Investigates the effects of medium of instruction and ability grouping (banding) of schools on students' learning and achievement orientation. The results showed that students studying in upper band schools (i.e., low-ability schools) used fewer strategies in learning, had lower self-efficacy, higher surface goal and lower attainment scores than…

Investigates associations between students' perceptions of their social environment and academic outcomes. Results suggest that contextual factors influence students over and above their perceptions of their environment and demonstrate the value of considering the social context in which a students lives when choosing interventions. (Contains 36…

Character education, according to Martin Buber, goes beyond eliminating classroom behavior problems. Punishment and bribery are extrinsic and ineffective approaches. Helpfulness and responsibility must be taught within the context of a community of people who learn, play, and make decisions together. The Child Development Project helps children…

Responds to five major articles by Duckworth, Goldman, Healy, Sampson, and Goodyear on issues pertaining to testing and assessment in counseling psychology. Notes that assessment of the person is incomplete unless it includes assessment of environment, and discusses the role of assessment in problem solving. (TE)

Arguing that creativity in doctoral research has been underemphasized, this article offers five principles drawn from theoretical and research literature for advisors cultivating creative dissertation work and examines each principle from three contextual perspectives: individual psychology, theoretical-methodological, and institutional. (PB)

Investigates the degree to which practice in isolated word recognition affects children's speed of recognizing words presented within a sentence context. Finds that increased speed of word recognition interacts in a compensatory fashion with reliance upon context as an aid to word recognition. (RS)

Argues that understanding subject matter differences among high school teachers is crucial for the analysis and reform of secondary schools. Findings from surveys and interviews with high school teachers illustrate the subject subcultures to which teachers belong. Shared beliefs and the constraints of different subjects may complicate reform. (SLD)

The role of context in categorization was examined in four experiments with three month olds. Findings demonstrated that categorization of a novel object is influenced by the context present when the object is initially encountered and by previous encounters with that object in the category context, indicating that infants are capable of…

This study examined the social context in which crystallizing experiences (experiences which solidify the individual's awareness of some aspect of the self) occurred among 422 gifted adolescents. Results found that most crystallizing experiences took place in public settings, were related to personal achievement, required no conscious…

Examined the use of bimodal communication (BC), sign language with spoken English, by hearing college students in five scenarios and during informal discussions between scenarios. The results indicated that varying signing ability affected signers' BC rate and that skilled signers adapted the amount of BC they used to the social situation. (three…

When disequilibrium is integrated into the high school chemistry curriculum, students are challenged by phenomena that cause them to question previously held beliefs. They then develop possible explanations and design methods to test their hypotheses. Discovery learning encourages in-depth concept development, independent problem solving, and…

Presents the idea that the central link between science and society is established by a diffusion of knowledge. Suggests knowledge transfers may be analyzed in a metaphorical context and that a metaphorical analysis should be combined with discourse analysis and central concepts of evolutionary theory. (50 references) (Author/AEF)

Addresses the need for and the problem of organizing a science curriculum around contextual settings and science stories that serve to involve and motivate students to develop an understanding of the world that is rooted in the scientific and humanistic traditions. Presents a conceptual development model and a proposed program of activities. (76…

This study, involving three toddlers with language impairments, evaluated effectiveness of a lexical facilitation strategy designed to increase the salience or informativeness of target objects relative to other objects and actions in the context. Complications in employing the experimental task in intervention settings are discussed, along with…

Describes an instructional design model for hypertext, the Explorer's Hypertext Story Model, which is structured around components based on a story or narrative structure. Topics discussed include learner motivation; navigation in hypertext; learner control; and the importance of understanding information in context. (34 references) (LRW)