This publication reports on a forum on competency based training (CBT) research in Australia. Section 1 contains biographies of presenters and panel members. Section 2 presents an overview of the research and highlights key findings. Summaries follow of each of the five key projects. "The CBT Decade: Teaching for Flexibility and…

Labor unions and academic institutions are joining forces to reach the large population of working adults who have been left out of the mainstream of higher education. Some educational methods are described and ways to finance continuing programs are suggested. (Author/MLW)

The effects of prior beliefs on student teachers' construction and utilization of new educational knowledge bases were investigated. Students participated in either conceptual change or direct instruction programs. Although conceptual change outperformed direct instruction, results suggest that conceptual change can improve performance but only…

Describes two intuitive rules underlying students' conceptions in mathematics and science that are not always compatible with usually accepted scientific ideas. The intuitive rules are: "More of A, more of B" and "Subdivision processes can always be repeated." In teacher education, it is important to raise instructors'…

Describes a study that examined the effect of computer programing experience on the mathematical problem solving achievement of high school students. The variables studied are discussed, including gender, ability, socioeconomic status, prior math experience, and access to a home computer, and a path analysis model is explained. (34 references)…

Describes a study that examined relationships between computer attitude, computer experience, gender, cognitive abilities, and the acquisition of word processing by older adults. Highlights include results from computer attitude questionnaires, spatial scanning, inductive and deductive reasoning as predictors of word processing knowledge, and the…

Describes a study that identified various individual information seeking behavior patterns and determined how users' motivation, prior knowledge, gender, and cognitive processing influenced learning and retention within a hypermedia environment for undergraduate students. Use of the Group Embedded Figures Test is described and further research is…

Describes study of undergraduates at Pennsylvania State University that was conducted to investigate the instructional effectiveness of integrating rehearsal activity into visually complemented prose instruction. The effect of students' prior knowledge on learning is examined, and the effect of visual/verbal testing on information retrieval is…

Uses 11 data sets from 6 local British education authorities to examine the relationship between student performance on fifth-form examinations and school effectiveness. Presents hierarchical linear modeling to account for differences in prior attainment, gender, and social background. Finds few differences in school impact on performance. Urges…

Two college courses, one in literary analysis and one designed to help students apply prior learning, were redesigned to incorporate time for students to tell the class about their own learning experiences. It was found that the narratives enriched faculty and students' understanding and awareness. (MSE)

The assumption that learners are the best judges of learning needs in computer-assisted instruction was tested by assigning 55 eleventh graders to learner-control or program-control conditions. Results indicate that efficiency of the learner-control strategy cannot be taken for granted and emphasize the importance of prior knowledge. (SLD)

Explains semantic mapping as a visual representation of knowledge that is useful for understanding underlying textbook concepts. Outlines steps for constructing a conceptual map with ninth grade students to be used as an aid in reading about peoples of the Middle East. Emphasizes student participation for effective semantic mapping. Provides…

Describes a study of student teachers that examined determinants of achievement in a computer literacy course. Correlations with measures of computer attitudes, perceived locus of control, gender, age, and prior word processing and computer experience are discussed, and the computer literacy model on which the analysis of data was based is…

Describes the design and evaluation of a multimedia course on integrated circuit manufacturing that was developed at the University of California at Berkeley using IC-HIP (Integrated Circuit-Hypermedia in PICASSO), a hypermedia-based instructional system. Learning effects based on prior knowledge, methods of navigation, and other factors are…

Discusses Art Costa's 14 Intelligent Behavior Characteristics and gives examples of picture books that apply to each characteristic, including persistence, decreasing impulsivity, listening, cooperative thinking, flexibility, metacognition, accuracy and precision, sense of humor, questioning, using past knowledge, risk taking, using all senses,…