Investigates whether college students can improve their scores on cognitively based scales of the Inventory of Learning Processes (ILP) when using study techniques based on R.R. Schmeck's theory of learning styles. Finds no significant changes in terms of ILP scores for any of the groups. (PRA)

Two experiments on bimodality are discussed that appear to tentatively support its potential usefulness to the study of second-language teaching. The notion of bimodality and neurological learning flow are also reviewed briefly. (23 references) (LB)

Continuing education has followed the model legitimizing formal, abstract knowledge. Three propositions for developing wise practitioners build on the importance of knowledge gained from practice: (1) the goal of professional practice is wise action; (2) practice knowledge is necessary to achieve this goal; and (3) continuing professional…

Asserts that students' inaccurate prior knowledge in science can hinder the learning process. Presents instructional strategies for elementary and secondary school students that have been proved effective by research, such as augmented activation activities, refutational text, nonrefutational text, and the discussion web. (PRA)

Describes how a teacher-researcher used knowledge modeling as a basis for assessing students' knowledge. Discusses how the scoring template was created and how the students' recollections were scored. Finds that students with no prior knowledge of a subject were at a disadvantage in the classroom. (PRA)

Multi-age grouping, or exchanging traditional grade-level designations for teaching older and younger students together in one room, is as old as the one-room schoolhouse. Teachers comfortable with mixed-age classes are those who believe students learn by being active, engaged, and thoughtful, rather than by sitting passively or doing role…

Uses R. Gagne and L. Briggs's nine Events of Instruction to discuss where video fits into the teaching and learning process, what educators can legitimately expect of video as an instructional tool, and where principles to guide the development of effective instructional videos can be found. (SR)

Research findings concerning the relationship of personal knowledge and human cognitive processes are reviewed. Ways in which the impact of prior knowledge typically is not obvious to the teacher, and ways in which prior knowledge can disrupt the learning processes, are examined. Implications for education are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Presents three types of simple events knowledge models: (1) a simple list of events; (2) a list of cause-effect sequences; and (3) a list of events that describe a problem and its solution. (SR)

Reflective practice through continuous learning in the workplace involves viewing experiences as potential learning and reexamining assumptions, values, methods, policies, and practices. Steps in continuous work/learning are as follows: clarify thinking, be open to questions, notice context, test hunches, investigate, name and rename the problem,…

Defines and describes the processes by which students acquire new knowledge: accretion, tuning, and restructuring. Relates these processes to knowledge models presented in earlier columns. Discusses extension activities. (RS)

Examines what is entailed in effective phonics instruction and shows how such instruction can be integrated into a wide variety of approaches to the teaching of beginning reading. Discusses nine guidelines for exemplary phonics instruction that can be incorporated into classrooms using basal readers, whole-language philosophy, or shared reading of…

Argues for a greater appreciation of the significance of story as a form in itself, its pervasive and omnipresent nature in our lives, and its overwhelming importance as a major means of communicating with and educating the young. Suggests a reconsideration and reflection of what is taught and how to teach. (PRA)

Good spelling is a function of visual memory, not of thinking. Although spelling is found in most standardized achievement test batteries, it does not belong there. Poor spelling often causes teachers, parents, and students themselves to lower their expectations about ability to perform in other more important areas, such as vocabulary…

It is argued that intelligent behavior cannot be understood without reference to inhibitory processes. A review of research findings suggests that resistance to interference and the capacity for inhibition are important sources of individual differences, associated with the operation of the frontal lobes of the brain. (SLD)