Three experiments in the framework of Activity Theory explored the relationship between the questions of 104 male and 88 female adult learners (college students) and subsequent comprehension in a tutorial learning session. Questions asked during knowledge implementation aid comprehension more than do those asked during acquisition. (SLD)

Three studies of the development of gender competence in elementary and intermediate level learners of French as a second language are reported. The findings support an emerging rule-governed process of gender assignment related to the learner's development of skill with the language's underlying phonological system. (11 references) (MSE)

Discusses the artificial-intelligence-based microworld DiBi and MULEDS, a multilevel diagnosis system. Developed to adapt tutoring style to the individual learner. Explains that DiBi sets up a learning environment, and simulates elastic impacts as a subtopic of classical mechanics, and supporting reasoning on different levels of mental domain…

Discusses how teachers can use the inherent motivating power of the newspaper to help them better teach their subject. Discusses using newspapers to motivate students, teach important concepts, supplement learning, and inform students. Suggests ways to prepare students to read a newspaper and what to do during and after reading the newspaper. (MG)

Presents results from an Australian study examining whether children who use cognitive strategies in solving simple addition questions develop greater proficiency in addition than children who do not use such strategies. Describes the subjects, instruments, procedure, and instructional treatment. Concludes that the development of cognitive…

This introduction to four papers, which discuss cognitive strategy research with secondary students who have learning disabilities, outlines Edwin Ellis's Integrated Strategy Instruction model for helping students learn content in a strategic manner, identifies model aspects requiring revision, and notes the model's theoretical underpinnings and…

This paper comments on the Integrative Strategy Instruction Model, the Strategies Intervention Model, the Content Enhancement Model, and Process-Based Instruction, concluding that such integrative models are appealing because they draw teachers of students with learning disabilities away from strategy training in nonauthentic settings and from…

A study investigated the learning and reception strategies used by six learners of college-level French, tested by completion of a rational cloze passage. The analysis focused on the effect of frequency, quality, and clustering of strategies on performance. Results suggest quality and clustering are most significant. (Author/MSE)

Describes the development and implementation of a health promotion curriculum for four- and five-year-old children in a preschool class. The curriculum emphasized the use of the visual arts, drama, and music as learning strategies for health promotion. (BB)

Recommends the use of song lyrics in secondary school U.S. history, government, and economics courses. Contends that using music meets the criterion of cultural literacy in the California History Social Science Framework. (CFR)

Discusses the design of situated learning and the ecological psychology of situated cognition. Topics addressed include the teacher's role; teacher training; anchored instruction; transfer skills; the meaning of learning; apprenticeships; and the Jasper Series, a macrocontext designed to investigate the issues of situated learning. (46 references)…

Provides overview of issues associated with second-language learning strategies, examines research findings outside of the field of language instruction, and explores implications of current research both in terms of instruction and future research needs. (55 references) (LET)

Synthesizes research on nine individual-difference factors that influence success in learning a second language and offers instructional implications for each. The nine factors include aptitude, motivation, anxiety, self-esteem, tolerance of ambiguity, risk taking, language learning styles, age, and gender. (72 references) (LET)

Investigated how working memory differences between learning-disabled and nondisabled children reflect a specific or generalized deficit and whether limitations in enhancement of learning-disabled student's working memory performance are attributable to process or storage functions. Results suggest that learning-disabled suffer generalized working…

This response to Gersten and Dimino (EC 606 357) proposes that difficulties with both whole language and direct instruction of students with learning disabilities can be avoided with a model of instruction based on research in cognition and metacognition. Three techniques are discussed, including situated cognition, cognitive strategy instruction,…