A study focused on teaching students to write effectively in time-pressure situations, particularly on essay exams. Thirteen sections of freshman composition (205 students) were divided into two treatment groups. Half of the classes completed the exam-taking unit in a standard freshman text. The other half of the classes worked through an inquiry…

Four studies were conducted in which subjects performed three sets of tasks tapping, in a standard format, progressively refined, non-linguistic processes in speech processing. The studies examined the following: (1) auditory versus phonetic processes in the discrimination of consonants; (2) auditory versus phonetic processes in loudness and pitch…

There are fundamental differences in the forms of learning addressed by cognitive psychologists and educationalists. The phenomena explained by a psychological theory of learning are the successes of human cognition. The mechanisms posited are designed to account for how learning takes place, where the content of the learning is the physical and…

The design of an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) in a knowledge domain where expertise is modeled as a set of uncertain and incomplete beliefs that are justifiable and expressible in the form of a critical argument is outlined. Issues concerning knowledge communication in a tutorial interaction are discussed with reference to a cognitive model…

This document contains lessons designed for teaching geography and map skills to intermediate level students, although many may be adapted to other grade levels. The lessons place heavy reliance on children making a series of individual and collective maps. The 16 lessons included are: (1) mental maps; (2) conventional maps; (3) map elements; (4)…

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) published a new learning style instrument in 1986--the NASSP Learning Style Profile (LSP). The LSP yields independent scores on 24 discrete elements of learning style. Its purpose is to provide educators with a well-validated and easy to use instrument for diagnosing cognitive styles,…

In three parts, this symposium presentation to the American Montessori Society: (1) comments generally on current perceptions of Montessori education; (2) poses questions about practices in Montessori classrooms that challenge Montessori educators' core beliefs about Montessori education; and (3) discusses the cutting edges of contemporary…

Teachers enrolled in a graduate reading course on the latest research in comprehension and instructional techniques were asked to keep a metacognitive journal instead of writing a traditional term paper. The journal provided the 32 teachers with the opportunity to become aware of the strategies that they use in processing difficult material,…

The second language learner cannot be expected to have as strong a drive to refine his language as the first language learner. In first language acquisition, cognitive development and language development occur together, which induces meaningful generalizations. In second language learning, meaning and form are separate, particularly in the…

This paper presents a conceptual framework that relates empirical aspects of student teaching (facts about the experience) to considerations of value (what student teachers ought to learn). First, the report explains what is meant by calling student teaching an "occasion for teacher learning." Next, based on observational and interview…

J. D. Bransford's tetrahedral model of learning considers four variables: (1) learning activities, (2) characteristics of the learner, (3) criterial tasks, and (4) the nature of the materials. Bransford's model provides a research-based theoretical framework that can be used to teach, model, and have students apply a variety of study strategies to…

Noting that the claim that writing is a way to learn underlies most writing across the curriculum programs, this paper provides an overview of recent research results supporting the claim and emphasizes the need for more research in this area. The paper first identifies three dominant interpretations in the writing across the curriculum…

Implications of biophysicist Herman Epstein's research on brain growth periodization, which develop a neurobiological consideration of learning issues for middle school curricula, have created controversy among educators and stimulus for further research. This presentation (1) summarizes the writer's interpretations of these data and implications…

The popular view that children have an advantage in learning a second language has considerable support in research, although it is not uncontested. One approach proposes that the child possesses a unique capacity for language that the adult no longer has. Another view argues that the child's brain is more flexible. A third approach assumes that…

An extension of an earlier longitudinal study of thriving, average, or non-thriving kindergarten children, this study examined the intellectual, academic, social, self-directive, and temperamental characteristics of children from kindergarten to grade four. Fifty-four of the children were perceived by their junior or senior kindergarten teachers…