A "dynamic priority" theory of Chinese second language instruction is outlined and discussed. The theory focuses on five aspects of language instruction: spoken vs. written language; universality vs. particularity; cultural vs. linguistic tasks; performance vs. competence; and proficiency vs. achievement. A dynamic relationship is seen between the…

Presenting a diagnostic teaching unit for grade 7 language arts, this handbook is intended to be used along with the companion handbook 1, "Evaluating Students' Learning and Communication Processes: Integrating Diagnostic Evaluation and Instruction." The student activities of the diagnostic teaching units in the handbook have been…

The purpose of this research was to provide information about gender-related worldview structures, among college students, that can inform the instructional decision making process. Information was generated in a logico-structural investigation of the interrelationship of gender, interest in science, and concept of nature. The strength of the…

The teaching of thinking has become the focus of a new interventionist paradigm in schooling. Four perspectives have been particularly influential in the development of the paradigm: (1) the cognitive view of intelligence, which asserts that intellectual ability can be changed; (2) the constructivist approach to learning, which maintains that…

This paper contains the results of a study on the importance of discovery learning using computer simulations. The purpose of the study was to identify what constitutes discovery learning and to assess the effects of instructional support measures. College students were observed working with an assignment and a computer simulation in the domain of…

This paper offers a small group discussion model as a viable alternative for facilitating critical thinking. The paper first review literature discussing what critical thinking is and whether it can be taught. After defining critical thinking as an active process which involves constructing arguments, the paper concludes that an optimally…

The purpose of this book is to consider early literacy education and whole language from the perspective of constructivist theory (which states that human beings acquire knowledge by building it from the inside in interaction with the environment) and research. More specifically, the book intends to show that the whole language movement is part of…

Science teachers tend to focus on schemas rather than underlying structures with greater explanatory power. One such structure is the recognition that the logical statement implication can only be falsified. After instruction with a modified version of the four-card hypothesis testing task, a grup of 48 preservice elementary teachers were…

This packet summarizes the ideas, concepts, suggestions, and speculations growing out of a think tank which explored the uncharted region beyond cognitive learning. The packet shows that participants were divided into groups to discuss teaching, research, bibliographic information, theoretical ideas, and professional issues. The packet contains:…

This three-part volume provides a summary, for use by practitioners, of a project concerned with how novices learn to become creative educational computer users. The first chapter examines techniques for increasing the novice's understanding of computers and computer programming, and specifically analyzes the potential usefulness of five…

Microcomputers have presented instructional designers with an ideal tool with which to deliver individualized instruction. With a few exceptions, however, the results of cognitive styles research do not provide sufficient conclusions upon which to make design decisions. Critically missing in many studies is an explication of the conceptual binding…

No morning bell is needed at San Diego's Belle Benchley School, where mixed age groups touch things off spontaneously. (Editor)

When asked to give a talk at a mathematics teacher conference that focused on research in mathematics education, Ruhama Even viewed the invitation as an opportunity to address the meta-question: what can teachers learn from research in mathematics education? The reason for her view was her way of feeling, as a researcher and teacher educator, that…

The purpose of this paper is to present a computer-based attention reduction training (ART) model and to outline important issues that must be addressed before the model can be incorporated into an educational setting. The model is based on the dual task technique, an assessment procedure developed by memory researchers. Methodological assumptions…

Analyses of the Null Subject Parameter (NSP) suggest that several factors may influence the resetting process for second language acquisition, such as specific "trigger" data, awareness of agreement as a part of awareness of agreement (INFL), and stylistic rules such as subject postposing and anaphoric reference. Four tests were…