Four experiments investigated children's ability to notice and remember events in which the acquisition of factual information occurs. Results indicated that children tend to report they have known newly learned information for a long time, suggesting that children have some understanding of knowledge acquisition, but not at the level of adults.…

Examined the nature of perceptual classification in children and young adults. Found that most children attend selectively to one stimulus dimension when making perceptual classification judgments. Suggests that this developmental trend does not appear to be a holistic-to-analytic shift but rather a trend toward greater consistency in following a…

Described are the comprehension monitoring abilities of science students when reading science textbooks. The incorrect use of schemata and the limiting influence of metacognitive abilities on the improvement of meaningful learning is discussed. (KR)

Discussed is the relationship of concept-mapping by students to the meaningful learning of genetics and ecological concepts. The implications of these results for teacher education in biology are addressed. (KR)

This response to EC 607 382 stresses the value of dialog between mathematics educators and special educators and raises three concerns about the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Cognitive strategy instruction is recommended as an effective approach for teaching problem solving to students with disabilities. (DB)

Low-achieving college students (N=94) evidenced less use of self-regulating strategies and a stronger relationship of self-regulated strategy use to positive motivational orientation than high-achieving students (N=49). Samples were predominantly white and female. Encouraging the use of these strategies may improve low achievers' academic…

Examines quantitative models in school physics, looking particularly at the degree to which they match the real world. Explores the positive aspects of a mismatch between models and real world conditions. (DDR)

Suggests that the study of memory needs to be situated within broader conceptual and research contexts. Examines how four contexts accommodate memory phenomena: (1) knowledge; (2) comprehension; (3) context/function; and (4) strategy. Suggests that memories are best examined as knowledge structures resulting from efforts to understand, and that…

Explores whether construction of integrated knowledge structures by students can be stimulated by concept mapping and better visualization of concepts and their interrelationships. Significant effects of concept mapping as an instructional method could not be detected. (Contains 18 references.) (DDR)

This study examines the conditional and interaction effects of each of four dimensions of the epistemological beliefs of college students regarding the ability to learn, the speed of learning, the structure of knowledge, and the stability of knowledge on six measures of the motivational components of self-regulated learning strategies (intrinsic…

Maurice Merleau-Ponty's philosophy offers an existential phenomenological interpretation of subjectivity and the shared world. He offers a perceptually based philosophy which can be mined for implications and interpretations for a new style of teaching relevant to the contemporary social and educational scene. This paper analyzes Merleau-Ponty's…

There has long been dispute in mathematics between the drill and practice orientation that focuses primarily on memorizing mathematics as meaningless rote algorithms and the approach based on understanding and making creative use of mathematics. This 25-chapter book, based on a 7-year study at the University of Illinois, seeks to explain and…

Twenty-six deaf adolescents received instruction in a structured program of cognitive education called "Instrumental Enrichment." The program addresses, among other processes, comparison, classification, logical progression, spatial orientation, analysis and synthesis, and syllogistic thinking. Following training, the subjects showed…

This paper considers what physics can offer students, both as physics majors and in other sciences. The recent increases in the technological character of the workplace appear likely to continue, leading to increasing numbers of individuals who should learn something about science. For many of these people, understanding the character of science,…

Reports on a study that addresses the implications of instructional strategies that are used to create cognitive disequilibrations to achieve conceptual change. Discusses several difficulties in the application of such conceptual change strategies. Contains 31 references. (DDR)