Considers the written genres of a group of six children in a first-grade classroom. Reveals the children to be active participants in the social dialogue of their classrooms. Outlines their use of genres and describes where these genres may have come from. (HB)

Summarizes current cognitive psychological knowledge concerning second language vocabulary acquisition and discusses implications for the development of effective computer-assisted vocabulary acquisition methods. (85 references) (Author)

Reviews existing examples of computer-assisted vocabulary learning and suggests some principles for the future design of such programs. The issues considered are the extent to which the program is specifically oriented to vocabulary learning, what gives the interaction its instructional value, and what makes an interaction specifically…

A study analyzed constructs surrounding 45 Nepalese master's students' approaches to and conceptions of learning. Interviews indicated that few students had more than a low level of insight into their learning processes, most used surface learning strategies, and most achieved low-level learning outcomes. Findings cast doubt on the construct…

A discussion of women and learning looks first at women's experiences and perspectives about learning and why the university classroom is usually more comfortable for men than for women. It then explores the implications for effective teaching and for creating equal learning environments for men and women. Specific classroom techniques and…

Describes a program in California that funded school restructuring efforts. Highlights include creating a learning community; the role of principals; authentic accountability; quality indicators, including examples of hard logic and fuzzy logic; The Protocol, a total quality management (TQM) feedback tool; and how collaboration and TQM helped…

Discusses experiential learning and the use of simulations and games. Topics addressed include teaching only with simulations; deception in simulations; ethical issues; benefits of student journals; learning processes; debriefing phases, both oral and written; the role of the teacher; political issues; and designing simulations, including…

Introduces the essential constructs involved in dynamic modeling, in relation to issues in psychological development. Presents several instances of how the principles of dynamic systems can be translated into mathematical formalism. Concludes that transition is a key invariance in development and that single subject, longitudinal designs are…

Proposes a new conceptual framework, embedded in a dynamic model, that accounts for children's failure to reason transitively. Examines five different models of transitive reasoning. Develops a model of how children initially represent and then use the ordered information available in the transitive inference model and how these processes change…

Reviews four books concerning children's thinking, language acquisition, the art of teaching, and literacy: (1) "Children's Thinking: Promoting Understanding in the Primary School" (M. Bonnet); (2) "Input and Interaction in Language Acquisition" (B. Richard); (3) "The Effective Teacher" (C. Cullingford); and (4)…

In order to evaluate possibilities of fitting myoelectrically controlled prosthetic arms on infants, this study examined whether 32 infants (1-6 months) could learn to control environmental contingencies by means of contracting the forearm flexor muscle group. Results indicated that older subjects (age greater than 104 days) demonstrated learning,…

Explores some speculative hypotheses on states of knowing and learning, and how these states and processes might be applied to artificial intelligence and expert systems development. (JKP)

Two experiments investigated perceptual primacy of dimensional and similarity relations in stimulus classification of mentally retarded children. Results support a distinction between separable and integral stimulus structures, but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Results suggest implications for…

Investigates how teachers' perceptions related to the reading process by examining their early recollections of learning to read. Uses comparative analysis between reported positive and negative recollections, yielding highly significant findings related to the variables of setting, age, most significant other, and locus of control. (SR)

Reviews research related to humor, especially the role humor can play in the instructional process. Highlights include theories of humor; variables associated with humor; health benefits derived from humor; developmental stages and humor; effects of humor in children's educational television; and humor in the college environment. (25 references)…