Teacher training is discussed, focusing on the role of knowledge and performance in the training of skills, problems of design, and the effects of training methods. Research on the application and validity of training programs in the classroom and current knowledge of effective program components are reviewed. (TJH)

In contrast to the dominant "common elements" knowledge transfer theory, an interpretive perspective is developed, according to which appropriate transfer is socioculturally rather than objectively defined and is selective. Via a synthesis of cognitive research, thinking-skills instruction features effective in promoting transfer are identified.…

Investigation of the effects of special education classroom experience on 61 preservice elementary school teachers' knowledge of characteristics of learning disordered or emotionally disordered children and teaching and management techniques found that limited experiences and coursework did not increase the teachers' knowledge. (Author/CB)

Describes six strategies for teaching vocabulary: exclusion brainstorming, knowledge rating, connect two, semantic feature analysis and semantic gradients, concept ladder, and predict-o-gram. (HOD)

To help plan effective teaching strategies, it is important to determine students' existing knowledge about the topic to be taught. Interviews with New Zealand students showed that they hold nonscientific ideas about soil. These student views should be respected by teachers. They should be discussed and compared with scientific viewpoints. (RM)

Learning in the wholetheme approach is defined as reorganizing one's own intuitive knowledge base, as opposed to storing facts. This presentation discusses several thematic organizers to illustrate their role as a teaching tool in helping learners reorganize their own intuitive knowledge base. Intimately tied to the brain's ground-figure processes…

The educational advantages and features of learning centers are presented. (Author/MF)

Innovation in medical education is needed in curriculum, teaching methods and testing programs, as well as involvement of administrators and faculty. (IR)

Examined reports by mathematics teachers of their degree of familiarity with various standards and assessments, then compared these reports with teachers' reports of their instructional practices in the classroom. Teacher awareness of state curriculum guides and state assessments has increased since 1995. (SLD)

Surveyed attitudes and knowledge of parents with children in a university-based preschool regarding developmentally appropriate preschool practices (DAP). Found that many parents understood developmentally appropriate practice. Most parents believed that children learned through play with other children and exploration of the environment. Mothers…

Discusses issues stimulated by Elizabeth Hatton's examination of teachers' work as "bricolage" in a prior article. Explores the connection between creative potential and pedagogic knowledge and the science of the abstract and the concrete. Presents potential reforms that could enhance teachers' capacity to gain pedagogic knowledge. (JS)

The study found that instructing 13 learning-disabled junior high students in the necessary prior knowledge (information and vocabulary concepts) led to superior reading comprehension performance. Textually explicit text structure also improved reading comprehension. (DB)

This paper discusses the two important domains affecting the success of learning strategy training for students with learning disabilities or other mild handicaps: students' knowledge of critical skills and information potentially related to strategy use, and students' motivation to learn and use the strategy. The paper presents an eight-stage…

Describes two aspects of metacognition, knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition, and how they relate to domain-specific knowledge and cognitive abilities. It is argued that metacognitive knowledge is multidimensional, domain-general in nature, and teachable. Four instructional strategies are described for promoting the construction and…

Investigated whether case analysis would be an anchor for subsequent construction of formal and practical knowledge. In two studies, pairs of preservice teachers analyzed a case before and after units of instruction. Case analysis was effective in integrating participants' formal and practical knowledge. They identified more concepts and analyzed…