Discusses possibilities of ethical perception. Contrasts rationally based views with theories from narrative and feminist ethical points of view. Suggests that theories of aesthetic perception may be similar to the nonrational moral theories. Concludes that the function of the arts may be moral illumination because of the relationship between…

Argues that the debate about media attributes versus instructional methods should be shifted from instruction- and media-centered to a learner-centered conception of learning. Learning with media should be explored on the macro level (where learning is situationally dependent) and on the micro level (where design should support, instead of…

The difficulties and misconceptions that many students experience when learning to visualize graphs of functions are discussed. Specifically, the inability to make accurate connections between symbolic and graphical representations, the lack of understanding about scale and scaling, and the confusion caused by transformations are examined with…

Discusses the use of storytelling and interactive story building as a technique for effective social studies teaching. Describes Storyline, a structured approach to teaching and learning, in which the students and teacher create a story together. Emphasizes the broad coverage of social studies content and skills that is achieved with the method.…

Discusses problems in the teaching of art history to art students. Reports on a study in which student analysis and categorization of their own paintings and paintings of other artists became the primary activity of an art history course. Concludes that this approach enhances the use of art history as a source for students' own creative work. (CFR)

The article describes four general kinds of instruction that can foster independent learning by helping special needs students learn to think. They are metacognitive explanation; scaffolded instruction; cognitive coaching; and cooperative learning. Teachers can adapt and combine these methods to teach students how to think as they read, write, and…

This article elaborates on the work of Paris and Winograd (EC 233 118) in examining metacognitive instruction with respect to special education research and practice. The article describes research supporting instruction in self-appraisal and self-management with mildly handicapped students, motivational characteristics of these students, the…

This article illustrates the theoretical and empirical basis of cognitive strategy instruction and compares this basis to major principles of constructivism. Illustrations of self-instructional and other cognitive strategy instruction models are presented in the areas of reading comprehension, written language, and memory. Maintenance,…

Proposed is a scheme for concept development in teaching the topic of energy. Levels within the scheme are described, as well as their interrelationships and their relation to the student's own world. (KR)

Highlights methods of teaching grammar that have been adapted for computer-assisted language learning. (Author/VWL)

Explores how three inquiry processes (iconology, iconography, and social art history) can enable art educators to develop interesting and relevant teaching approaches for the study of art. Gives examples of how the inquiry processes could be used in the art classroom. Explains that through inquiry methods, art historical understanding may be…

Illustrates how the five cognitive levels--somatic, mythic, romantic, philosophic, and ironic--can be used to guide teaching and learning activities appropriate for engineering students. Uses the example of the concept of energy to demonstrate how educators might appeal to each mode of thinking for understanding a particular concept. (Contains 11…

Reports on a qualitative study of the learning environment of a biology class. Suggests that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation--which could lead to deep involvement in science learning--are constrained by teacher-centered methods. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

This article discusses ways to improve mathematics performance of students with learning disabilities through cognitive strategies instruction. Principles of a strategic classroom environment are explained, such as involving students in goalsetting and providing advance organizers. Three specific strategies for math instruction are described:…

The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of long-term constructivist-oriented science instruction on elementary school students' process of constructing cognitive structures. Furthermore, such effects on different science achievers were also investigated. The subjects of this study were 69 fifth graders in Taiwan, while they were…