Autonomous language learning is justified by three arguments: the ideological, the psychological, and the economic. This paper discusses how teachers can use autonomous learning as an approach to the curriculum as a whole, bridging the gap between public classroom activities and private learning activity, and examining all practices from the…

Examined the word-letter phenomenon using computational studies that focus on the contextual guidance of learning and processing in multistream nets. (32 references) (CK)

Reviews studies of peer assessment in higher education and describes a study that attempted to capitalize on the benefits of peer assessment in terms of improving the learning process, sharpening critical abilities, and increasing student autonomy. Results indicate a close correspondence between lecturer and peer assessment. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the question of aptitude from within an information-processing perspective, examines how aptitude is conceptualized in this framework, and discusses one possible component of L2 aptitude: working memory. (56 references) (Author/CK)

Examines diaries kept by 18 anglophone high-school students of French while they spent 3 months in Quebec as part of an exchange program. Research focused on insights into language-learning process provided by student diarists; affective factors in language learning; extralinguistic benefits of exchange; and ways in which the diaries supplement…

Provides a conceptual foundation for the development of hypermedia as an instructional tool for addressing individual differences in learning styles. Highlights include a literature review; computers and instruction; individual differences, computers, and instruction; cognitive controls; cognitive styles and learning; personality types; and future…

Reviews "The Epigenesis of Mind: Essays on Biology and Cognition" (S. Carey and R. Gelman, editors), a collection of essays that present a hard-scientific vision of cognitive development. Examines the arguments this work articulates and then determines the place it occupies in the analysis of the state of developmental psychology as presented in…

Reviews "An Odyssey in Learning and Perception" (E. J. Gibson), a volume of collected works that present a first-hand account of many advances in psychology over the past 60 years. A discussion of the two basic questions that capture the essence of Gibson's research, "What is learned" and "What is information" is…

Discussion of how to teach thinking and problem-solving skills focuses on a study of seventh graders that attempted to convey expertlike behavior using LEGOLogo to explain how a washing machine operates. Topics addressed include concept representation and mental models; cognitive apprenticeship; and LEGOTClogo as a learning environment. (Contains…

Six children were visited in their homes every 2 weeks for 18 months from the age of 6 months to observe their developing comprehension and production of words. Results showed both similarities and individual differences in patterns of early comprehension. A close relationship was noted between early production and comprehension of words;…

This empirical study examines the effects of visible link-types on learning in a hypertext environment. Learning outcomes and learning processes of two groups, one using visible link-types and one not using them, are compared; results of an attitude questionnaire are discussed; further research is suggested; and the questionnaire is appended. (LRW)

Describes a study of medical school students in The Netherlands that tested the assumption of problem-based learning that learning issues, generated by students while discussing a problem, are used as guides for self-directed learning activities. Faculty objectives and student-generated learning issues are compared. (LRW)

Presents the process of learning from information as the key concept for the library media center in the information age school. The Information Search Process Approach is described as a model for developing information skills fundamental to information literacy, and process learning is discussed. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of the role of Finnish school libraries in supporting learning focuses on the development work and further education provided by the Further Education Centre for Vocational Institutes and Administration in Finland. Highlights include school libraries in comprehensive schools and vocational institutes, resource-based learning, and…

Discusses the renaissance of motor skill acquisition studies that are affording new insights into the processes by which infants and children learn to control their bodies. The article explains how studies are now focusing less on how children perform and more on how the components cooperate to produce stability or engender change, thus making…