This research study examines the nature of socio-cognitive influences on general chemistry students' learning and success. In this study, "learning" means gaining critical thinking skills and "success" means good academic grades. From a social constructivist and postmodern perspective, learning and success are considered functions of enculturation…

This is an age of backlash, as illustrated by many developments in the field of education. Backlash against performance assessment is very evident, but it must be remembered that backlash has its uses. It forces advocates to rethink, reformulate, and restate why they put so much faith in the program under attack. Events have pushed advocates to…

This document contains the following full and short papers on cognition and conceptual change from ICCE/ICCAI 2000 (International Conference on Computers in Education/International Conference on Computer-Assisted Instruction): (1) "A Method of Creating Counterexamples by Using Error-Based Simulation" (Tomoya Horiguchi and Tsukasa…

There is a popular view that arithmetic is only a collection of dull algorithms containing no interesting ideas. However, if one goes a little below the surface, it will become apparent that there are many fascinating ideas waiting to be discovered. The paper tries to show that mathematical ideas can be recognized and understood without the use of…

This study examines whether working memory capacity, a construct of current information processing theory, correlates with fluent foreign language (L2) speech production. It is based on M. Daneman's study (1991), who found significant correlation between individuals' working memory capacity and the fluency with which they can speak their first…

This book features a comparative study of American and Chinese mathematics teachers. How teachers understand the content of mathematics and their practice of mathematics teaching is examined. The differences between Chinese and U.S. teachers' knowledge of mathematics for teaching are documented, and how Chinese teachers' understanding of…

This paper examines the ways that intentions are formed in classroom interaction. The setting is an English lesson at a maritime institute, and the topic is the grounding of a freighter. The formation of intentions is seen as an interaction phenomenon. A systematic approach is adapted on mental phenomena. In this approach psychological phenomena,…

Self-regulation has long been seen as a desirable but difficult to achieve instructional aim. This is particularly true of online learning, where users have limited instructional support and where attrition rates tend to be greater than in face-to-face teaching. This paper examines the nature of self-regulation, identifying affective and cognitive…

This paper discusses the design and pedagogy underpinning the use of online quiz items in which students are presented with a range of questions designed to enhance understanding of complex linguistic constructions. It explores the design of different types of quiz questions from the perspective of pedagogy and cognitive demand. The particular…

This paper investigates the motivational profiles of students in schools that participate in a professional development program (the CASE project), which has reported remarkable success in raising students' academic achievement. On the basis of new work on the characterization and measurement of motivational orientation, beliefs, and self-view,…

These three papers are from a symposium on individual learning issues. "A Quantitative Examination of the Feelings and Cognitive Processes of a Group of Adults Undertaking a Tertiary HRD [Human Resource Development] Program" (Bryan W. Smith) examines mental and emotional states of adults in a tertiary HRD learning situation by using stimulated…

The first section of this two-part document, The Hermeneutic Struggle: A Teaching Method, explores the author's pedagogical explanation of a hermeneutic approach to teaching philosophy. According to the article, the teacher should come to the classroom and be able to approach the subject matter from the perspective of the beginner, yet, at the…

This book synthesizes information from a range of scientific disciplines, including neuroscience, developmental psychology, and psychiatry, to explore the idea that the mind emerges at the interface of interpersonal experience and the structure and function of the brain. Each chapter explores a major domain of human experience. Following an…

The neuropsychologic performance of 27 children (about 6 to 13 years old) with early-treated phenylketonuria (PKU) was evaluated and correlated with their serum phenylalanine concentrations at several ages. (Author/SEW) Journal Availability: The Journal of Pediatrics; The C. V. Mosby Company, 11830 Westline Industrial Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141.

Examples are given of the variety of mathematical concepts and problems being studied by psychologically oriented researchers in France. Work on decimals, circles, natural numbers, decimal and real numbers, and didactic transposition are included. Comments on designing research on mathematics concept formation conclude the article. (MNS)