When it comes to teaching students how to correct errors in mechanics and usage, English composition teachers have a problem in determining what and how to teach. An approach is developing overseas which comes from a type of linguistics called "functional," because it describes how languages work rather than only its forms. A branch that…

A study of 113 graduate students in a college of education explored how readily they would apply their knowledge about transfer of learning to a personally relevant teaching task. One group practiced integration; participants were asked to think about concepts they were learning in terms of the three elements of the integration strategy. A second…

This book on adult learning is divided into six sections. Section 1, Cognitive Processes, includes the following chapters: "Cognitive Processes: Contemporary Paradigms of Learning" (Jack Mezirow); "Information Processing, Memory, Age and Adult Learning" (Gillian Boulton-Lewis); "Adult Learners' Metacognitive Behaviour in Higher Education" (Barry…

The purpose of this study was to determine the procedural knowledge brought to, and created within, a pond ecology simulation by students. Environmental Decision Making (EDM) is an ecosystems modeling tool that allows users to pose their own problems and seek satisfying solutions. Of specific interest was the performance of biology majors who had…

This simulation allows students to experience a race from El Paso, Texas to the tip of South America. The students travel through each of the Latin American countries learning as much as they can about each country and completing one report per group. Next, the teams present their report and projects, draw general information/history question…

This paper describes the Environmental Challenges Project which will culminate in the production of a CD-ROM for use in environmental education in secondary schools. Disk contents include case studies of environmental problems and programs to facilitate learners' discussion of the issues raised. The constructivist pedagogy that informs the project…

The naturalistic inquiry is premised on a story narrative to describe classroom experiences. In an ongoing dissertation research study into the teaching and learning of secondary science, classroom stories were constructed to portray a student's point of view. The student's classroom goals, roles, and expectations for the teacher are discussed.…

A discussion of the use of feedback in process-oriented second language writing instruction focuses on students' need for feedback, the most effective ways of providing it, appropriate timing for feedback, and how students use this information. Literature on feedback in process-oriented writing instruction is reviewed in light of each of these…

This paper outlines assumptions and principles related to computer mediated learning (CML) and suggests instructional design and classroom strategies for CML planning and practice. The pedagogy of control is contrasted with the pedagogy of choice and the latter constructivist viewpoint is recommended as the basis of CML. Assumptions about learning…

This paper reports on a study of general biology students (N=24) in a small college environment in the Columbus, Ohio area. Comparisons are made between student learning styles, perceptual modalities, and their responses on Likert and open response survey items. Student perceptual modalities are also correlated with the students' choices of final…

A study used encapsulation and integration strategies to determine the effect of different learning strategies on transfer of learning. The instrument consisted of three forms with four parts each. Each form assessed a different learning strategy: encapsulation, integration, and the participant's own learning strategy. The functions for each of…

ReWrite is a teaching strategy designed to help students explore content area topics using music. Starting with limited knowledge about a topic, students read, watch videos, visit museums, listen to guest speakers, and collect new ideas about a topic that they can write about in music form. ReWrite offers a means of exploring common misconceptions…

There are continuing debates about the best approach to teaching reading--phonics or whole language. The most valuable link to learning to read is phonological or phonemic awareness, as soon as the alphabetic system is mastered. After phonemic awareness has been established, students enter the orthographic stage where they can process longer…

This paper presents an exercise which serves as an addition to public speaking courses. Showing students how to uncover the speech patterns that shape their lives allows them to appreciate the importance of speech communication in their lives. In the exercise, groups analyze speeches and report their findings to the class. The exercise improves…

A Compensation Model is proposed to help explain the difference between child and adult language acquisition in terms of different cognitive modules and theories. In this model, two assumptions are made: (1) existence of two different cognitive modules (language-specific and general-cognition) in the mind, and (2) the independent and interactive…