This interim report was abstracted from the many research efforts conducted at Fox Valley Technical Institute and the Center for Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education, Univ. of Wis Stout. At Fox Valley, it was attempted to identify learning styles relevant to vocational-technical education, survey students and faculty concerning…

Thirty children, 7.5 to 8.5 years, in two classrooms in a Catholic school trying to implement an informal curriculum were studied. The classrooms were not "exemplary"; The children had lower-middle-class origins. Each child was observed under free-choice conditions for approximately 80-90 minutes over a 3-month period. Two-minute narrative records…

Three strategies for selecting number of instances needed to learn legal concepts were compared. An adaptive strategy required 25 percent less time and resulted in better post test performance than a partially adaptive strategy. The partially adaptive strategy was 16 percent more efficient than the nonadaptive strategy, and resulted in better…

Review of neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic research regarding older (over 40 years of age) second language learners suggests classroom implications for dealing with this population's pronunciation problems and ways to capitalize on their superiority to younger students in terms of higher order linguistic processing. (CB)

Reports on an investigation into characterizing the guided design instructional method in engineering education using Jungian typology to evaluate specific teaching-learning interactions. Proposes that the guided design method offers a well-balanced learning process which accommodates different learning styles and teaches decision making. (TW)

Misconceptions of giftedness and factors influencing underachievement are outlined. Key sources of vulnerability that place intellectually gifted children at risk for learning difficulties include parent/teacher expectations, the child's self-concept for academic achievement, the child's learning style and educational needs, and the potential…

Research on learning-disabled secondary school students' academic deficits, response to classroom environment, and response to instructional interventions is integrated with research on metacognition in text learning. A metacognitive orientation is recommended for instructional intervention programs, which should address general comprehension…

Problems of a process approach to English for specific purposes courses for "convergent" academic disciplines are illustrated with an example of science instruction. Course designers must undertake task analysis of the intellectual abilities used in learning activities and relate these to the intellectual abilities of language learners. (Author/CB)

Discusses recent research on learning style, revealing some of the problems with the research as well as how work on learning modality can help students with trouble in school. Also discusses tests that identify learning style, and advises teachers to keep an open mind about learning style research. (SKC)

Reports on a study intended to determine the science education research interests of elementary teachers and to examine the data according to certain demographic variables. Results indicate that hands-on experience, science content, cognitive development and learning styles, problem solving, and teaching strategies were the top five research…

Teaching style preferences of 157 teachers of gifted students were correlated with percent of time spent in teaching gifted children, years of teaching experience, and teaching level. Of the styles identified (Sensing-Thinking, Sensing-Feeling, Intuitive-Thinking, and Intuitive-Feeling), more experienced teachers revealed a preference for the…

The learning needs of blind and visually impaired children can be categorized into three groups: (1) needs met by adapting the curriculum; (2) needs met by changing the instructional methodology; and (3) developmental and educational needs unique to these students. (Author/CB)

Describes a study of Liberian schools in which students of the Vai tribe are instructed in Western mathematical practices which differ from those of the students' home culture. Reports that the Vai children employed syncretic arithmetic practices, combining two distinct systems of arithmetic in a classroom environment that tacitly facilitated the…

Suggests that the use in English language teaching of visual media is based on insufficient analysis of the properties of visual formats, the skills demanded in using them, and the existing literacy of the students. The design and implementation of the appended Visual Information Test are described. (Author/SED)

Examines the role of experience in the use of orthographic structure by good and poor sixth-grade readers. Results showed that poor sixth-grade readers used orthographic structure to speed their matching judgments just as effectively as good sixth-grade readers. (HOD)