Contrasts receptive learning (rote learning) with meaningful learning. Explains that people construct knowledge based on what they already know. Concept maps are used to organize and represent knowledge and help the learner construct new meanings in a subject. Gives examples of concept maps created by scientists. (18 references) (PR)

Describes a seven-year-old boy's activity of drawing pictures of his favorite sport of basketball. The boy's drawing involved the use of proportional reasoning, which requires an understanding of how relationships between objects vary systematically. (BB)

Presents strategies for facilitating collaborative classroom learning (e.g., selective textual variation), noting students should be encouraged to work together in all settings. Two types of study guides can be adapted to encourage collaboration. Examination strategies include question pools, the examination bank assignment, and group essays. (SM)

Student support systems (small groups of students who meet to learn), help combat the problem of large student-to-teacher ratios and increase cognitive and affective outcomes. Small groups allow large amounts of participation and interaction, rapid error correction, individualized practice, and self-paced work that actively involves students in…

Effects of knowledge maps, outlines, or lists of key terms on recall by 74 undergraduates (29 males and 45 females) of 2 biology lectures were compared. The hypothesized advantage of maps over outlines or lists was not found generally, but it was found for students low in prior knowledge. (SLD)

This study compares inservice (n=30) and preservice (n=30) earth and space science teachers on general mental abilities, content knowledge, Gagnean levels of content knowledge, and procedural knowledge in solving earth and space science problems. Results support Norman's theory of learning that inservice teachers function at the tuning mode of…

Presents study results showing that a range of modes of interactive organization coexist in expert-novice problem-solving activity and vary with the asymmetry of the relationships. Reports that by combining high achieving status with task-related expertise, the resulting interactive dynamic is guidance/tutoring. Argues for multidimensional…

This study examined the relationship between cognitive characteristics (field-independence, spatial visualization, logical reasoning, and direction following) and the initial acquisition of computer programing competence in 29 computer programing students. Students completed tests and surveys; results suggested that individual differences be…

Discusses the epistemology and typical applications of learning models focusing on practical methods to operationally introduce the distinctive, alloseric models into the educational environment. Alloseric learning models strive to minimize the characteristic resistance that learners typically exhibit when confronted with the need to reorganize or…

Discusses research on cognitive styles and strategies. Groups labels into two principle styles. Describes the wholist-analytic style, examining whether an individual tends to process information in wholes or parts, and the verbalizer-imager style considering whether an individual is inclined to represent information during thinking verbally or in…

Principles of teaching students with special needs the processes for self-regulation of their behavior are offered, for the four components of self-instruction, goal setting, self-monitoring, and self-reinforcement. Forms of self-instruction are described, with examples, and sample recording systems are provided. (DB)

A study investigated the attitudes of 99 British first-year college students toward peer and self-assessment and preferred teaching and learning approaches, including student-centered learning, teacher role, and negotiation of assignments. Self-evaluation was found to be more realistic than peer evaluation. Students also preferred guidelines for…

Reports on the development and application of a series of computer programs which simulate the outcomes of students' perceptions regarding forces acting on objects at rest or in motion. This dissonance-based strategy for achieving conceptual change uses an arrow-based vector language to enable students to express their conceptual understanding.…

Their cumulative schooling experiences dictate the way most teachers carry out their roles. Changing teaching requires changing the environment in which teaching occurs. Colleges can contribute to reinventing teaching in several ways. Many of the educational principles which promote student learning also promote teacher learning and better…

The relationship of intelligence to strategy training, maintenance, and transfer was studied for six intellectually gifted, six average, and six mentally retarded children taught a balance-scale problem strategy. Implications of the finding that the mentally retarded needed more training and were poorer at maintenance and transfer are discussed.…