Presents a constructivist view of mathematics, mathematics teaching, and mathematics achievement, and differentiates this view as an alternative to the typical traditional perspective of these terms. Discusses the roots of this approach in contemporary information-processing psychology. (TW)

Reports on a seminar conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which was designed to help teachers develop their understanding of learning and teaching arithmetic. Describes some of the sessions and the activities and includes some of the dialogue exchanged within the group during the sessions. (TW)

Eight articles address topics related to library services to teenagers: (1) power inside and outside the library; (2) information needs and interests; (3) barriers to information access; (4) the ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA program; (5) information skills curriculum; (6) values education through libraries; (7) ethnic literacy; and (8) planning public…

Describes the cyclical nature of a problem-solving sequence produced from observing children involved in the process. Discusses the generic qualities of science: (1) observing; (2) inferring; (3) classifying; (4) predicting; (5) controlling variables; and (6) hypothesizing. Explains the processes in use and advantages of a process-led course. (RT)

A need exists for appropriate curricula for students who are both limited English proficient (LEP) and learning disabled (LD). This paper reviews learning strategy approaches for LEP and LD students, compares two models (the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach and the Strategies Intervention Model), and proposes a merging of the two…

Describes mechanisms of thought associated with making predictions. Concludes that successful predictors had high initial knowledge of the subject matter and were formally operational. Unsuccessful predictors had low initial knowledge and were concretely operational. Systematic manipulation, note taking, and higher-level thinking skills were…

Discusses a study exploring the effect of the social context of two contrasting types of discussion--question and answer, and response centered--on students' interpretation of a literary work. Concludes that certain characteristics of the question and answer discussion may have inhibited students' interpretive responses. (JC)

Description of a study which formulated a model of the cognitive processes involved in learning statistics material via computer assisted learning (CAL) focuses on mode of presentation (aural or visual), sequence of the material, and previous mathematical experience. Textual analysis is discussed and implications of the results for design of CAL…

Investigated the cognitive engagement of students in grades 4-6 who received science lessons that varied in the level of cognitive content, procedural complexity, and social organization. The variables did not significantly affect student involvement. Cognitive engagement was similar for tasks judged as low and high in difficulty. (SKC)

This study used secondary education students to investigate three instructional design variables hypothesized to improve rule learning. Results show structuring information by a schematic analysis improves learning over taxonomic analysis; response-sensitive sequency adapting instruction for generalization, then discrimination, improves learning;…

The recall protocol procedure can be used as an alternative measure of foreign language reading comprehension and as a diagnostic tool. Protocol use encourages students to attend to the meaning of a foreign language passage and helps teachers to instruct students in the complex art of meaning construction. (CB)

Describes a study of the mental processes college students use in thinking about speed. Piagetian-type tasks dealing with speed, time, and distance were used in an individual interview format. Males outperformed females on tasks relating to speed, but not on the other tasks. (TW)

Describes a process-tracing study which investigated study approaches adopted by four distance learners enrolled in the Bachelor of Education Program at James Cook University and their mental processes when learning from distance-teaching materials in order to identify textual features which activated mental processes for use in textual design.…

Draws a number of conclusions from observing children involved in early literacy tasks, including the following: (1) children and teachers live together in schools, but their perceptions of shared world differ; and (2) the teacher, frequently operating from hierarchy model of curriculum, plans activities promoting and assessing literacy skills,…

This digest presents an overview of children with auditory processing disorders (APDs), children who can typically hear information but have difficulty attending to, storing, locating, retrieving, and/or clarifying that information to make it useful for academic and social purposes. The digest begins by describing central auditory processing and…