Two studies investigated the effects of three instructional methods on lower and higher cognitive processes of sixth- and ninth-grade students. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)

Offers a review of various veins of thought related to writing instruction such as traditional grammar and rhetoric, discourse processes and cognitive science, and discourse form and sociolinguistics. (SRT)

How children perceive doubling and halving numbers is discussed, with many examples. The use of calculators is integrated. The tendency to avoid division if other ways of solving a problem can be found was noted. (MNS)

How children can be guided to see and feel the power of thinking with and about mathematical symbols is discussed. A strategy to help them bridge the gap between manipulative models and symbols is detailed. (MNS)

The approaches taken by two elementary school teachers in using computers as tools to stimulate and guide mathematical thinking are described. One had students design a BASIC program for counting; the other used demonstration programs to develop ideas about fractions and decimals. (MNS)

This paper analyzes the teaching of reasoning and civility (citizenship) from the historical perspective of psychology. Three perspectives of human rationality--humans as rational, boundedly rational, and collectively rational--have differently defined the learner, the task, the teacher, and educational research. Unwillingness to address humans as…

"Mental aerobics" stimulates the mind through well-planned, specific, and direct exercise routines. During a lecture, students are asked to tear out a half-sheet of paper and write an immediate reaction to the lecture. This technique encourages inclusion, expression, understanding, thinking, feedback, insight, and comparison. (Author/MLW)

Ideas on a teaching-learning theory of ratio are presented. Views of children and of members of an international panel are presented, and five questions and their responses are compared with real classroom experience. (MNS)

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)

Describes how reader response theory can be easily adapted to classroom practice, thereby sharpening student interest in reading, increasing their capacity to reason and write, and fostering greater regard for different points of view. (HOD)

Reviews some theory and research related to metacognition and reading as well as classroom strategies such as generating good comprehension questions during reading, monitoring and resolving comprehension blocks, applying study procedures that increase comprehension and retrieval of information, and adhering to an author's text structure. (FL)

New knowledge is made meaningful by relating it to prior knowledge. Although meaningfulness usually relates new knowledge to prior superordinate knowledge, arbitrarily meaningful knowledge, coordinate, subordinate, and analogic ideas, experiential knowledge, and cognitive strategy also facilitate learning. Optimization of prior knowledge is done…

This guide to Asperger syndrome for teachers describes the underlying impairments of the condition, explains how these may lead to problems in school, and offers practical management suggestions. The first part gives an overview of Asperger syndrome and outlines the three core areas of impairment--social interaction, communication, and lack of…

This paper describes a theoretical model for examining teaching and learning in primary mathematics classrooms. The model in intended to be both analytical--to provide insights into classroom incidents--and heuristic--to inform planning and practice. This paper reports on the elements of the model, which are based on Vygotskian theory and…

The theme of the 2000 issue of Pedagogy Journal is finding a "sense of place" within the higher education community. Articles contained discuss this issue as it pertains to different aspects of the postsecondary system. These articles include: (1) "The Role of Left-Brain/Right-Brain Learning Theory in Personal Computer Courses" (Jack Wakelin); (2)…