The handbook, capsulizing much of the growing body of research and writing on conceptual approaches, is designed to provide assistance to elementary teachers in giving students a conceptual perspective for dealing with social studies content. The handbook is arranged in seven sections. After a brief discussion of the rationale for teaching…

Field experience during teacher preparation enables the prospective teacher to observe children as they develop -- emotionally, socially, intellectually, and physically. Children, at different stages of development, exhibit characteristics of behavior which may or may not affect how and what they learn in the formal classroom environment. Thus,…

Representatives of a variety of disciplines concerned with either clinical or research problems in vision and learning disabilities present reviews and reports of relevant research and clinical approaches. Contributions are organized into four broad sections: basic processes, specific disorders, diagnosis of visually based problems in learning,…

Explores three aspects of temporally displaced talk between mothers and children: (1) the role of the knowledge base in such talk; (2) the effect of mother talk on child talk; and (3) the impact of such talk on the child's knowledge base. Indicates that maternal speech can mediate information and experience and contribute to the child's world…

Reports on a study designed to provide a profile of the learning styles of members of the American Chemical Society. Indicates that chemists tend to be more alike than different in their approach to learning. Suggests that chemists tend to be convergers preferring active experimentation more than reflective observation. (TW)

Reports on a study intended to establish a relationship between the M-space (mental energy) and the M-demand (the variable difficulties of Piagetian tasks presumed to entail the same logical structure) of different items of general chemistry. Recommends that chemistry teachers consider the role of cognitive factors in determining student success.…

Describes the use of bubble-type plastic packing material to make "pop-and-sniff" materials that contain common smells from chemicals such as amyl acetate (banana smell). Discusses how these materials can be used by elementary school teachers to enhance thinking skills. (TW)

Investigates the thinking processes students employ and the text structures they produce in analytic writing. Contrasts eleventh grade students' analytic and summary writing using think-aloud protocols and examination of genre conventions governing students' writing. Concludes that in analytic writing, students employed more varied and complex…

Explores cloze sensitivity to global comprehension by means of retrospective interview techniques. No significant differences were found between English as a second language (ESL) college students (N=14) and native English-speaking students (N=14) in their processing strategies. (Author/CB)

An overview is presented of information processing analyses of knowledge and performance in three areas of the elementary mathematics curriculum: basic addition and subtraction facts, complex procedures such as multicolumn subtraction, and the solution of word problems. Theories of the knowledge associated with "expert" performance are discussed.…

Reviews the research on the effectiveness of five thinking skills training programs: Instrumental Enrichment, Philosophy for Children, Structure-of-Intellect (SOI), Problem Solving and Comprehension: A Short Course in Analytical Reasoning, and Odyssey. Compares and contrasts the content of each program and describes the relative lack of adequate…

Discusses a study of students' conceptualizations and misconceptions of how objects sink and float. Results showed little difference in the levels of understanding of the "sink and float" concepts by groups ranging from primary age to college. As age increased, terminology used by students varied, and misuse of terms increased. (TW)

The English-as-a-second-language teacher's role is explored, with five specific areas of responsibility elaborated: (1) providing comprehensible input; (2) preparing learners to cope with nonclassroom language; (3) providing references and resource materials; (4) providing focused instruction in particular areas of language; and (5) providing…

Discusses the inclusion of socio-scientific issues in science education. Describes a study in which adolescents who had successfully completed both high school chemistry and biology were interviewed to determine the extent to which they used their knowledge of the physical world, via nonsocial cognition, when analyzing such issues. (TW)

Reviews research on the cognitive and affective processes engaged in by learners as they read which determine reading effectiveness and addresses implications of findings for college level study skills instruction, particularly remedial instruction of distance learners. Suggested features of a study skills program, its presentation, and program…