The current study is framed within an ongoing effort of probing students' attitudes and expectations about knowing and learning physics, which has driven several investigations during the past decade. The questionnaire we developed focuses on physics students' views regarding a variety of specific learning activities, which are presented by title…

Many college and university students are zeroed in on their vocational pursuits. Often very narrowly focused, many college students simplistically equate a college education with a vocational education. In situations of advising, teaching, or life coaching, teachers often encounter students who believe that college is largely preparation for a…

This proof-of-concept investigation describes a computer-based approach for deriving the knowledge structure of individuals and of groups from their written essays, and considers the convergent criterion-related validity of the computer-based scores relative to human rater essay scores and multiple-choice test scores. After completing a…

An administrator's daily life is full of decisions that often involve an "on the spot" solution. This paper discusses some of the principles involved in drawing inferences in research and decision making, and describes how a knowledge of decision-making errors can help administrators. The paper also describes a case study that…

This paper addresses the evidence that secondary school students use to imply that they understand something in mathematics. As part of a larger study, an open-ended questionnaire probing several aspects of metacognitive self-knowledge, was administered to students (N=72) in four schools. Two previously identified types of understanding were…

This paper describes the actions of one secondary school mathematics teacher in establishing a community of mathematical practice within which students acquire not only knowledge and skills, but also the epistemological values of mathematics. Classroom observations over a period of 18 months, together with interview and questionnaire data, are…

New electronic technologies provide powerful tools for managing and processing the rapidly increasing amounts of information available for learning; teachers, however, have often been slow in integrating computers into the curriculum. This study addresses the question of how prospective teachers construct affective and cognitive models about…

This study assessed the relative value of Bandura's (1977, 1982, 1986) self-efficacy theory and Rotter's (1966) locus of control model in predicting the career maturity of college students. A sample of 113 undergraduates (83 women and 30 men) completed a demographics questionnaire and measures of career decision-making (CDM) self-efficacy (Taylor…

This study examined the use of writing as an instructional methodology for enhancing Afro-American preservice teachers' knowledge of and attitudes towards teaching during their year-long field practicum experience. Data are presented relative to the interrelatedness of writing competence and cognitive complexity. Subjects (n=81) included 27…

Western European forms of discourse have been foisted upon the world as the universal value-neutral reference point. External standards have been used to assess aboriginal discourse, particularly in public contexts such as schools and courtrooms. These standards assume that there is one single correct way to proceed (to talk, write, argue, teach),…

A study was conducted to gain insight into the process that facilitates emancipatory education. The sample consisted of 24 Caucasian middle-class women who had experienced a transformation of consciousness related to women's issues and who were acting for the structural change of society through communications, politics, religion, or education.…

This paper reviewed literature on cognition to help art teachers understand what they can learn from the huge body of literature that has been generated by cognitive psychologists. It is argued that, in this information society, teaching memorization skills is not enough; students must learn problem-solving skills. A long list of specific thinking…

Two studies investigated the differential effects of organizational cuing and strategy training on learning disabled (LD) adolescents, a group which, it has been suggested, is particularly insensitive to the effects of organizational cues. Participants for the first study included 37 LD and 50 nonhandicapped high school students who were randomly…

During the summer of 1986 a conference funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) was organized to assess the current state of cognitive research on the psychology of physics problem solving, and to examine the needs of physics instructors and instructional designers that must be addressed by a psychological theory of physics problem solving.…

This study investigated preservice elementary teacher reasoning ability levels, science anxiety levels, and content achievement in a large midwestern university. Pretest and posttest measures were taken on three dependent variables: (1) reasoning ability (cognitive development); (2) science anxiety; and (3) science content achievement. In…