The interaction between aptitudes and concrete vs. symbolic teaching methods was investigated. One class of randomly selected third graders was taught multiplication and division by a symbolic method while a second class was given a manipulative approach. Each student took the Stanford Achievement Test battery, the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test,…

This booklet, one in a series entitled "What Research Says to the Teacher," deals with guided study and homework. The first section discusses the general topic of supervised and guided study; study methods and the psychology of learning are examined as are related factors. Section two takes up the topic of study at home: objectives of homework,…

A historical sketch which traces behavioral theory from Pavlov to Skinner and explains the application of Skinner's theory to teaching begins this introduction to programed instruction. Next, three models of programed courses, Skinner's, Crowder's, and skip-branching, are described. The third section, techniques for elaborating programed courses,…

The effects of negative instances in the acquisition of the conjunctive concepts of distributivity and homomorphism were examined. Ninety-two elementary education majors were used as subjects. Two treatment levels for distributivity (series of positive instances or positive and negative instances) and the same treatment levels for homomorphism…

Two major hypotheses were tested in three experiments. The first hypothesis proposed that students can imitate and internalize filmic codes, to be used subsequently as covert schematized mediators. The second hypothesis was that subjects with low relevant aptitude scores would profit more than better able subjects from films which model for them…

One hundred forty-three students enrolled in an undergraduate chemistry class were rank ordered by their performance on a test of organizing ability. The median break technique was used to form two groups--good organizers (GO) and poor organizers (PO). Students within each of these groups were then randomly assigned to three treatments. Treatment…

This research deals with optimizing the instructional process. The approach adopted was to limit consideration to simple learning tasks for which adequate mathematical models could be developed. Optimal or suitable suboptimal instructional strategies were developed for the models. The basic idea was to solve for strategies that either maximize the…

THIS STUDY CONSISTED OF A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO YIELD DATA ON THE PARAMETERS OF LEARNING IN THESE SITUATIONS--(1) THE QUANTITY OF MATERIAL TO BE LEARNED WAS GREATER THAN USUAL, AND (2) THE SCHEDULING OF LEARNING, REVIEW TRIALS, AND THE AMOUNTS OF MATERIAL PRESENTED WERE VARIED WITHIN A DESIGN JUDGED TO APPROACH OPTIMAL SCHEDULING IN…

This study determined if trials on a concept learning task could be analyzed, using multiple learning curves, to generate a family of curves which would clarify differences in methods of attaining concepts. (RC)

Recognizing the groundlessness of Kohlberg's dismissal of the Aristotelian view that virtues are acquired individually by practice, that view can possibly work in tandem with Kohlberg's for a complete theory of moral development. (Author/SJL)

The effect of general and specific cues on learning information from graphs is analyzed. The study shows that the use of cues influenced the amount of information learned, with variations according to type and placement of cues. (JMF)

Providing practitioners with synopses, illustrations based on classroom experiences, and research findings, this article analyzes the learning models of Jean Piaget, Robert Gagne, Robert Karplus, David Ausubel, and Jerome Bruner in terms of the implications for teaching junior high school mathematics. (JC)

Although perception theory and research are relevant for learning theorists and educational technologists, they have not been regarded as a practical resource by most. Their place in education will be determined by empirical testing of psychological hypotheses as well as by philosophical assumptions. (Author/STS)

College undergraduates were divided into high and low groups on the basis of their scores on a social learning measure. The difference between these two groups with respect to Rorschach M responses (the psychoanalytic measure) was nonsignificant. Apparently psychoanalytic and social learning theorists are referring to different phenomena when they…

Examines Piaget's theory of cognitive development with particular reference to the teaching of chemistry in the secondary school. Concludes that the theory has many fundamental weaknesses, with respect to analyzing curriculum materials in terms of levels of thought and should not be used as the basis for course assessment. (GA)