Observes that the tendency to question pushes some gifted students toward self-directed inquiry and supports their academic talent. Considers ways to nurture all students, especially the ones who don't question much on their own. Explores the author's experience in guiding her students toward becoming self-directed learners and guiding them to…

States that the metaphor of "student as consumer" appeared on the social horizon in North America and Western Europe for several reasons. Traces the rise of the metaphor. Cautions that its adoption may have negative educational consequences. Concludes that this metaphor suggests undue distance between students and the educational…

Outlines what the terms "learning" and "development" meant in the theoretical framework on one important developmental psychologist--Vygotsky. Discusses his concepts of decontextualization and contextualization, which have implications for a possible developmental account of heterogeneity in human mental functioning. (ET)

Fifty older and 50 younger adults with varying familiarity with standard keyboards performed 3 trials with the Dvorak keyboard. Older participants performed worse, but there was no relationship between age and familiarity. The amount of new information and not preexperimental interference from prior knowledge may account for age differences. (SK)

Discussion of the affective domain, learning, and motivation focuses on serious play as a suitable goal for situations requiring learners, both children and adults, to engage in creative higher-order thinking coupled with intense personal commitment and involvement. Suggests that interactive computer games offer opportunities to support serious…

Describes an empirical study which considered the different ways in which 26 university teachers intended to constitute a subject, how they then taught the subject, and how consistent their intentions and practice were. Considers the context of teaching and learning and the influence of conceptual change on teachers. (Author/LRW)

Presents a biography of John Seely Brown, chief scientist of Xerox Corporation and the director of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Interests include formation of corporate strategy; corporate research, including organizational learning, ethnographies of the workplace, and complex adaptive systems; and human learning and the management of…

The term "polylogues" refers to interactions among individuals and groups in social situations in which social learning takes place and language and culture are created. They can be a way of integrating newcomers into a culture. (SK)

Describes how storytelling can be used for reflective learning purposes. Explores the context in which storytelling occurs and identifies the characteristics that shape the process: setting, number of listeners, and type of story. Demonstrates how storytellers can mix these characteristics, which are translated into eight storytelling pathways,…

New ways of teaching online allow integration of different presentation methods, multisensory instruction, extensive interactivity, and improved support systems. The digital environment makes autonomous learning even more autonomous. There is a shift from instruction to enablement of independent and self-directed learning. (SK)

Reviews current research on the brain, memory, and learning. Outlines techniques that instructors can use to help learners retain information. (JOW)

Examines individual learning differences and adaptive learning in interactive World Wide Web learning environments, highlighting the dominant influence of emotions and intentions and their impact on learning. Explains learning orientations and the System for Intentional Learning and Performance Assessment (SILPA), an interactive Web learning…

Investigates whether the cultural identity profiles of Afrikaans and Southern Sotho learners of English in South Africa should be regarded as a resource or a hazard in the second language learning process. (Author/VWL)

Learning autobiographies enable adult learners to gain a deeper insight into theories of adult learning. Writing their learning autobiographies helps adults chart how they have grown and developed. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/JOW)

Psychologist Edgar Schein draws parallels between prisoner-of-war camps and corporate learning organizations. For individuals in both environments, he contends, learning is a coercive process that can be used for both deplorable and acceptable ends. (Author/JOW)