Offers an eight-stage activity which promotes critical thinking. Notes that the activity starts with analysis of literary characters and culminates with presentations based on interviews of respected adults. (PRA)

Describes a study that was conducted in Wales to investigate the attitudes and responses of 16- to 19-year-old students in a flexible learning program. Problems of open learning processes with this age group are discussed, and study skills, tutorial support, and performance monitoring are examined. (six references) (LRW)

Describes technology-based systems that offer performance support, called online performance support systems (OPSS), that help increase productivity and efficiency. Changes in information-related, organization-related, and learning-related factors in corporations are considered; OPSS components are explained, including user-centered design; and…

Discusses the effects of child play on the learning and development of young children. Argues that play is an important part of an entire network of learning, a fact often overlooked by parents who view play as recreation. Maintains that, when parents and educators help children to enhance their play experiences, important learning outcomes can…

Introduces the theme of this issue, which expands comparative education topics inward, toward the developmental perspective of the child, and outward, toward culture, historically situated. Discusses findings from the International Assessment of Educational Progress in terms of cultural differences in children's attitudes toward learning. (KS)

Reviews principles of active, democratic learning; examines issues of time management, such as the use of routines and timetables; and considers the role of the teacher as challenger, facilitator, and tutor. (BC)

For all students to achieve a certain academic achievement level, educators must broaden their understanding of how children learn and ensure that financial resources are provided for child- and family-support services beginning at birth. This article reviews research that forms the basis for this recommendation, highlighting the School of the…

Studies the performance of a novice Spanish student using a Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) system designed for vocabulary enlargement. Results indicate that introspective evidence may be used to validate performance data within a theoretical framework that characterizes the learning approach as "surface" or "deep." (25 references)…

Presents an interim report on a study of 26 secondary school students' ability to seek, find, and use information to produce science-related video documentaries. Topics discussed include barriers to learning and the impact of prior learning, other life skills, production, and the subject matter itself on learning. (KRN)

Discusses the idea of expertise as it relates to education and to situated learning based on previous articles and responses. Highlights include apprenticeship and the acquisition of expertise; competence versus expertise; teachers' pedagogical content knowledge; instructional design and traditional schooling; functionalism; and alternatives to…

Discusses potentials of situated learning in response to criticism of a previous article. Topics addressed include educational technology; education and political issues, including educational goals and literacy; learning theories; visuality and other modes of knowledge acquisition; cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning; and…

Some considerations and proposals are introduced to improve the efficiency of information management training based on the results of experiments done in this field. The integration of different parts of the information training program into scientific and technical specialties curricula is discussed. (KR)

Ethnomathematics is a program that looks into the generation, transmission, institutionalization, and diffusion of knowledge with emphasis on the sociocultural environment. By drawing on the cultural experiences and practices of individuals and of communities, ethnomathematics allows for an easier flow of scientific ideas with children, reducing…

Three studies of the development of gender competence in elementary and intermediate level learners of French as a second language are reported. The findings support an emerging rule-governed process of gender assignment related to the learner's development of skill with the language's underlying phonological system. (11 references) (MSE)

Two experiments explored the relationship between conceptual and procedural knowledge. Results revealed that fourth and sixth graders made computational errors even though they possessed conceptual knowledge. Fifth graders mastered conceptual knowledge before procedural knowledge. Results support the dynamic interaction theory. (BC)