According to the literature on cognitive style, of utmost importance to critical thinking is the organization of segments of information into a comprehensive whole. Creative thinking is a process in which a person becomes aware of a problem or difficulty, searches for possible solutions from past experience, and evaluates, modifies, and tests…

This paper examines the claim that instruction specially adapted to the "visual learning styles" of Native American students results in improved learning. Substantial cross-cultural research suggests that Native American children have special strengths in spatial abilities and visual memory and that observational learning is an important…

Feminist pedagogy is characterized by a sustained effort to acknowledge the dialectical relationship between the learner and that which is to be learned. In a feminist classroom the teacher insists upon the integration of personal experience and affective response with subject matter, discourages students from being passive recipients of…

Computers provide particularly powerful environments in which to examine individual differences in cognitive processing and learning outcomes. The computer's capacity to collect and record response protocols facilitates detailed process analysis. Such analyses contribute to increased understanding of how individuals differ in their ability to…

Based on data gathered and analyzed for the Home Information Technology Study (HITS), which was jointly sponsored by the Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to study informal, nonschool learning in households, this report focuses on the use of computers in home study. The…

The importance of understanding and responding to cultural differences in the college classroom is discussed after acknowledging diversity in the types of institutions and missions in U.S. higher education. It is noted that the issues have moved beyond concern for equal educational opportunity to adequacy of educational attainment of entrants.…

The literature on the field of older adults in higher education is fairly new. Until 1975 almost all of it was normative or speculative. With the publication of the first volume of the journal "Educational Gerontology" in 1985, however, the amount of literature in the field increased dramatically. The literature on older adults in higher education…

The assessment of learning orientation in relation to academic achievement is a continuing interest among psychologists. Two studies investigated learning-oriented and grade-oriented behavior in relation to performance on traditional measures of academic achievement. In the first study, 313 college students completed the Omnibus Personality…

Much is being written about children's learning styles and using computers to accommodate student variability. Although the computer can support instruction for various learning styles, its use in the classroom should be in the best interests of all children, each of whom may be affected by physical, emotional, sociological, and environmental…

At each age learning is a complex interaction of motivation, cognition, and development. In older adults, motivation is often related to a lifelong personality construct or personal meaning that an older individual will seek to play out when given the opportunity in late life. The needs of the older adult learner can be discussed in terms of…

This paper outlines, from the perspective of three school principals, the complexities involved in implementing a curriculum innovation, "4MAT," begun in Ontario in 1984. Curriculum project considerations include: leadership skills necessary; importance of support systems for principals; role of research; role of the principal; project…

This experiment examined the effects of headings and adjunct questions embedded in expository text on the delayed multiple-choice test performance of college students. Subjects in the headings-present group performed significantly better on the retention test than did the subjects in the headings-absent group. The main effect of adjunct questions…

Before working with middle school gifted students, the teacher should be aware of the characteristics and learning style preferences of these students. For example, the years from 9 to 13 are a time of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive change--also called an "age of ambivalence." Many of these students tackle decision making sooner and…

Based on results of a project undertaken in Finland over many years, this definition of transfer is offered: Transfer is both a facilitating and limiting factor which provides one basis for the learner to form and test hypotheses about the second language he or she is learning. Theory and research on transfer are discussed as they relate to item…

A study of the preferences of 49 college honors students enrolled in a basic speech-communication course demonstrated that current teaching practices in honors courses do not match the students' optimal learning styles. The students answered questions about their expectations and experiences in an honors speech-communication course and 25 of them…