This document is composed of three bibliographies that were handed out during a section of an American Library Association conference dealing with education and behavioral sciences and more narrowly, with how techniques borrowed from these disciplines can improve the effectiveness of reference services. The handouts are a 24-item bibliography on…

A discussion of the utility of research on language aptitude and learning style begins by examining the concept of language aptitude and the controversy surrounding it, which focuses on the nature of language aptitude, what characterizes it, and its significance. The research reviewed dates back to the 1920s. Tests used to assess aptitude are then…

The problem of response set is important for questionnaire designers and interpreters, but the public is affected as well if policy is determined on the basis of unsupported conclusions. This study focused on one of the most researched response sets, extreme responding (ER), or extreme checking styles, and its relationship to one dimension of…

It has been hypothesized that differences in mathematical word problems are the result of differences in spatial skill. Why complex spatial abilities are needed for an individual to represent the relatively simple spatial relations in word problems is not clear. It is possible that a third variable, cognitive strategy preferences, may partially…

Steps toward a theory of leadership must blend needed change with appropriate strategies for implementation. Discussions of leadership must begin with the concept of empowerment, since all leaders are empowerers. The theory that drives empowerment is the theory of individual differences, here based on C. G. Jung's ideas of four main personality…

A study of the cognitive style characteristics of marketing education students focused on reasoning and problem solving. Field dependence theory measured particular cognitive styles in secondary school marketing education classrooms and estimated implications for reasoning and problem-solving behavior among currently enrolled students. The study…

A meta-analysis is performed to determine if the cognitive style construct of field dependence/independence is related to achievement in computer programming. The studies for this meta-analysis came from three major sources: computer searches of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), Psychological Abstracts, and Education Index…

This study investigated junior high school students' use of problem-solving heuristics and metacognitive processes and the relationships that might exist between the students' use of these processes and their cognitive style. Using a computer microworld called "Nimbot" based on the ancient game of Nim, 10 seventh- and eighth-grade…

Defining metacognition as the set of skills and strategies one uses in monitoring and modifying how one learns, this paper addresses ways in which interactive hypermedia/multimedia instructional programs might enhance the meta-cognitive abilities of the learners who use them. It begins by identifying key issues and approaches to metacognition,…

The 4MAT system (an eight-step cycle of instruction that combines four learning style types and students' preferences for right-brain or left-brain modes of learning) can guide instructors in planning teaching strategies to meet students' diverse learning needs. Each of the eight steps of the system emphasizes one of the learning types and…

Fifty adult male inmates at Lake Correctional Institutional (Florida) were administered Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale to determine their capability of self-directed or independent learning. The mean score on the scale was 135.1 and the standard deviation was 17.235. The results were compared to Guglielmino's national norm.…

Teachers, principals, and supervisors need to determine the kinds of learners being taught in the school/class setting. Are pupils good by nature, bad, or neutral? Concepts held pertaining to each pupil assist in determining objectives, learning activities, and evaluation techniques. The Puritans believed that individuals were born evil or sinful.…

Serving as a bridge between research in the cognitive sciences and educational policymakers and practitioners, the first part of this report reviews recent research on thinking and learning. Findings emphasize work on higher order learning, the role of knowledge in learning, and the development of a disposition for thinking. Topics detailed…

The model developed for use with science teachers--called the Scientific Theory Profile--consists of placing three well-known philosophers of science on a grid, with the x-axis being their methods for judging theories (rational vs. natural) and the y-axis being their views on scientific theories representing the Truth versus mere models of what…

Researchers have suggested two models of risk preference to account for subjects' preference for tasks of moderate difficulty. The affective model proposes that pride of success and shame of failure are responsible for the observed preference. The cognitive model suggests preference for tasks of moderate difficulty because they are the most…