Vygotskian theory suggests that maturation and learning are not mutually exclusive; rather together they constitute development and are thus dependent on each other and interactive. The concept of the zone of proximal development involves determining two developmental levels of mental functions for each learner--the actual and the potential…

In library instruction, as in any instructional setting, individual learning styles should be addressed to ensure better learning and retention. Historical examination of learning styles research suggests that in order to appreciate the diversity of students' learning styles and to apply this understanding in a library or information environment,…

Research addressed two questions: (1) Does collaborative problem solving lead to greater learning among children than independent work? and (2) Does children's expertise and that of their partner influence learning? To address these questions, the performance of 5-year-old novice and expert singletons copying a Lego model was compared to that of…

Because so little research has been conducted on methods of teaching literature, two separate but related studies were conducted to (1) examine what it means to understand stable irony, and (2) to compare two methods, direct and tacit, of teaching stable irony. A 36-item test, comprised of questions about 7 ironic poems and 2 nonironic poems,…

The back-propagation neural network learning procedure was applied to the analysis and recognition of speech. Because this learning procedure requires only examples of input-output pairs, it is not necessary to provide it with any initial description of speech features. Rather, the network develops on its own set of representational features…

Aspects of chess relevant to certain educational issues are explored. Based on findings from a sample of about 50 children from 6 to 18 years of age, discussion focuses on (1) how children play chess and how the process of acquiring expertise differs among children and adults, (2) chess training techniques and why they are effective with children,…

The facts and ideas of subject matter are of little or no value unless such facts and ideas are used to promote thoughtful discourse. Those who teach with this idea in mind can be said to be thinking-skills centered or procognitive; those who teach without this idea in mind can be termed content-centered or procontent. The procognitive viewpoint…

This paper argues that during the past two decades, research on teaching effectiveness can be identified with three differing paradigms: (1) the technical/"scientific"; (2) the humanistic; and (3) the person-centered paradigms. It is further proposed that if teaching is viewed as an art or craft and learning as an ever present process,…

Concerns raised in 1967 about the state of British research on language teaching and learning are still applicable, including a need (Birmingham, England, February 24-26); see FL 016 092. teaching, and to a lesser extent, a lack of published information on the applications of academic psychology to language teaching. Early initiatives in these…

Predicting that the teaching-learning process in American higher education is about to change drastically because of continuing innovations in computer-assisted technology, this paper argues that this change will be driven by inexpensive but powerful computer technology, and that it will manifest itself by reducing the traditional timing of…

The skills of knowing how to learn and apply information, which have been collectively grouped under the heading "learning management," are becoming increasingly important as society progresses farther into the information age. Because adult learning is usually more self-directed and because adults are largely free to determine their…

Cognitive theorists distinguish between two forms of memory. Explicit memory, requiring the conscious reinstatement of episodic memories, is manifested on traditional tests where the student is asked to retrieve information previously learned. Implicit memory is evoked when task completion is facilitated by prior experience with a similar task.…

This paper describes some salient aspects of inservice education that focus on constructivist learning/conceptual change. Major issues for inservice education based on the constructivist approach are described. These issues arise from viewing teachers as constructivist learners, and from the assumption that constructivism and conceptual change…

Intended for elementary school teachers, researchers, and materials developers, this book presents a cluster approach to vocabulary instruction, in which words are taught in semantically related groups. Over 7,000 words from elementary school textbooks have been organized into 61 instructional clusters, each containing two levels of subclusters…

Questions and questioning play a major role in both formal and informal educative processes. They are the means by which a child expresses the desire to understand the world outside and they subsequently become the means by which a teacher assesses whether or not a child has satisfactorily assimilated something. This book considers questions from…