Presents a system in which students in an introductory sociology class use computers to analyze data from the National Opinion Research Center's (NORC) General Social Surveys. Reviews obstacles to the use of computers by both students and instructors and shows how these obstacles can be reduced. (DB)

Suggests that the most effective way to motivate student enthusiasm and interest in the social studies classroom is through the use of educational simulations. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of simulations, and presents three of the most effective commercial simulations available today. (DB)

The technologies in most American schools have not kept pace with those used in the larger society. Lectures, standardized tests, letter grades, tracking, textbooks, field trips, chalkboards, courses, credits, and busing remain the norm. If educators refuse to embrace newer information technologies, agencies outside schools will develop…

Discusses the positive effects of cooperative learning on students' academic achievement, attitudes toward each other, and social and affective development. Describes two cooperative learning techniques with broad utility and adaptability: the jigsaw strategy and student teams achievement division. (SV)

The use of a computer software package called "Exploring Measurement, Time and Money--Level 1" to help children explore many different arrangements of data and the effects of changing that data is presented. Activities which may be used to prepare students for this instruction are described. (CW)

Free-recall memory performance of and spontaneous strategy use by 227 field-dependent and field-independent undergraduates were investigated by means of memorized word lists that were high or low in inherent organization and when cognitive strategy instruction was provided or withheld. Results are consistent with current views of field-dependence…

Reviews research on learning strategies instruction that has been conducted on students with learning disabilities. Outlines instructional principles on how to teach learning strategies to at-risk students, according to which teachers should teach prerequisite skills before strategy instruction begins; teach regularly and intensively; emphasize…

Teachers using the self-regulated strategy development approach instruct students in task-specific strategies along with more general strategies for regulating the students' strategy use and the learning process. Examines the components, stages, and characteristics of such an approach, along with its effectiveness in helping students with learning…

Investigated strategies that 7- to 12-year-old children (n=96) spontaneously applied in solving novel combinatorial problems. With experience in solving two-dimensional problems, children were able to refine their strategies and adapt them to three dimensions. Results on some problems indicated significant effects of age. (Contains 32 references.)…

Reports on content and teaching strategies in 10 drug abuse prevention curricula for public and private schools. Although similarities exist among the curricula, they employ a range of content and strategies. Many strategies are too complex, and the curricula do not provide sufficient background information and training for classroom…

Reports on a research study in which college students used a statistical ordination method to reveal relationships among plant community structures and physical, disturbance, and spatial variables. Concludes that polar ordination helps students understand the methodology of plant geography and encourages further student research. (CFR)

The use of a rereading strategy by 20 good and 24 poor comprehenders (undergraduates) to regulate understanding was examined. Poor comprehenders generally reread more, but good comprehenders were better able to direct their rereading selectively to text comprehension problems and had better text memory. (SLD)

Describes two aspects of metacognition, knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition, and how they relate to domain-specific knowledge and cognitive abilities. It is argued that metacognitive knowledge is multidimensional, domain-general in nature, and teachable. Four instructional strategies are described for promoting the construction and…

Investigates Grade 12 students' understandings of the nature of chemical bonds and the energetics elicited across five familiar chemical reactions following a course of instruction. Discusses the many ways in which students can misconstruct concepts and principles. Contains 63 references. (DDR)

Reports on an intensive study of problem-solving activity of female students at the senior secondary level. Focuses on both the mathematical processing and the underlying cognitive and metacognitive activities that led to that processing. Concludes that all successful groups displayed a high number of key points where metacognitive decisions could…