In this study, we compared the effectiveness of two instructional approaches--modeling and generative tasks--within case-based instruction (CBI) in developing preservice teachers' classroom case analysis skills. Forty preservice teachers were randomly assigned to engage in CBI with either a modeling or generative task, working through three…

Assessment is a key lever for educational improvement. Assessments can be used to monitor, signal, and influence science teaching and learning -- provided that they are of high quality, reflect the rigor and intent of academic standards, and elicit meaningful student performances. Since the release of "A Framework for K-12 Science…

In this study we examined high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV, a parasympathetic index) both at rest and during challenge, to assess if variations in cardiovascular activity measured during a Stroop task could be used to predict reading achievement in typically developing children. Reading achievement was examined using the Peabody…

John Dewey discussed the dry school curriculum a century ago. One of the "evils" was a simplified curriculum having an outward appearance of mathematics. Dewey posited that such a simplified curriculum deprived students of opportunities to experience the thought-provoking character of the accumulated wisdom found in human knowledge. Dewey's…

Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field of researchers from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, computer science, and anthropology who seek to understand the mind. In this article, the author considers findings from this field that are strong and clear enough to merit classroom application. He examines how technology has…

People with disabilities constitute a collective that requires continuous and customized attention, since their conditions or abilities are affected with respect to specific standards. People with "Acquired Brain Injury" (ABI), or those who have suffered brain injury at some stage after birth, belong to this collective. The treatment these people…

Background: In order to design appropriate environments for performance and learning of movement skills, physical educators need a sound theoretical model of the learner and of processes of learning. In physical education, this type of modelling informs the organisation of learning environments and effective and efficient use of practice time. An…

Ninety university undergraduate students were tested on a number of tasks assessing their recognition of possible and impossible figures, mental rotation, ideational fluency, and self-report artistic and creative characteristics. Scores on the Impossible Figures Task (IFT-14) and the Mental Rotation Test, and self-ratings on the Artistic…

Presents a framework for analyzing academic tasks based on task conceptions formulated in cognitive psychology and research on classroom interaction. Using this framework, an analysis of a single task in a high school English class is presented. Issues raised by the study are addressed. (CJH)

The use of cognitively oriented models in research in reading comprehension requires the examination of the task demand characteristics of the research. Those cognitive processes involved in the performance which are due to the experimental procedures must be separated from those which operate in normal circumstances. "Control…

Describes a model of information processing that could be helpful in teaching students to interpret information. Four stages of information processing are discussed: judging suitability, understanding/comprehending, evaluating, and extracting. Examples based on task analysis and observations of students' work are included. (three references) (MES)

This essay, the concluding section of a larger study, examines the present state of cognitive science and instructional theory as reflected in the study's earlier chapters. Cognitive analyses of tasks are reported in the broad domain of language comprehension and production (e.g., understanding, composing, and answering questions about texts). The…

Discussed is the process of hierarchical task analysis (a tool used to decide what to teach and when to teach it) as it relates to the setting of instructional goals and objectives. (BD)

The hierarchical structure of the formal operational period of Piaget's theory of cognitive development was explored through the application of ordering theoretical methods to a set of data that systematically utilized the various formal operational schemes. Results suggested a common structure underlying task performance. (Author/BH)

This article first disconfirms the use of traditional evaluation procedures, and then focuses on direct assessment of academic performance. The interactive nature of learning and the use of a task analytical approach to treatment-oriented assessment are emphasized. (LMO)