Previous research suggests that different information processing styles influence how effectively students adapt to a college environment. During the college years, individuals shape and refine their values and principles while they also develop a life-long philosophy. The present study examined how student ego-identity development (n = 1,249) was…

Investigated learning style changes of college business students over their college careers. Undergraduate business students (n=178) from two universities completed 1985 Learning Style Inventory in fall semesters of their sophomore, junior, and senior years. Results offered mixed support for contention that learning styles are likely to change…

Studies the role of thinking style development in 245 Chinese college students. Results indicated that thinking styles predicted students' sense of purposefulness, an important dimension in psychosocial development. Suggests that theories of intellectual styles should be integrated into the traditional family of student development theories.…

Used multiple measures with nine supervisors-in-training to explore supervisor development. In terms of content of thoughts in response to particular vignette, participants' thoughts were primarily neutral, suggesting they were able to be nonjudgmental and objective. Participants seemed particularly challenged by situations that required…

Investigated the metacognitive development of a group of students in a course aiming to develop deep approaches and conceptual understanding. Found considerable diversity in the approaches used by students, and also in the degrees to which those not initially using a conceptual (deep) approach were able to develop this approach. (EV)

The questions of purposes and methods as related to assessment of student learning are considered. It is difficult to find assessment invoked without a parallel call for improvement, particularly improved teaching and learning. Also, much attention has focused on problematic dimensions of measuring what students learn, but the fundamental set of…

This paper outlines recommended test-taking strategies for the self-sufficient learner based on research in cognitive psychology. The theoretical model used is the information-processing approach involving the three essential steps of paying attention, encoding, and framing associative linkages for the new material. Preparing for examinations is…

David Kolb's experiential learning theory involves a framework useful in designing courses that meet needs of diverse learners. Course designs providing systematic activities in concrete experience, reflective observations, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation will be sensitive to students' learning styles while challenging…

A survey of Black students at Georgia State University found that first-year students tended to rate themselves as rigid thinkers and the second-year students did not, suggesting that students perceiving themselves as poor thinkers can become flexible thinkers with appropriate advising, counseling, and teaching activities. (MSE)

Presents a follow-up evaluation of a freshmmn year experience-based, interdisciplinary curriculum founded on Piagetian ideas. Compared the experimental program to two other academic programs. Found experimental students more than the comparison groups valued personal development, experiential and practical modes of learning, and their own academic…

This book is intended to help faculty who teach college freshmen to understand their students, present effective teaching practices, and provide practical suggestions for dealing with the special challenges presented by freshmen. Part 1 portrays freshmen, examining high school influences that shape expectations and habits; attitudes, values, and…

Self-evaluation is a learning strategy that can help college students, particularly nontraditional students, build coherence through their educational experiences. Faculty need to approach students' reflective, self-evaluative writing as learners, listening to what students say and using it as a guide to aid student development. (MSE)

Theories of cognitive, racial identity, affective, psychological, and moral development can be helpful in designing college student leadership training programs. Course design must take a variety of learning styles into consideration so as many students as possible can successfully understand the material and integrate it into their leadership…

This study investigated the amount of structure preferred by college students in a learning environment and evaluated responses using a notion of conceptual level. The theory of conceptual level suggests that students at higher conceptual levels prefer more independence and less structure in learning while students at lower conceptual levels…

Epistemological development is one of the expected outcomes of higher education. A longitudinal study of the epistemological development of 77 students upon entrance into college and again at the beginning of their sophomore year revealed that both males and females increased their intellectual complexity. Interviews were conducted during the…