A semantic mapping heuristic is presented which provides an instructional strategy for teaching notetaking, recognizing main ideas and pertinent details, and sorting and organizing them into a report. The strategy enables learning-disabled students to read independently about a topic and subsequently write a report, thus establishing a…

Seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities (n=29) who reasoned through factual prose sentences did not recall more information than students who were prompted to try to remember the content after each sentence. However, students trained in thinking skills produced more correct explanations of the information than control…

This discussion of fostering recall and developing reasoning processes in students with mild disabilities considers the role of mnemonic strategies, similarities between mnemonic strategies and elaborative interrogation to facilitate information retrieval, constructivism and elaborative interrogation, and such problems as generalization and…

Junior high school students (n=72) with learning disabilities received direct instruction in cognitive strategies, instruction in metacognitive activities, or both. Students improved in mathematical word problem performance and compared well with normally achieving peers. Discussion focuses on the treatment effects and maintenance and the issue of…

Presents a prototype workshop to help train teachers for new roles in a new educational system. The future educational system is analyzed; the teacher's status in it is discussed, including instructional and organizational roles; and the current system is analyzed, including the teacher's status. (Contains 45 references.) (LRW)

This study examined the verbalizations of 90 middle school students as they thought aloud while solving mathematical word problems. Results indicated that students with learning disabilities (LD) and average achievers were less strategic in approaching mathematical problem solving than gifted students, and LD students approached problem solving in…

A study with 317 college freshmen found that the utility of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory to predict academic achievement, beyond that which could already be predicted by student background and entry-level variables, was quite limited. (MSE)

Reviews efforts to develop and use computer support for situated, collaborative learning. Presents lessons learned in pilot experiments designed to examine how to integrate two types of group collaboration tools: constructivist and/or minimal instructionist. Students appeared to favor the integration of instructionism into constructivist…

Critiques an article by Virginia LoCastro that contrasted quantitative data (using the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, or SILL) and qualitative data (using group interviews) and finds the conclusions drawn from the comparison unjustified on various grounds. A reply by LoCastro is included. (Contains a combined total of 20 references.)…

Maintains that most history students realize that primary sources are the cornerstone of written history. Contends that, when students understand that written history reflects the historian's personal insights, biases, and limitations, they discover both the pleasure and peril of studying history. (CFR)

Contends that many violin and viola students develop preferences based on fear of using more difficult fingering techniques. Recommends that students be exposed to advanced techniques earlier in a matter-of-fact approach. Includes a list of four books recommended for further reading. (CFR)

This article explains the Integrated Strategies Instruction Model by analyzing the problems of ineffective writers and presenting instructional techniques for framing, applying, and extending students' understanding of the executive strategy. A vignette from an eighth-grade history classroom illustrates the guidelines. Research regarding the…

Discussion of interactive video for educational purposes focuses on the development of a video-supported active learning (VISUAL) resource on voice disorders that used digitized video and an Apple Macintosh computer. User evaluations are reported, and potential applications for VISUAL resources are suggested. (Contains five references.) (LRW)

Investigates the administration of courses in English as a foreign language and reaction of students and teachers to the presentation of these courses. Students described activities in terms of linguistic elements and stated the purpose as accurate production, whereas the teachers' main concern centered on the conveyance of meaningful information.…

Seven noted researchers each describe a different orientation to research exemplified in their own studies and currently predominant in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. The statements consider aspects of language behavior, frameworks for interpreting curricula or culture such as classroom interaction or ethnography, or…