Vocabulary test errors made by people with varying levels of vocabulary knowledge might give information about the stages involved in learning a word's meaning. A study used such data to evaluate Johnson O'Connor's proposal that word learning involves four stages and that each stage is characterized by a type of confusion (a mislead). In the first…

The notion that second language instruction is more effective if begun at an early age is seen as arising from cognitive-nativist and neuropsychological postulates, and from the argument of "affective purity." Each of these positions is reviewed, along with frequently-heard objections to each. A fresh perspective on the issue is thus…

This document is concerned with the important extra-logical knowledge that is often outside of traditional discussions in mathematics, and looks at some of the ingredients and processes involved in the understanding of mathematics. The goal is to develop a conceptual framework in which to talk about mathematical knowledge and to understand the…

It is noted that helping children learn how to solve problems has become a major goal for school mathematics. However, many children are not very successful at deciding what operation is appropriate for solving a given problem, and teachers often have difficulty describing or explaining how to identify the key features of a particular problem that…

Cognitive development during each of the major stages identified by Piaget is characterized by abilities to solve progressively more complex tasks (e.g., changes in the object concept during the sensori-motor stage, and in conservation of amount, weight, and volume during the concrete operational stage). Several theorists have suggested that these…

Seventy-nine college students were taught laws of logarithms via the TICCIT CAI system. Most of the students were assigned to learner control or yoked treatment groups. Students assigned to learner control groups were able to choose how many instances to study. Students assigned to yoked groups were randomly yoked to students in the learner…

Problem solving approaches often find a path from the givens to the unknown or from the unknown to the givens. This study explores those approaches using written protocols of Navy subjects while solving for the numerical value of an unknown from several knowns and a system of equations. For a subset of the items, solutions require subjects to…

This manual is designed to be used by individuals being trained to deliver courses developed within the National Training System of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The guide provides resources essential to understanding course content, and provides materials to enable participants to be actively involved in the learning exercises. The…

Mastery learning is an optimistic theory of human learning that proposes that all learners can achieve mastery of the school's curricular content. Since it demands long range planning and precise designing of learning programs, this method cannot be employed without a great deal of thought and preparation. The forerunners of mastery learning go…

The work of eight learning theorists was used to evaluate a proposed adult education/learning experience in an effort to operationalize a system for locating strengths and weaknesses in an instructional system prior to its implementation. Thirty-five implications for adult education were extrapolated from work representing the Behaviorist (B.F.…

Two hundred sixty-five subjects learned a mixed list of paired associates in an AB, AD and AB, CD transfer paradigm. Two levels of semantic processing were factorially varied across original and interpolated pairs. Recall of original pairs was shown to be directly related to the processing depth of original pairs in both paradigms and inversely…

This study attempted to gather empirical evidence to guide educators in their teaching of linear measurement to primary school children. It attempted to answer the question "What modes of instruction are most effective for teaching linear measurement concepts to conservers and nonconservers of length?" (as defined by Jean Piaget), using a…

The study of andragogy, a well developed science in Europe, is gaining greater acceptance in the United States. Malcolm Knowles introduced it to American adult educators in 1968 and has made it the central theme of his work since. The distinction between andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn) and pedagogy (the art and science of…

This review of research on the achievement/enjoyment relationship cites evidence from aptitude treatment interaction (ATI) studies suggesting that students tend to like the instructional method from which they learn the least. High ability students prefer more structured and directive methods, but learn best from more open and permissive…

The research related to laboratory work in science instruction is reviewed in this position paper. The history of the laboratory is outlined from its roots in the nineteenth century, and the goals of the laboratory are enumerated from a review of the literature. Research findings are critically analyzed regarding the effectiveness of laboratory…