A mnemonic device is any technique or system to improve or aid the memory by use of formulas. Memory aids enjoyed great popularity in ancient times, but with the advent of literacy, the need for memorization was lessened and mnemonics were not taught regularly. However, recent research in cognitive psychology suggests that mnemonics, taught and…

The intent of this handbook is to illustrate the relation between teaching and testing and to demonstrate how they can promote student learning. The first section, "Foundations," offers a discussion of broad ideas about teaching, learning, and testing, and their interrelationships. Chapter one describes generally the kinds of things that…

Teaching appropriate composition strategies and self-management routines to inefficient learners can improve their writing. The composition-strategy training intervention program requires (1) task and learner analysis; (2) selection, introduction, acquisition, and evaluation of selected preskills, composition strategies, and metacognitive…

Advocates the use of two frameworks, "gathering" and "sharing," for junior high school homework assignments that connect the classroom to the outside world and make students responsible for some of their own learning. (NKA)

The use of visual phonics can help beginning readers or reading-disabled students overcome difficulties in word learning. The technique enhances the ability to identify grapheme-phoneme correspondences (usually appearing in the middle of words and useful for decoding) and prompts the learner to generalize these correspondences from one word to…

Offers information on and examples of the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) Thinking Program, internationally the most widely used program for the teaching of thinking as part of the school curriculum. Describes various CoRT tools, including one in which students list the pluses, minuses, and interesting points about a given issue. (DMM)

Among ways suggested for teaching problem solving strategies are to select problem situations appropriate to the learner and to encourage learning from errors. A problem solving process which can be used with young children includes the components of formulation; interpretation; generation; decision making; implementation; evaluation; and…

Research based suggestions are presented for effective vocabulary instruction strategies, including: learning new labels; learning concepts; and learning to learn meanings. Regardless of the method chosen, it is crucial that students: demonstrate generalization abilities; be given time to learn new material; periodically review what they learn;…

Television science programs cover a wide range of science topics, offer a variety of teaching methods, and motivate students. These programs tend to match educational trends, with new programs blending technological advances with speculation to interest students. (DF)

Transfer of learning from drills to real games is a complex process, depending on similarities between the components of stimulus and response. Designing drills to more closely reflect game skills and differentiating scoring during games to reward the use of new skills can improve playing performance. (MT)

Presents suggestions for helping students broaden their learning skills: tell students you plan to help them learn to learn, hold class discussions where students share learning strategies, give students practice using unfamiliar learning strategies, pick a complex learning exercise and present it in steps, and vary your approach over the course…

An experiment in self-assessed learning in which college students set their own goals weekly and prepare a self-assessment open to discussion by peers encountered some problems but was found to be the only method of achieving "deep," as contrasted with "surface," learning in higher education. (MSE)

Presents placement test results showing a lack of understanding of basic math concepts among entering college students. Explains the application of the learning cycle model in teaching abstract mathematical concepts and offers examples of the model's use. (DMM)

Discusses: (1) different types of learning (concepts, properties, facts, procedures, algorithms, skills, and problem solving); (2) types of learning behaviors; and (3) types of representational models, considering concreteness, meaningfulness, and manipulation (active manipulation, passive manipulation, and nonmanipulation). (JN)

Discusses learning modalities and learning styles in science education. Learning modalities characterize the way the brain takes in information (input) and restructures/expresses the information (output). Learning styles are ways that information is processed once it is obtained. Examples (including Kolb's "Learning-Style Inventory") are included.…