In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state or territory. In 1996, 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam,…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state or territory. In 1996, 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam,…

The East San Gabriel Valley (California) School to Career Partnership encompassing the eastern sections of Los Angeles County and serving an ethnically diverse population, uses design-based learning (DBL) to teach academic and career skills to at-risk students in small groups. Key features of DBL classroom activities include the following: (1)…

A model of classroom characteristics and interaction is used to examine the roles of group size, problem types, and student behaviors, central concerns in problem-based learning, in medical education. The model incorporates six classroom dimensions, including four process variables (classroom organization, learning task, teacher's instruction,…

Results in 487 reports were integrated by meta-analysis to study characteristics of problem solvers, conditions for harder and easier problems, effects of different instructional methods on problem-solving performance, and effects of classroom-related conditions on problem-solving performance. Problem solving related positively to measures of…

Briefly explores the issue of conflict resolution (CR) in education; the introduction of CR into the public schools; and whether CR processes such as mediation meet the needs of nondominant groups. It also introduces several articles that discuss specific approaches to the development and implementation of CR programs in schools. (GLR)

This special journal issue presents a review of science education research in 1989. This summary of research is organized around 14 themes: achievement in science, affect, classroom interactions, cognitive processes, computers, curriculum, instruction, legislation and policy, misconceptions, scientific literacy, teachers, tests and assessments,…

Reviews learner strategy research, strategy instruction, and on-line help in multimedia instructional materials, and reports on a study investigating 20 native Chinese-speaking English language learners' use of computer resource facilities (e.g., scripts, glossaries, background information) in an interactive videodisc program and their reactions…

This paper summarizes the overall theme of a collection of six papers (each with separate commentary) inspired by research in cognitive psychology. The dominant approaches to instructing educationally disadvantaged children have focused on the teaching of basic skills, with little regard for the more advanced skills of reasoning, problem solving,…

Over the past decade, research by cognitive scientists has been building a clearer understanding of how people learn in school and out. A review of the various streams of cognitive research has implications for vocational education. Research has determined characteristics of effective workers and how people become effective workers. Some…

Major efforts are underway to identify and define a science of science education which will reverse the relationship between research and program development. This trend is toward using research on how learners grow and develop prior to program development and the organization of instructional techniques. Clear scientific explanations of how…

This review of the research on the cognitive effects of computer-assisted instruction begins with an overview of the ACCCEL (Assessing Cognitive Consequences of Computer Environments for Learning) research program at the University of California at Berkeley, which consists of several interrelated studies examining the acquisition of such higher…

Studies published in the last five years (since 1975) concerning how groups behave, with particular emphasis on implications for the administrator who wishes to deal more effectively with groups, are reviewed. The 25 studies represent 11 journals, written by authors from six related disciplines. For discussion purposes, the studies are divided…

The recent phenomenon of the "returning adult" to colleges has raised concern regarding two implications: age decline in intellectual ability and loss due to lack of practice. Literature indicates slight impairment of the problem-solving function until the years of advanced age. The degree of impairment is related to factors of educational…

Two theoretical orientations-schema theory and cultural norms for the use of language unify this multidisciplinary collection of papers examining discourse. Chapters by Adams and Collins; Warren; Nicholas and Trabasso; Stein and Glenn; and Freedle and Hale highlight the application of schema theory to the study of story recall, reading, and the…