Three groups were surveyed to determine the preferred modes of learning of persons directly associated with cooperative extension education in North Carolina. The modes of learning stated on the questionnaires were doing, touching/feeling, smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing, and discussing. Three groups completed the questionnaire: targeted…

Teaching basic writing at an open-admissions, urban, commuter community college involves the instructor with a clientele of student writers with a wide variety and complexity of needs and abilities. According to much research, demands by some scholars for having students write more than just "themes" is inappropriate for such students.…

A study described the characteristics of sociocognitive conflicts and the discourse associated with such conflicts, and determined how the cognitive processes exercised during discussion were internalized. Participants were 97 fourth-grade students and 6 elementary classroom teachers. Peer-led and teacher-led discussions of texts were examined to…

This paper describes a 2-week curriculum designed to give graduate level physicians an understanding of the pathophysiology of shock and to enable them to diagnose and manage deranged oxygen metabolism in critically ill patients. The curriculum is predicated on an extensive needs assessment and addresses the unique characteristics and learning…

This study investigated the effects of interface tools and learner cognitive styles on performance in searches for information within a hypermedia database. The subjects, 75 students in a university English as a Second Language (ESL) program, were blocked for field dependence and assigned to four treatments which differed by the search tool…

This 2-volume report assesses the context of social, demographic, economic, and technological changes in the light of educational data on 15- to 18-year-old students. The report suggests the need for a more responsive and flexible approach to classroom instruction, to the school as a community institution, and to the diversity of the learning…

The larger the range of instructional skills, methods, strategies, and models that a teacher has at his or her command, the more skilled the teacher will be in selecting and delivering appropriate instruction, and the better students will learn. Effective teachers make use of a wide range of instructional resources. Research on instruction shows…

A study examined the age-related differences in impersonal (objective) and personal (subjective) styles of thinking and the influences these differences have on traditional cognitive measures. Data were obtained from two 2-hour interviews with 333 participants in their homes, at senior centers, or on a university campus. All participants were…

A review of the literature indicated that some studies had investigated the effects of light on learning, but that learning style preferences for bright or low light had not been studied in relation to academic achievement. This relationship was studied with fourth-graders in a suburban school in New York State. Students took the Learning Styles…

The report describes Project UNIQUE (Underachievers Needing Individualized and Qualitative Unique Education) for gifted underachieving students in grades 3-6, stressing three major instructional components: (1) an affective curriculum; (2) a differentiated curriculum; and (3) a study skills curriculum. The program includes inservice involvement of…

Although the use of computers in the classroom has been heralded as a major breakthrough in education, many educators have yet to use computers to their fullest advantage. This is perhaps due to the traditional assumption that students differed only in their speed of learning. However, new research indicates that students differ in their style of…

This digest examines the demographic composition of the U.S. school-age population, and derives an estimate of 1.4 million children with disabilities who are minority group members. The digest notes the purposes of multicultural education for all students and stresses the teacher's role in recognizing forms of bias in textbooks and other…

A study of the importance of matching students' cognitive style with the teaching style of instructors was undertaken in five high school second-year French classes. Common instructional objectives and materials were used by the classes, in different schools. All students and teachers were given the Group Embedded Figures Test to determine field…

Organized in three parts, the nine brief chapters of this report aim to raise the information levels of policy makers and the public concerning several educational issues. After the first chapter's brief introductory indication of the purpose of the publication, chapter 2 provides an overview of changes that have marked the American scene since…

A new concept, relativistic operations, seems to provide a link between Piagetian theory, information processing theory, logical thought in the new physics, and the nature of adults' problem solving in everyday social situations. Relativistic operations are logical, cognitive operations which can be used as a system to relate, order, and select as…