Interview and questionnaire responses of students in grades K-10 completing common and decimal fraction tasks suggested the existence of 2 sequential unistructural-multistructural-relational learning cycles within the concrete symbolic mode. (46 references) (MKR)

Challenges the widely endorsed practice of activating relevant knowledge prior to reading. Outlines a perspectival (perspective-relative) view of reading and suggests that this view provides a means to make coherent sense of interpretations. Concludes that having specific knowledge is not the main desideratum in interpreting texts--the main…

Presents a view of the interplay among the various factors of personal experience, language, and socialization in the process of learning science in classrooms. Discusses the problematic relations among scientific knowledge, the learning of science, and pedagogy. (GLR)

Describes how a mathematics teacher's knowledge level can be supported or justified by a criterion different from test scores of teacher's students, namely the ability of the teacher to justify teaching practices by appealing to concurrent learning method. Two examples are provided that formalize theoretical justifications as practical arguments…

Discussion of ways to enhance learning in school library media centers focuses on the theory of constructivism. Methods described include examining ideas, interacting with other students, encouraging higher-level thinking skills, and pausing to give time for reflection. Examples of lessons for elementary and secondary school students are provided.…

This paper traces the theoretical foundations of the Spalding Method of teaching reading, from the original concepts of Samuel T. Orton through validation in current cognitive science and learning theory. Descriptions of implementation with regular and special education children are provided. The method provides direct, multisensory instruction in…

This study, with 26 deaf and 26 pair-matched hearing preschool children, first assessed their cognitive modifiability using dynamic and static-convention instruments, and then compared the factorial pattern of the cognitive measures in both groups. Results are interpreted according to the Structural Cognitive Modifiability and Mediated Learning…

This paper introduces management models for developing a collaborative language intervention process, implementation models for language assessment and Individualized Education Program planning, and multicultural issues. Strategy training for language and communication is introduced as a feasible example, with macrolevel and microlevel process…

Examines how new theories about the mind and brain affect music education. Specifically considers the nature of the musical mind and the nature of music. Discusses the work of Robert Ornstein, D. Alan Allport, Howard Gardner, and David Loye. Recommends that music educators, at all levels, incorporate these perspectives into their teaching. (KM)

Five principles of learning for young children with handicaps (functioning below a developmental age of one year) are presented, with descriptions of strategies that can be used to facilitate ascendance to higher levels of cognitive-social-communicative functioning. The principles include frequent adult-child interactions, meaningful context for…

An Assimilative Base Model is presented and related to the improvement of instruction in writing for learning-disabled and other children. The model, based on Piagetian theory, involves three interchange processes: automatic skill development; puzzlement leading to reorganization of relationships; and strategy development leading to enrichment of…

Identifies the unsophisticated assumptions and conjectures, both intuitive and empirical in character, underlying secondary school science students' (n=25) portrayal of scientific knowledge and its production. Structured interview protocols explored not only the students' substantive knowledge base but, perhaps more important, their ability to…

Presents guidelines derived from cognitive and constructivist learning theory and instructional design literature for designing effective hypermedia-based courseware. Topics addressed include the influence of learning theory, hypertext and hypermedia, courseware design factors, learner interaction variables, practice, feedback, learner control,…

Addresses Clark's position that media do not influence learning (EJ 294 173). The need to consider the capabilities of media as they interact with the cognitive and social processes by which knowledge is constructed is posited. This approach is examined within the context of two major media-based projects. Implications for theory, research, and…

Argues that designing aids and tools to perfect the mind is one of the primary goals of educational research. It discusses the need for appropriate theories to design instructional materials and methods and explains why school practices have not changed to reflect advances in the understanding of learning and development. (GLR)