This document reviews theories of cognitive style and methods of cognitive style assessment as they relate to the context of South Africa, where sociopolitical changes call for reassessment of theoretical assumptions in education and training. The report consists of six chapters. After a brief introductory chapter, the second chapter gives an…

A practicum was designed for students, faculty, and administrators in an urban elementary school to acquire an increased understanding of other cultures. The practicum setting was a library media center with a student population of 1,205. Two inservice training workshops to inform staff members about the numerous cultures of their students (63%…

A practicum sought to measure and document real learning in natural circumstances through the use of whole language assessment techniques involving observation checklists on which skills for the language arts (writing, spelling, reading) were listed. Skills were measured using descriptor words such as "stable,""evident," and…

"Deep" approaches to learning, as defined by Biggs (1987) and others, would generally mean that a student is interested in the academic task, searches for meaning in the task, personalizes the task, integrates aspects of the task into a whole, sees relationships between this whole and previous knowledge, and tries to theorize about the…

Educators have voiced concern that leadership development has not been a part of their graduate education. But little is known about how leaders learn and how that learning affects their behavior and their success on the job. School leaders participating in a program at the Main Academy for School Leaders examined the connections between leaders'…

This paper defines and discusses the term "differentiation" as it is applied in gifted and talented education programs. It begins by describing three components that are most notably associated with differentiation: content (what is being taught); process (how it is being taught); and product (tangible results produced that are based on…

A study was conducted to determine: why teachers think the way they do; what teachers know and what is transferred to students; and, how novice teachers and experienced teachers alike attempt to make sense of the world. The subjects of the study were 117 elementary education student teachers. A pretest was administered prior to student teaching…

This document reports on a study that attempts to move beyond the polarization of labels and move toward a unity that transcends distinctions of gender and gender's embeddedness in the larger culture. While the traditional male model in studies of cognitive approaches has been challenged by feminist scholars, there is still some question of the…

Extension educators can benefit from using a variety of styles when participating in learning and problem-solving coalitions. The first section of this paper describes nine stages of the coalition-building process, which can be grouped into three phases. In the emergence phase, issues and concerns have heated up and risen to the surface, and…

Cognitive style indicates how a learner thinks and responds to the environment. Cognitive styles of education majors appear to have an impact on performance in preservice education coursework. This study classifies as field dependent or field independent the cognitive styles of 537 education majors at Auburn University (Montgomery, Alabama) and…

Gender differences in various aspects of cognitive ability may be related to cultural sex roles. This paper examines gender differences in learning styles among three groups of Canada Natives. Canfield's Learning Styles Inventory, Form E, was administered to 280 Cree, Dene, and Metis (mixed-blood) students in Grades 7-9 in northern Saskatchewan…

This document provides suggestions and strategies for teachers and departmental administrators to improve retention of college students in science, engineering or technology programs. Classroom management strategies include: setting the tone in the first class, demonstrating mastery of the subject, demonstrating enthusiasm for the subject, using…

One principal's criterion for proper decision-making information may be much different from that of another. Information providers need to decide what constitutes relevant information when communicating to decision-makers. Fifty-three principals and 11 assistant principals were administered two indicator tests to investigate the relationship…

Cognitive psychologists believe that knowledge is multifaceted and that people process more than just semantic content from a stimulus array. To investigate the implications of recall and impression formation processing objectives on the representation of serial order in memory and judgment, subjects participated in two recall and impression…

Recent research investigating the consequences of match-mismatch in cognitive style status for interpersonal attraction in teacher-student, patient-therapist, and other dyads suggests that matched persons are more likely to develop positive feelings toward each other. To assess the impact of cognitive style on the outcomes experienced by married…