Examines the concept of meaningful learning in light of new information technology. Highlights include learning processes; types of learning; the computational theory of mind; the value of animations and simulations; and the importance of well-designed and well-written instructional materials. (LRW)

Observational reinforcement was studied in 5- to 13-month-old infants in a contingency learning task where brief light-sound stimulation followed touches on a canister. The task was preceded by differing preexperiences for each of four study groups. Overall, results demonstrated that vicarious reinforcement in the preexperiences probably did not…

A test battery was designed to test the Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory. The battery was administered to 87 children aged 6 and 7 years. Correlations between subtest scores indicated high construct validity for the central executive and phonological loop measures, although not for the visuospatial measures. (Contains 100 references and…

Based on research on the effect of preinstructional knowledge on students' learning of chemical phenomena, this study explores individual learning processes in an introductory chemistry course. Focuses on four common conceptions about two basic chemistry concepts: changes of substances and the particle model of matter. (Author/SAH)

Discusses the orientation of learners, which takes into account their environment and how they take control over their studies. Describes a study of Australian university distance education students that examined factors which influence distance students' orientations, and discusses results that show student independence and study environment were…

Reports language acquisition experiments with simple recurrent networks solving phoneme prediction in continuous phonemic data, which suggests the network output could function as a source for syllable boundary detection. The phoneme prediction network simulates the necessary "bootstrap" to discover syllabic segmentation in unsegmented…

Discusses how to structure and design learning activities that are student-centered. Considers how to teach for understanding, especially with online tools and resources; describes specific activity structures categorized by genre and learning processes; and gives examples of curriculum-based student-centered projects that use the Internet. (LRW)

Reviews and discusses the literature on visual design and visual cognition; summarizes the results of an empirical study that investigated whether computer screen design with good visual design principles influence the learning process; and identifies challenges encountered in conducting research on screen design with respect to achievement…

Discussion of productive learning in the workplace focuses on the capture and reuse of tacit knowledge. Highlights include two approaches for the reuse of tacit knowledge; instructional strategies and technologies to support knowledge capture and reuse; increasing the productivity of mentoring; knowledge transfer and knowledge creation; and…

Discusses the two theories that have contributed most to the development of the mediational approach to learning, Vygotskian sociocultural theory and Feuerstein's theory of Mediated Learning Experience. Both theories emphasize the importance of sociocultural forces in shaping a child's development and learning, and have generated a number of…

Considers what psychology has to offer education and, more specifically, what developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and the affiliated cognitive sciences have to offer to the preservice and continuing education of K-12 teachers. (EV)

Describes the results of part of an ongoing study to find and document "new literacy" classrooms. Seeks to describe new literacy classroom practices (i.e., assignments, assessments) as well as types of learning experienced by students and teacher in such classrooms. (SG)

Maintains that recent theoretical and methodological advances have sparked renewed interest in studying children's learning. Describes consistent and interesting findings regarding how children learn and intriguing proposals regarding mechanisms underlying learning. Argues that increasing the focus on children's learning promises practical…

Describes the Spectrum Project in a Lebanese kindergarten, the goal of which was to determine whether, through assessment of activities, a profile of children's abilities, strengths, and weaknesses could be identified, and to investigate the relationship between the different intelligences. Implications and recommendations for future research are…

Learning-centered teaching involves adopting teaching methods such as student-centered learning, active learning, didactic teaching, and problem-based learning where they are appropriate. Describes this process and makes recommendations. (Author/CCM)