Cognitive theory and research are relevant to vocational education. Three theoretical perspectives underlie cognitive theory-based curriculum and instruction: information processing, knowledge structure, and social history. A review of these perspectives in vocational curriculum and instruction suggests that instruction supporting higher-level…

The question of why some second language learners are more successful than others is examined from two different approaches. One looks at the social distance between the speakers of the target language and the learner's native language and, on one hand, the resulting learner and target-language-speaker attitudes and, on the other hand, the type…

A model, derived from the literature, is presented of the influence of learners' preconceptions on the amount of mental effort invested in learning from television. The proposed model suggests that learners' preconceptions are influenced by the characteristics of the media, the characteristics of the task, and the characteristics of the learner.…

Many women in two-year colleges are returning to education after having been away from a school setting for an extended period of time. In a community college writing class, written comments to a teacher on the first day of class indicated that women were considerably less self-confident than the men, with several revealing fear of expressing…

An approach to teaching problem-solving based on using the computer software Mathematica is applied to the study of electrostatics and is compared with the normal approach to the module. Learning outcomes for both approaches were not significantly different. The experimental course successfully addressed a number of misconceptions. Students in the…

This paper presents four philosophies of science teaching for teachers to use that encourage optimal learner achievement. Information is provided on an experimentalist or problem solving approach, an idealistic or subject-centered science curricula, a decision-making approach, and criterion-referenced procedures for learning. Two psychologies of…

This paper reviews four decades of research on race and education in Great Britain and discusses the deficit theories of underachievement that serve as the structure of most of the studies. Focus is placed on black youth of Caribbean origin and how they perform in British schools. Consideration is also given to constructive frameworks from gender…

The paper briefly discusses pedagogical theory underlying the application of cooperative learning strategies in postsecondary environments and describes specific cooperative pedagogical strategies. Most of the paper consists of descriptions of the following exemplary cooperative learning techniques, with supporting data when available: (1)…

This monograph sets forth a theoretical basis for advocating a program of disciplinary arts education as an integral part of general education from kindergarten through grade 12. The title, "The Role of Imagery in Learning," indicates the centrality of aesthetic perception of images. To make the case, it is necessary to show by analysis,…

This paper discusses the central thesis that new research on estimation and mental computation will benefit from more focused attention on the situations in which they are used. In the first section of the paper, a brief discussion of cognitive theory, with special attention to the emerging notion of situated cognition is presented. Three sources…

A lecture series was conducted in 1989 to present information on learning theories by learning theorists. This document contains short texts of the lectures; full texts are available on request. In lecture 1, Robert Chase discusses educational reform and Bonnie Guiton examines educational goals from the perspective of White House policy. In…

These five issues of "Research in Developmental Education," examine the theoretical models and foundations of developmental education. Included are the following: (1) "Theoretical Foundations of Developmental Education," by Hunter R. Boylan, which examines the behaviorist, humanist, and developmental theories underpinning developmental education;…

Six separate studies were conducted using judgments from academic and practitioner experts to determine the knowledge structure of the Certified Financial Planner Professional Education Program (i.e., the organization of discipline topics and the relationships among them). The program consists of six sequential financial planning knowledge…

Results of a study of a pilot program exploring the application of reflective practice to educational administration are reported in this paper. The program goal was to create a design studio for the development of reflective practice among educational administration students. To accomplish this goal, the design studio provided explicit…

Awareness of the need for more effective instruction for heterogeneous groups of students has resulted in the development of the "mastery learning" model through which students are provided with the additional time necessary to achieve mastery of the content to be learned. The mastery learning model does not, however, provide a…