Vygotskian theory suggests that maturation and learning are not mutually exclusive; rather together they constitute development and are thus dependent on each other and interactive. The concept of the zone of proximal development involves determining two developmental levels of mental functions for each learner--the actual and the potential…

This document examines the work of Dewey, Kolb, Jarvis, Mezirow, Freire, Rogers, and Houle to find out what these experiential learning theorists have to say about the role experience plays in making learning meaningful. The first section addresses each writer's work for specific ideas of how experience is related to making learning meaningful,…

Critical thinking encompasses the recognition of significant problems within a particular knowledge domain, the ability to systematically evaluate data through the application of various schema, the ability to suspend personal evaluative biases, and the ability to construct, test, and communicate a final solution. Critical thinking is a skill…

This paper describes the Structure-Mapping Engine (SME), a cognitive simulation program for studying human analogical processing. SME is based on Gentner's Structure-Mapping theory of analogy, and provides a "tool kit" for constructing matching algorithms consistent with this theory. This flexibility enhances cognitive simulation studies by…

The use of thought modeling as an effective technique for teaching academic learning skills is examined. Based on decision theory, it is proposed that learning is improved when the student makes active decisions about learning actions or skills. Control over learning is dependent upon the quality of decisions about matching learning resources and…

A method to facilitate medical students' skill in diagnosis, based on cognitive science, was studied. A teaching intervention consisting of a 6-week seminar was used with sixth-year medical students in pediatric cardiology, which was their last rotation. Students were instructed to think about medicine as experts do (i.e., to conceptualize…

This essay looks at ways in which humor can be used to teach library skills in academic libraries. It discusses both the motivational and pedagogical value of humor as it is discussed in educational literature. Many examples are used to illustrate ways in which these principles can be applied in the library setting, and suggestions for effective…

This examination of instructional development from a futurist's perspective focuses on three questions: (1) What are the probable future developments in educational technology that will affect instructional development?; (2) What are the probable future developments in learning and cognition that will affect instructional development?; and (3)…

The major objective of this study was to observe the learning behaviors of teachers selected by their school districts to attend a training institute to learn some new ways of teaching. The teachers expected to use these new ways of teaching themselves and also to conduct training for other teachers in their own districts. This presentation…

Models of the second language acquisition process have not specifically elaborated on the nature of the learner's reception and processing of target language input, a process known as "intake." The models have failed to specify the mechanisms or variables involved in intake, or to distinguish between the stages of processing input from perception…

Although the ideas of Jean Piaget still dominate the field of science education, the range and severity of criticisms has increased progressively. In recent years, the emergence of a different theory of cognitive development has begun. This paper tentatively outlines a Lakatosian Research Programme for the alternative conceptions field. The…

The possibility of developing a learning theory that is designed to insure its relevance to educational problems is discussed. It is suggested that the constitutive problem for an educational psychology of learning is how one learns things that are difficult to learn. Behaviorist learning theories fail almost entirely to explain why anything is…

Arguing that the systematic application of knowledge about instruction to videodisc technology is essential if the full potential of this medium is to be realized, this paper begins by discussing the need for intelligent videodisc technology in our educational system. A brief review of the state of the art in intelligent videodisc systems, which…

Intended as a memorial to Robert G. Sidnell, this special issue contains articles about areas of music education which he promoted. In "The Dimensions of Research in Music Education," Sidnell concluded that music education research encompasses all humanistic disciplines as well as the behavioral and social sciences. James Carlsen, in…