Notes that content area teachers recognize that visual organizers such as time lines, Venn diagrams, inductive towers, concept maps, causal chains, force fields, and flow charts help students recognize and take control of the intellectual processes which bring meaning to the study of academic content. (RS)

The relationship of systemic functional linguistic theory to the following themes is examined: differences between speech and writing; written genres; and the study of spoken language, especially for its relevance in school learning. (65 references) (LB)

A theory of academic competence is proposed that emphasizes academic skills and strategies (e.g., taking notes, using dictionaries, and studying for tests), background knowledge of content material, and of what is expected in a U.S. classroom. (33 references) (LB)

Describes instructional transactions as patterns of learner interactions designed to enable learners to acquire certain kinds of knowledge or skill and identifies four primary components of an interaction shell: interactions and an interaction manager, instructional parameters, a knowledge base, and a resource database. Transaction shell authoring…

Assesses articles in this special issue on reconceptualizing early childhood education. Maintains articles are based on conception of education in which teachers are not concerned with adopting a canon but with developing sensitivity needed to see children's place in their community and society and to structure classroom activities that encourage…

Preservice teachers in an introductory microcomputer class received an advance organizer to help them learn about microcomputer components. The advance organizer facilitated learning by providing an opportunity for them to build schema. (SM)

Investigates the cognitive functions of college students' use of underlining as a learning strategy. Finds that underlining does not serve an encoding or review function and may be counterproductive for inferential recall. (PRA)

Examines whether exploratory talk in small groups can help students assimilate new information on complex topics more effectively than can participation in a class discussion or lecture. Finds that, of the three treatments, small group discussion is more effective in improving the students' knowledge as they prepared to write and in the quality of…

This study of 30 gifted and 30 average secondary level readers assessed their reading processing strategies using think-aloud protocols. Gifted readers used such strategies as rereading, inferring, evaluating, predicting, and relating to content area, whereas average readers exhibited word pronouncing concern and inaccurate summarizing.…

Reviews two major theories of cognitive development based on Perry's Developmental Process and the Wellesley Study, and offers examples and suggestions for their application in academic library instruction. Learning strategies that respond to differences in levels of cognitive abilities are described, and the role of faculty who request…

Although children with moderate to significant disabilities participate in regular education, they often attend a school outside their own neighborhood, thereby limiting the effects of mainstreaming. The La Grange Area (Illinois) Department of Special Education has experimented with various learning strategies to facilitate inclusion and imparts…

This study investigated the tendency of deaf children (ages 6-13) not to spontaneously use active memory strategies such as rehearsal. Comparison of 38 deaf and 39 hearing students found that deaf students compensated for less effective rehearsal strategies by capitalizing on unique spatial features of the task. (Author/DB)

Across 4 experiments, 121 college students and 80 Spanish-English bilingual members of the university community read narrative or expository texts and answered comprehension questions. Manipulating intervals between readings, language, and the activity between the readings indicates that all these variables influence whether a repeated reading…

Focuses on a content analysis of learning logs kept by preservice teachers in an educational psychology course at an open admission university. Finds differences among strategy use of successful, unsuccessful, and improving students. Develops profiles of each category. Discusses implications for strategy instruction. (RS)

The Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI) measures orientations to learning in higher education. Two studies used different forms of the ASI to investigate possible gender variation in approaches to studying. No consistent evidence of significant difference between men and women on individual items, subscales, or learning orientations was found.…