Describes an Environmental Reading Program, in which students come to realize that they are readers of their surroundings. Shows how the program can stimulate thought processes and promote comprehension. (FL)

Outlines leadership capabilities that effective principals can exert to improve the teaching of higher level thinking skills to students. An important initial step is to make the development of student thinking skills a building priority at the school. (MD)

Presents five preliminary conclusions about notetaking practices based on findings in the literature. Each conclusion is followed by a discussion of its implications for classroom instruction, and links between various lecturer and student behaviors and the external events of instruction are proposed. (Author/MBR)

This paper studies the modes of thought that occur during the act of solving problems in mathematics. It examines the two main instantiations of mathematical knowledge, the conceptual and the structural, and their role in the act. It claims that awareness of mathematical structure is the lever that educes mathematical knowledge existing in the…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two learning strategies: summarizing and structured questions on near and far transfer tasks. The study explored the possible way to activate metacognitive strategies and critical thinking skills through the use of reflective activities, like summarizing or answering structured questions after…

This paper reports the results of a two-part qualitative study into student strategies for learning in distance learning courses offered at Teachers College, Columbia University. Verbal Protocol Analyses was used to gather information on the cognitive strategies students used to solve problems encountered as they navigated through the site. A…

The background research on learning styles spans several decades, though much of it is quantitative data obtained using survey methods. Similarly, the research involving twins and their unique genetic condition historically predates the interest and knowledge of learning styles. This study seeks to explore both of these areas with the objective of…

This report describes a program for improving the transfer of the learning of different techniques used in computer applications. The targeted population consisted of sophomores and juniors in a suburban high school in a middle class community. The problem was documented through teacher surveys, student surveys, anecdotal records and behavioral…

Successful adult students employ strategies to learn, and effective adult education programs attend to the development of learning by enabling students to study learning processes in addition to content. Good learners have the ability to identify goals and the steps required to achieve them, identify the strengths of their own learning, actively…

Investigates the potential of a keyword method extension to determine if it can be effectively combined with other mnemonic strategies that are designed to facilitate coding of numerically ordered information. Twenty references are listed. (MER)

Examines strategies used by adult learners in an open-ended hypermedia information system. Findings indicated: (1) a variety of strategies are used by learners; (2) self-reported knowledge appears to affect the strategies used; and (3) perceptions of disorientation and perceived self-efficacy influence strategies used. (Author/AEF)

Argues that base-level critical thinking, attendance, and notetaking differentially predicted performance measures in a large human development course. Multiple regression analyses showed that critical thinking was the strongest indicator of multiple-choice examination performance, while notetaking was the best predictor of total course…

Explores some of the current thinking on the cognitive processes involved in reading in a foreign language and describes alternative learning activities based on an analysis of these processes. (49 references) (GLR)

Two approaches for teaching a student how to define a problem, acquire pertinent data, generate possible solutions, and optimize them for the patient are described: guided design, originating in engineering education; and problem-based learning, which has roots in medical education. (Author/MLW)

Eighth graders (N=85) participated in a study that manipulated the content and form of students' lecture notes. Matrix notes were found to be relatively effective for learning concepts. Girls recorded a greater number of notes than boys on tests involving recall and recognition of factual items. (IAH)