This document discusses strategies for using computer-assisted instruction to introduce graduate students in education to research and statistics. The plan's criteria for an ideal learning environment, including individualized self-paced progress, a hierarchy of well-organized and well-articulated goals, and multiple cues leading to goal…

Three pieces make up this publication. The first, titled "Absent without Leave: Solitude and the Scheme of Schooling" (Craig B. Howley), argues that education requires both a measure of solitude for students to form opinions and a healthy respect for the privacy of students' minds from educators. The second essay, "A World Came to…

Robert Gagne's theories and research have had a significant impact on practitioners in general, especially instructional designers. He has influenced teaching and curriculum development and used standard practices as a stimulus for the development of theory. This paper explores Gagne's influence on practice by examining the relationship between…

This is an introduction to some of the teaching models that have been developed and studied through modern educational research. Some models are designed to accomplish specific objectives, such as teaching students to form and attain concepts; some have generic applications that adapt to a range of learning styles and curriculum areas.…

This book presents six critical commentaries on the state of the discipline and practice of adult education. "The Critical Turn in Adult Education Theory" (Michael R. Welton) takes the position that the critical theoretical tradition from Marx to Habermas can provide a foundation for an emancipatory educational practice.…

The basic premise for this paper is that any educational program or technology should be evaluated on the basis of the theoretical foundations or perspectives on which it is implicitly or explicitly based. Structured in three main sections, it reviews recent literature in areas related to the many aspects that influence learning through…

This report focuses on the processes of learning to read and write in the initial phases. Two studies are presented. The first is a review of four theoretical approaches, including Jerome Bruner's representation theory, and theories of concept learning, metacognition, and metalinguistic awareness. The purpose of the literature study was to examine…

This volume provides an informed and accessible overview of the whole area of children's thinking. The book reviews children's thinking in detail by discussing the ways children remember and organize information in general; the acquisition of skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic; and the development of more complex reasoning as children…

Constructivist theory asserts that children learn through interaction with and adaptation to their environment. Social constructivism emphasizes social interaction in learning, particularly language and the use of language in interaction between the student and his peers or an adult. This paper discusses the relevance of social constructivism,…

This study reports the first use of classroom learning environment questionnaires involving students in senior high school environmental science classes. The three objectives of the study were to measure students' perceptions of aspects of their learning environment in environmental science classrooms by means of the Environmental Science Learning…

This paper attempts to make the case for incorporating writing into the science curriculum. Suggestions are offered on how to organize writing activities in the classroom, assess a student's writing skills, use writing experience charts in science, outline content in science, write results from science experiments, write book reports, perform…

An innovative curriculum called the "Regional Center Alternative Pathway," recently adopted by the Northwest Center for Medical Education (part of Indiana University's School of Medicine), is presented. The curriculum combines the traditional structure's didactic approach with a new problem-based tutorial curriculum. In this curriculum…

This paper explores the relationship between the concept of cognitive apprenticeship and situated cognition and the social construction of knowledge. Cognitive apprenticeship is the enculturation of students into authentic practices through authentic activity and social interaction in a way similar to that which is evident--and evidently…

The historical development of learning style inventories is examined from the dichotomous concepts of cognitive styles to multidimensional assessment. Based on a series of experiments on vertical perception, H. A. Witkin formed the concepts of field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles. Using the term "learning styles"…

This packet summarizes the ideas, concepts, suggestions, and speculations growing out of a think tank which explored the uncharted region beyond cognitive learning. The packet contains: (1) an alphabetical list of 1991 and 1992 participants; (2) a list of participants' interests according to key terms; (3) summaries of small group discussions…