A study of learning strategies in second language learning, of both English and other languages, presents a theory of the role learning strategies play and uses it to examine specific studies and to integrate research results. The research and theory described here are based on a cognitive information processing perspective of human thought and…

A review of literature shows that culture shock is a complex phenomenon characterized by discomfort and anxiety resulting from difficulty in interacting in an unfamiliar social and communicative context. Difficulty arises not from unfamiliar "rules" of behavior but from the intangibility of differences in cultural values, expectations, and roles.…

Open-ended learning environments (OELEs) like microworlds have been touted as one approach for blending learning theory and emerging technology to support the building of student-centered understanding. The learning process involves developing a theory-in-action--an intuitive theory that is generated and changed by learners as they reflect upon…

This paper describes college classes according to their prevailing goals and incentive structures to determine the extent that they can be characterized as emphasizing mastery and performance goals and individualistic, cooperative, and competitive incentives. A second focus is on the relationship between these goals and incentives. Participants…

Noting the importance of including parents in school change, this descriptive study investigates parents' beliefs about teaching and learning high school English. Twenty-five parents of high school students enrolled in an untracked interdisciplinary English course were interviewed. Participants were shown photographs of different classrooms and…

In the Student Development Tutoring Model (SDTM), tutors engage students with content in such a way as to both increase their understanding of content as well as their ability to use learning strategies independently in the future. To develop and evaluate a procedure for preparing tutors to use behaviors consistent with the SDTM, New York's Bronx…

Instructional metacognition refers both to conceptions of students about the contribution that instructional interventions can make to their learning, and to the impact of these conceptions on students' interpretation and use of instructional interventions. This study analyzes student conceptions of efficiency-related attributes of instructional…

This study examined the effects of goals--such as denoting learning and performance outcomes--and self-evaluation on the acquisition of computer skills, efficacy in performing computer tasks, perception of competence for the use of self-regulatory strategies, and frequency of strategy use while learning computer skills. Subjects were 44 college…

Reuven Feuerstein's theory of Mediated Learning Experience was developed to explain individuals' different propensities for learning by linking those differences to an individual's exposure--through specific experiences--to his or her own culture, irrespective of its nature or level of conceptualization, technology, or institutionalized education.…

Reflecting the complexity of the early childhood education enterprise--classroom practice, teacher preparation, research, and conceptualization--this volume reflects an examination of the literature for illumination as to the value of early education theory and its usefulness to practice. The book has 10 chapters divided into three parts that…

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to assess students' culturally sensitive environments and to examine the associations between these factors and students' attitudes towards science. A measure of students' environment, namely, the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ), was developed. The instrument…

Portfolio assessment can be different in kind from traditional assessment measures: it can provide a fuller picture of the learner; it can be much more than an expanded grade book; but the criteria and language for evaluating and describing the portfolio must be different from those used for evaluating individual products. To describe the fuller…

This booklet for parents explains what children learn in preschools that employ the Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood and the ways in which learning can be reinforced at home. The first sections of the booklet explain the goals and philosophy of experience-based preschools. Goals include teaching children to love reading and school and to be…

Feeling, emotion, and passion are the "stuff" of everyday experience. This guidebook helps the reader understand emotions in a two-step approach. First, common assumptions about emotion are examined in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of current approaches to emotion, especially as these exist in the fields of psychology and…

This seven chapter book offers guidance to elementary and secondary teachers on how to help students develop strategic study skills. Chapter 1 summarizes current knowledge about information-processing theory, the teacher's role in facilitating learning, and the necessity for changes in instructional techniques across grade levels. Chapter 2…