In most elementary schools in the United States, students get their first systematic introduction to history as a discipline and to chronological treatment of U.S. history as subject matter in fifth-grade U.S. history courses. To develop information about the knowledge and misconceptions concerning U.S. history that fifth-grade teachers can expect…

This study evaluates and examines teaching strategies used by Project DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), a program developed by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Through a planned curriculum, uniformed law enforcement officers present information to fifth- and sixth-grade students on substance…

This study examined whether preservice teachers can infer the major concepts that a subject uses in his or her thinking on complex problems if the subject thinks out loud. Twenty-six students in a teacher certification program, 17 college graduates with 5 years of full-time work experience, and 16 college graduates with 10 years of full-time work…

An American Jewish woman learning Japanese in Japan examines the relationship between language, language learning, and personal identity. Autobiographical reflections are combined with entries from a diary and scholarly observations about the interrelationship of gender, race, culture, social class, historical experiences, and language learning.…

This paper considers the technological aspects of learning environment analysis in the instructional development process. Characteristics of a technology-based learning environment are discussed, and old and new models of technology and learning are examined. The connection between technology and cognition is addressed, and the importance of…

The stability of teacher behavior has been one of the most important areas of process-product research. This study was designed to investigate teacher stability in the context of math instruction across classes and times of observation in order to assess the relationship between teaching styles and student learning outcomes. Specifically the study…

A review of research makes it increasingly clear that findings from the areas of brain development and hemispheric specialization, student and teacher learning styles, and holistic and meaning-centered approaches to reading and writing are related, as they all contribute to a richer view of how learners learn. In brain research, the popular focus…

A study examined the sources of motivation of adults participating in the adult literacy program at the Bob Steele Reading Center (BSRC) in Hartford, Connecticut. The "life cycle" approach used to explore motivation throughout the stages of the literacy learning process included brief case studies focusing on the importance of socioemotional…

The essays collected in this volume are concerned with the field of computer-based intelligent instruction. The papers are organized into four groups that address the following topics: particular theoretical approaches (3 titles); the development and improvement of tools and environments (3 titles); the power of well-engineered implementations and…

A year-long thematic unit for fifth-graders combines critical thinking and whole language frameworks to help students retain, understand, and make active use of knowledge within and across domains. Using systematic instruction in critical thinking, students explore the fundamental human concepts of race, sex, age, and power. David…

The relationship between self-regulation, using measures from the affective and cognitive domains, and academic performance was investigated for 62 middle-school (grade 6) students. Key aspects of self-regulated learning studied were planning and self-assessment. A range of affective variables, including self-concept and locus of control, was also…

Learning activities and questioning skills that teachers in Tasmania can use to determine a child's mathematics understanding are presented. Covered topics include division, multiplication, subtraction, addition, sorting and classification, one-to-one correspondence, patterns, ordering, and counting. Included for each topic are the aim, needed…

This paper describes the senior honors thesis (a multigenre research paper), and narrates the process by which a senior English major at the University of New Hampshire and her project advisor worked together on this semester-long project. In the first section, the multigenre research paper is defined as a work that combines poems, monologues,…

Recent advances in instructional knowledge, as well as their usefulness for fitting instructional strategies to individual students, are the subject of this four-chapter survey of research literature. Chapter 1 summarizes research on learning styles--the ways in which individuals perceive, analyze, interpret, and respond to learning situations.…

This essay proposes that systematic and reflective inquiry ought to become the underlying professional frame of mind that guides teachers, administrators, and policy officials. It is noted that the products of inquiry include rationales connecting recommended courses of action to intended outcomes, as well as the invention of techniques,…