The observation of 18 hours of videotapes of 44 eighth grade boys and girls working in same-sex and mixed-pair groups with MYRESNAK (A Danish variation of LOGO) mathematics software indicated gender-specific differences in cooperation and work style. These differences are explained in terms of gender-specific socialization practices and are…

This paper explores some ways research can be used to create a more integrated theoretical understanding of the interaction between individual cognition and social/cultural context as the motive force in literate acts. Drawing on data from recent research on writing, the paper proposes three principles that inform a more complicated interaction…

The short-term memory of 24 retarded and 24 nonretarded individuals, aged 10 to 14, under conditions of restricted cognitive strategy use was investigated. An attempt was made to determine whether short-term memory difficulties of persons with mental retardation are caused by deficits in voluntary cognitive strategies, such as the organization and…

This paper explores the idea that two important elements are represented within the personality of the most effective principals: the heart of a patriot and the mind of a saboteur. Notions about these sources of principal power are explored from the perspective of the patriot saboteur, by which is meant a combination of a passionate commitment to…

This paper focuses on practical activities for incorporating children's literature and thematic activities in the curriculum to stimulate children's thinking and language. The paper includes a review of the current literature about literature-based programs and a thematic unit on dinosaurs developed across the curriculum at the kindergarten level.…

Metaphoric analysis of family systems theory illustrates how metaphors and alternatives to those metaphors identify what a psychological theory has highlighted and obscured about the phenomena at its focus and how it has structured that phenomena. The most commonly used metaphors in family systems theory are the metaphors of system (system…

The comparative effectiveness of different types of instructors' notes provided during lectures of varying complexity was examined. Ninety-four undergraduates (sophomores and juniors) at a large Midwestern university were presented with 2 taped lectures, each about 60 minutes long. The first lecture was a fact-based description of instructional…

The ability to think critically in the presence of arguments with essential quantitative elements, most often graphical elements, will become an essential skill for educated citizens in the future. This paper takes one specific graphical display, a narrow series of observational and interpretational tasks related to a graph, and using a small set…

The cognitive processes in a widely used, non-verbal test of analytic intelligence--the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (J. C. Raven, 1962)--were analyzed. The analysis determined which processes distinguished between higher-scoring and lower-scoring subjects and which processes were common to all subjects and all items on the test. The analysis…

Calibration, defined as the accuracy with which students can predict their own performance, was studied. The role of feedback in the development of calibration was examined, and questions of whether better calibration was associated with better performance and more efficient study were explored. Subjects were 136 college students in an…

Stressing that teachers must consider not only the quality and amount of content in their questions, but must also consider the levels and types of questions being asked, as well as design appropriate modeling, cueing, and responding strategies, this document outlines current research on questioning techniques for classroom use. The role of…

Aimed at classroom teachers interested in teaching learning skills to their elementary and secondary students, this guide offers an alternative to teaching "facts" that may rapidly become outdated. The guide is based on Dr. Leslie Hart's Proster Theory, which proposes that the brain requires large amounts of input to function; that after…

Noting research suggesting that something more than rote memorization is involved in the process of spelling, this paper describes effective instructional strategies to help students improve their spelling abilities. Following an introduction on the memorization/cognition camps in spelling research, the paper discusses current, but less effective,…

Cybernetic feedback theory sees the individual as a self-organizing feedback control system that generates its own activity to control its own perceptions. Applying the principle of feedback to language use, it appears that speaking as an overt public behavior is controlled by an internally private listening capacity. With that listening capacity,…

This study applied previously identified cognitive theory and research to the development of an instructional design model for teaching mental aspects underlying work and family activities in a context of rapid change and high technology. The model was tested by developing a prototype, materials required by the prototype were developed, and the…