The document looks at left/right brain research as it relates to learning styles and teaching styles, particularly in special education. An initial section on brain basics covers the history of brain research, methods of investigation, cerebral dominance, divisions of labor of the bifunctional brain, language and related functions, bilingualism,…

This Digest provides educators with an overview of some important facets of cognitive science research and suggests implications for classroom assessment. Education researchers study the thinking of experts in various subject areas to understand the concepts and procedures that are the most important to teach and to help determine how to move…

Reviews recent ERIC materials on comprehension monitoring. (FL)

Learners of all ages need to expand their self-knowledge and determine the ways their interests and abilities are applicable in the changing social, economic, and work environments. Many of the new ways of teaching and learning offer processes by which students can gain experiences that enhance their self-knowledge. These varied learning processes…

At mid-twentieth century, the dominant framework for lesson design--the programmed instruction format--was derived from efforts to apply operant conditioning to human learning. Cognitive psychology soon offered an alternative view, represented by Robert Gagne's Events of Instruction, which became the dominant framework through the end of the…

Examines ERIC materials on the nature of and supporting the use of invented spelling in elementary school writing. (HTH)

Provides an overview of recent research on problem solving in speech communication. Discusses relevant documents under three categories: (1) conceptual developments, (2) social and affective correlates, and (3) potential teaching methods. (NKA)

Examines materials in the ERIC database that deal with the use of creative drama as a language arts teaching tool. Discusses the nature of creative drama and activities for the classroom. (HTH)

Examines materials in the ERIC database on the Suggestopedia method of instruction which bypasses the mind's barriers to learning and increases learning and retention. (HTH)

This teacher's handbook on intrapersonal communication provides a selection of exercises for classroom use to help students get in touch with their own mental processing. The exercises are presented with introductory comments, a statement of goals, instructions, materials, and analysis. A brief description of what the exercise demonstrates,…

Examines materials in the ERIC system offering teaching ideas and activities designed to promote critical and creative thinking and reading. Discusses the role of teacher questioning techniques and writing to structure thoughts. (HTH)

Research indicates that the instructional conversation (IC), a dialogue between teacher and learner in which prior knowledge and experiences are woven together with new material to build higher understanding, can be an effective method for raising the low academic achievement levels of various groups of Native American students. The IC contrasts…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores the nature of students' metacomprehension, or their awareness of their own understanding, and the implications of this awareness for reading instruction. After defining metacomprehension, the digest discusses why this awareness is important to the learning…

Examines some recent ERIC materials on comprehension processes and on how teachers can improve students' awareness of comprehension or metacomprehension. (HOD)

The booklet focuses on the use of the logical inductive strategy to teach problem solving skills to mildly retarded learners. An introductory section examines three research studies on interventions in the area of problem solving with the retarded learner and concludes, among other things, that mainstreaming has underscored the need for this…