This investigation examined the relationship between problem solving ability and the criteria used to decide whether two classical mechanics problems could be solved similarly. The investigators began by comparing experts and novices on a similarity judgment task and found that experts predominantly relied on the problems' deep structure in…

Ways in which faculty and students think and learn are defined and a new concept of undergraduate teaching is presented that involves the continuous interaction of professors and students. The book is the result of two projects conducted by the authors between 1978 and 1987 that involved 15 institutions, including DePauw University, Ohio Wesleyan…

This chapter describes current research in cognitive psychology and considers how this work may be applied to the design of instructional materials. The nature of knowing--and of meaningful knowing--are examined, and findings from psycholinguistics and pattern recognition are integrated to provide an understanding of concept and memorization…

Responding to recent advances in developmental and cognitive science research on knowledge acquisition, this report presents a theoretical framework for analyzing cognitive development as a process of learning. The first section summarizes three developmental characteristics recognized in both the Piagetian and the quantita experimental tradition:…

A theoretical model of cultural acquisition, the cultural proficiency model, is based on the premise that culture is learned, and can and should be learned in the language classroom. The model can be represented as a spiral continuum of awareness and behaviors; it is based on the premise that there can be no functional use of the second language…

Methods of optimizing instruction through the use of course knowledge portrayal methods were studied, based on a series of experiments conducted over 6 years. Sixteen university courses in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities were investigated through the application of cognitive theory to instruction. Attention was first focused on…

A study examined the influence of extended analogies on the comprehension of unfamiliar texts by primary grade children. Subjects, 16 first- and 16 third-grade children, listened to two passages that described how the blood circulates in the body and how an infection heals. The passages were presented either with or without analogies. The children…

The study examines the use of LOGO, a computer language, with 19 learning disabled (LD) and 19 non-LD students in grades 4-6. Ss were randomly assigned to one of two instructional groups: sequential or whole-task, each with 10 LD and 10 non-LD students. The sequential method features a carefully ordered plan for teaching LOGO commands; the…

Concepts of critical thinking and psychological type are reviewed. An instrument that has gained wide acceptance for evaluating individual preferences is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Four dimensions of the MBTI that can also be considered learning preferences, with their associated contrasting preferences, are: (1) orientation toward…

This paper describes an exploratory study of conceptual change in 91 students enrolled in an introductory course at Michigan State University designed to help beginning teacher education students examine critically their preconceptions. The data consist of essay responses written at the beginning and end of the term. The authors were interested in…

This paper considers ways in which the organization of text can be made explicit through verbal cuing and the ways in which this organization can be related to the cognitive processes of the reader. It is noted that the textual factors supplementary to the main content play an important part in the comprehension of text and are, thus, important…

This report describes a project which analyzed science and social studies textbooks to determine how well they accommodate the learning needs of mainstreamed hard-to-teach students. A textbook analysis tool was developed, and eight teacher-reviewers examined the instructional design of teachers' and students' editions of 12 leading elementary and…

A study examined whether good and poor readers benefit differentially from intervention in mnemonic strategy use. Subjects, 72 fourth grade males from a suburban public school in the southeast, were randomly assigned to either a training, induction or control group. Training subjects received explicit demonstration of appropriate strategies, while…

In the last fifteen years, the concept of field-based experiences has changed from a Schools, College, and Department of Education (SCDE) focus toward a consumer-oriented model. This paper briefly reviews the early goals and describes the definitions which differentiate clinical experiences from field experiences which may help clarify research…

The use of the laserdisc in the classroom is described. Major advantages of the laserdisc are durability and large information storage capacity. Connecting the laserdisc with a microcomputer allows quick access to and interaction with the information it contains. Five uses of the system are further discussed: archival, demonstration, illustration…