Reviews an investigation of the effects of problem format and the number of independent variables on the responses of students to a control of variables reasoning task. Results indicate that adding independent variables to a control of variables reasoning problem leads to an overload of working memory which affects performance. (ML)

Interrelationships among metamemory, intelligence, attributional beliefs, self-concept, and strategy use were investigated in 102 German and 91 American children. Some were trained to use a cluster-rehearsal strategy on a Sort Recall task. Post-training assessments tested maintenance, near-transfer, and task-related metamemorial knowledge.…

Shows how to use common topics within area studies to develop important social studies skills. The example provided illustrates how to develop data analysis, data evaluation, problem solving, and map skills using the topics of bamboo and the Bhopal, India, chemical disaster. (JDH)

Discusses two experiments designed to clarify the cognitive functions of mnemonics in fact learning. One presents subjects with a single attribute mnemonic, providing only the perceptual link, while the other presents subjects with a two-stage model serving the cognitive functions of providing a perceptual link followed by a meaningful link. (MBR)

Describes semantic mapping, an effective strategy for vocabulary instruction that involves the categorical structuring of information in graphic form and requires students to relate new words to their own experience and prior knowledge. (HOD)

The renewed interest in teaching thinking skills results from concern about the failings of the current system. Some thinking skills programs emphasize cognitive processes, while others are concerned with heuristics, development of formal operations, language and symbols, or thinking as subject matter. (TE)

This paper presents an overview of the theory of situated cognition by providing its origin, a listing of its main principles and then discussing in detail the principles of, authentic learning environments, legitimate peripheral participation, and assessment. It also provides two examples of the application of situated cognition principles. The…

Concept mapping is a technique for visually representing the structure of information, concepts, and the relationships between them. Concept maps are useful tools that help students learn about how they structure knowledge while supporting the process of knowledge construction or metaknowledge. This paper discusses the effect of concept mapping…

Relatively simple changes in cognitive activities during prose learning can substantially affect information acquisition, yet many students' strategies are ineffective. A prose learning strategy training program using network models of long-term memory structure and depth-of-processing theory is presented with evidence of its effectiveness among…

Probes validity issues of computer-assisted strategy assessment in second language acquisition research. Reviews metacognitive and cognitive strategies, discussing trait-oriented and interactionist approaches in the concept of strategy, and examining validity by focusing on "advance preparation" and "resourcing" examples of…

Examines and identifies students' mental models of an abstract mathematical concept regarding intuition. Observes how students think reflectively on their mental models in a whole-class discussion in terms of logical thinking. (DDR)

Presents research on second language learning strategies, including both those with a general application and those relating to computer assisted language learning (CALL). Findings reveal that the issue of learning strategies looms as an important topic and that a detailed consideration of them in CALL is feasible. (37 references) (Author/CK)

An Australian comparison study of 26 children (mean age=10) with mild intellectual disabilities, 26 typical children of approximately the same mental age, and 26 children of approximately the same chronological age, found no mean differences on problem-solving abilities between the children with intellectual disabilities and children of comparable…

Presents one approach to teaching that involves taking particular ways of thinking seriously and giving them top priority among various principles one needs for organizing mathematics (or other) curricula, allowing teachers to directly help students acquire selected thinking skills and aid acquisition of concepts, skills, and facts in content…

Discusses a cognitive model that is an alternative to Jerome Bruner's spiral curriculum, developed and based on the metaphor that the mind's knowledge base is a lattice. States that the lattice metaphor offers an understanding of cognition but some questions still remained unanswered. (CMK)