The American culture's emphasis on individualism may fail to recognize that help-seeking can be an important proactive skill in the achievement domains of school and work. While research has shown that the majority of students obtain some help from peers or instructors, the study of help-seeking as a learning strategy has been virtually neglected.…

Arguing that college mathematics education must be made more effective, especially for technology, engineering, mathematical sciences, and physical sciences students, this paper presents nine general principles to enhance math instruction for all students. Introductory material argues that changes in perception, attitudes, and role models are…

The article examines the concept of educational self-direction in teacher education, an educational environment that encourages the use of initiative, thought, and independent judgement in learning, through consideration of relevant theory and research and empirical investigation involving the development of a questionnaire to assess educational…

Learning disabled students can make more effective use of computer assisted instruction if they incorporate four metacognitive strategies: (1) awareness of task goals, (2) knowledge of applicable learning strategies, (3) selection of appropriate learning strategies, and (4) self-monitoring. (DB)

College subjects were required to read and recall an expository text. They recalled information about fewer topics if they were randomly ordered and the introductory paragraph was uninformative. Subjects recalled information about more topics if the text contained topic sentences. Readers used representation of a text's topic structure to guide…

The use of both low structure and high structure teaching strategies is recommended for the teaching of reading to learning disabled children, with the goal of children becoming independent users of appropriate strategies. (Author/DB)

An advanced undergraduate comparative psychology course is described. Reviews the methodological goals and traditional roles of comparative psychology courses. Focuses on research strategies for relating group differences to specific processes and for inferring the evolutionary and developmental histories of behavior. The conclusion stresses the…

A comparative psychology course oriented around the themes of phylogeny and ontogeny is described. The course emphasizes the evolution and development of behavioral processes and includes a discussion of the concept of integrative levels and Schneirla's approach/withdrawal theory. The course evaluates genetic determinism and stresses the principle…

Responds to Robert Slavin's criticism of the Hunter model by listing recent research projects validating this teaching strategy. Defends the Hunter model as an effort to change teaching decisions based on tradition and folklore to theory based on judgments and wisdom. (MLH)

Defines action learning as it has been set forth by Revans. Argues against several points of action learning theory, including (1) the nature of group process, (2) the role of outsiders, (3) the inability to teach spontaneous questioning, and (4) the learning process. (CH)

Elaboration in learning involves meaning-enhancing additions, constructions, or generations that improve one's memory for what is being learned. Recent examples of applications of elaboration theory include efforts in the areas of meta-cognitive components of learning strategies, mnemonics, and text-processing strategies. (TJH)

An analysis of the learning process that focuses on the role of elaboration and students' prior knowledge is presented. Learning from instruction is distinguished from learning and instruction, and a series of learning functions are identified. (TJH)

This study administered two questionnaires to college sophomores in an English literature class. Tests measured the student's satisfaction with different types of instruction, including lectures, group work, and individual work. (RB)

Two types of elaboration are reviewed as potent strategies for the learning disabled: (1) modifications to make materials more learnable and (2) recommendations about elaborative strategies that learners can execute. A model of autonomous and flexible strategy use is presented with emphasis on efficient strategy application. (DB)

Six easy-to-learn strategies are offered to help students with learning problems in mathematics make error-free subtraction calculations when either the subtrahend or remainder is a 9, 8, or 7 and when the minuend is in the teens. (CB)