Research related to the use of advanced organizers is reviewed. Four hypotheses are generated including the notion that advanced organizers may be most effective when structural integration is a problem. (SD)

Contends that a student gains knowledge through the act of writing as she joins bits of information into a whole. Presents a model for scanning students' written material to determine the way ideas are related. Notes that the value of a piece of information depends on how the writer joins it with other information. (KC)

Presents guidelines for social studies teachers and a sample writing assignment to encourage student's developmental writing. Suggests that students emphasize the significance of the writer's ideas and information rather than the information itself. Establishes the relationship between thinking processes and writing and the need to break these…

This paper begins with a discussion of a theory of teams in general and then proceeds to a description of a program of research focused on a simple but carefully structured classroom team technique, Student Teams-Achievement Divisions, or STAD. (Author)

Focuses on studies related to Piaget's specifications for secondary student's development from concrete to formal level thinking. Discusses three problem areas in Piagetian analysis: (1) specification of logical formal thought model, (2) underlying assumptions, and (3) empirical findings. Comments on application problems. Assesses Piagetian…

The exploration mode of content presentation is discussed. (MP)

A look at science education in the next 25 years. Some of the factors and variables that may affect science programs are: a rapidly changing society, technological advances, the nature of the science teaching population, enrollment patterns in the student population, and new advances in the application of learning theory and teaching techniques.…

In describing the basic philosophies of open education, this article discusses the close relationship between cognition and emotion in learning, the teacher's role in helping a child's thinking powers develop, and the role that environment plays in a child's emotional and intellectual development. (EB)

In two experiments, undergraduates who completed the last words of sentences they read learned more than subjects who simply read whole sentences. This facilitation was observed even with a list of sentences that were almost always completed with the wrong words. (Author/GDC)

Discusses how the teacher can deal with difficulties pupils of varying ages have in understanding certain chemical ideas. The article does not support using a Piagetian model for science courses in secondary schools. It suggests that Ausubel's learning theory is of much more use to the practicing teacher. (HM)

Research was carried out on Japanese children in the United States to test the hypothesis of early age sensitivity in second language learning. The results did not support this hypothesis. Acquisition proceeded at a fast rate initially, but the amounts of gain diminished with time. (CFM)

Compares the Ausubelian approach and the traditional one to the content organization of an introductory course in electromagnetism. States the differences between these approaches in terms of the student's ability to apply, relate, and differentiate electromagnetic concepts. (GA)

Argues against the claim that Piaget's theory of formal thought is invalid when used in learning high school chemistry, and suggests a way to test its validity. (GA)

Individual differences in memory can be studied from two theoretical perspectives: Reappearance Theory or Constructive Theory. To test the Constructive Theory, two experiments examined the retention of high and low ability students. The results of both experiments supported the hypothesis that learners who acquire information rapidly also display…