of student working-memory capacity, preference for amount of instruction, spatial problem-solving ability, and school mathematics grades on eighth graders' recall of factual information and conceptual understanding. Pairs of students worked through 16 activities using a dynamic, computer-based geometry program. Presents…

Among 207 Australian final-year nursing students, higher academic grades in the senior year were related to student intention to understand the material or to "achieve," and to the ability to generate alternative learning strategies with changing task demands. Relationships between scores on the Study Process Questionnaire and the…

Examines similarities in implementing theories of multiple intelligences, learning styles, and brain-based education in middle schools: (1) theories are learning and learner-centered; (2) teacher is a reflective practitioner and decisionmaker; (3) student is a reflective practitioner; (4) the whole person is educated; (5) the curriculum has…

Develops and validates an instrument for determining student preferences for multiple representations of functions and establishes baseline data for future research. Students showed preferences for representations of functions which varied between contextualized and noncontextualized settings. Students' preferences for the two settings were more…