Describes an instructional procedure based on the findings of schema research and illustrating the truth that the more students know about a subject, the better they can comprehend what they read about that subject. (FL)

Eight alternative frameworks of students' conceptions of gravity are discussed. Data supporting these frameworks were obtained during 40-minute interviews dealing with force. (SK)

A linear regression model was used to test the relationship between the knowledge of Kohlberg's theory and moral stage development. A multiple regression analysis was used to test the multivariate relationship between one dependent and five independent variables. Neither analysis demonstrated a statistically significant relationship. (Author/PN)

The consortial approach to assessment of prior learning can reduce costs and increase the availability of service. CLEO (Compact for Lifelong Educational Opportunities), a consortium of 38 colleges and universities in the Delaware Valley region, is described. (Author/MLW)

Provides several types of prereading activities that combine into one strategy stressing vocabulary, oral language development, and prediction. (FL)

Three prior learning program directors relate their experiences with program implementation. Three different types of institutions are represented: Sinclair Community College, State University of New York at Cortland, and American University, Washington, DC. Vital statistics and program descriptions are presented. (MLW)

Regional counseling, assessment centers, and the telecommunications revolution, it is suggested, will have a significant impact on the shape of prior learning assessment programs in the 1980s. Educators must resist the temptation to tie in all assessment programs to courses and credentials. (MLW)

Schools of Pharmacy, it is suggested, should be responsive to practitioner needs by providing a mechanism through which pharmacists may earn a PharmD degree with minimal disruption. The degree should be part-time, off-campus, and provide a means to grant partial credit for prior knowledge and experience. (Author/MLW)

The new Continuing Education Unit as a quantitative measure of noncredit coursework is explained, and it is indicated how the college should consider CEU transcripts in assessing prior learning for credit. (Author)

Subjects listened to sounds of individual musical instruments and matched these to instrument pictures. Second graders scored significantly higher than first graders; rank orders of instruments according to association difficulty, however, were markedly similar between grades. Results support the view that children bring much music knowledge to…

Although undergraduates often earn academic credit for prior learning, graduate students are rarely afforded that opportunity, with Central Michigan University and the University of Northern Colorado as exceptions. Both the American Council on Education and the Council for the Advancement of Experiential Learning support experiential learning in…

Methods and materials to assist colleges in evaluating the competencies that women acquire from their volunteer and homemaking experiences are described, including a counseling process based on the use of an "I can" list. Methods of dealing with faculty and administrative concerns about this type of experiential learning evaluation are…

Seven dimensions for characterizing a curriculum in higher education are suggested. They include: prior knowledge; institutional response to prior knowledge; primary teaching mode; rates of learning; styles of learning; content openness; and assessment. This characterization is applied specifically to chemistry departments. (LBH)

Compared Introductory Physical Science (IPS) and Modified approaches to teaching physics concepts. Found that students' preinstruction ideas of matter and density were organized in commonsense theories that constrained understanding of density. Both curricula promoted quantitative understanding of mass, volume, and density, but the Modified…

Children who come to school without numerical game-playing experience have trouble with math relationships in direct-instruction situations. This article explores the varied roles of active thinking, social interaction, previous knowledge, and child-initiated choice in children's development of math concepts. Self-esteem cannot be built by doing…