The mechanisms by which adults acquire vocabulary and the relationship between adults' ability to acquire vocabulary and their method of processing information were the subjects of this study. Theoretical bases of the study were ideas from cognitive psychology, particularly the work of Sternberg. Subjects were preservice education majors and…

A study examined the relationship between the motives and needs of 658 adult students enrolled in a Dutch adult high school program and the curricular and instructional design of an educational reform--an open learning program. The population was all 4,442 adult learners in 3 schools who started an open learning experiment. When the students…

This study examined the construct validity of the Rod and Frame Test (RFT). Subjects were 554 clients (269 males and 285 females) (aged 14 to 65 years) of the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation (JOCRF), a vocational guidance service. In a battery of diverse ability and style tests (19 tests of the JOCRF battery and 4 tests of cognitive style),…

The facets of teachers' views of mathematics include their personal views, how they view mathematics for their students, how they view the mathematics curriculum, and how they view mathematics teaching. This paper reports a pilot study to examine how elementary school teachers view mathematics both personally and for their students. A coding…

Instructional conversation (IC) is a dialogue between teacher and learner in which prior knowledge and experiences are woven together with new material to build higher understanding. IC contrasts with the highly routinized and teacher-dominated "recitation script" of traditional Western schooling. IC varies in form in different cultures,…

Three groups were surveyed to determine the preferred modes of learning of persons directly associated with cooperative extension education in North Carolina. The modes of learning stated on the questionnaires were doing, touching/feeling, smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing, and discussing. Three groups completed the questionnaire: targeted…

Teaching basic writing at an open-admissions, urban, commuter community college involves the instructor with a clientele of student writers with a wide variety and complexity of needs and abilities. According to much research, demands by some scholars for having students write more than just "themes" is inappropriate for such students.…

A study described the characteristics of sociocognitive conflicts and the discourse associated with such conflicts, and determined how the cognitive processes exercised during discussion were internalized. Participants were 97 fourth-grade students and 6 elementary classroom teachers. Peer-led and teacher-led discussions of texts were examined to…

This paper describes a 2-week curriculum designed to give graduate level physicians an understanding of the pathophysiology of shock and to enable them to diagnose and manage deranged oxygen metabolism in critically ill patients. The curriculum is predicated on an extensive needs assessment and addresses the unique characteristics and learning…

This study investigated the effects of interface tools and learner cognitive styles on performance in searches for information within a hypermedia database. The subjects, 75 students in a university English as a Second Language (ESL) program, were blocked for field dependence and assigned to four treatments which differed by the search tool…

This 2-volume report assesses the context of social, demographic, economic, and technological changes in the light of educational data on 15- to 18-year-old students. The report suggests the need for a more responsive and flexible approach to classroom instruction, to the school as a community institution, and to the diversity of the learning…

The larger the range of instructional skills, methods, strategies, and models that a teacher has at his or her command, the more skilled the teacher will be in selecting and delivering appropriate instruction, and the better students will learn. Effective teachers make use of a wide range of instructional resources. Research on instruction shows…

A study examined the age-related differences in impersonal (objective) and personal (subjective) styles of thinking and the influences these differences have on traditional cognitive measures. Data were obtained from two 2-hour interviews with 333 participants in their homes, at senior centers, or on a university campus. All participants were…

A review of the literature indicated that some studies had investigated the effects of light on learning, but that learning style preferences for bright or low light had not been studied in relation to academic achievement. This relationship was studied with fourth-graders in a suburban school in New York State. Students took the Learning Styles…

The report describes Project UNIQUE (Underachievers Needing Individualized and Qualitative Unique Education) for gifted underachieving students in grades 3-6, stressing three major instructional components: (1) an affective curriculum; (2) a differentiated curriculum; and (3) a study skills curriculum. The program includes inservice involvement of…